Easter has always been a favourite holiday of mine. A time that exists in the memory laden with bunnies and eggs and summer fast approaching. The holiday tends to feels a lot more relaxed than Christmas, but retains that same sense of togetherness – be that with family, friends, your community, your pets. It also has the advantage over Christmas of costing a whole lot less, at least for most families; Easter eggs are typically a lot less pricey than the latest PlayStation, or whatever new craze has ravaged the internet. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s always cheap. A lot of families will still feel financial pressure this Easter. But fear not, we’ve got your back.

For a lot of families, it’s important to be a little clever at the moment and plan for optimal savings as we lead up to most anticipated Sunday of the year. In this guide, we’ll explore the art of celebrating Easter without sending your wallet into a chocolate bunny-induced meltdown. This is also a great opportunity to get creative with friends, family, and kids.

 

Travel Smart

An ever-overarching theme of Easter: the trek. Characterised, in my experience, by lengthy queues of airport-wary passengers laden with queries, fathers with furrowed brows, delays and apologises and traffic. Although going home for the holidays can definitely be stressful, whether that entails a plane journey, a bumpy car ride, or even a brisk walk, it promises a wholesome experience that few would pass up. I’ve compiled some of my own tips and tricks that I employ when travelling that both pinches on pennies and saves me much needed time that I can spend celebrating. Luckily for us, I consider snagging sweet deals on flights an art, not a science. One good idea for saving on travel, although admittedly one you might expect, is planning well before your desired day of flying. Book your tickets as far in advance as you can using comparison websites, and stay flexible with your times and dates so that you can fly on the cheapest dates and during off-peak hours. This is also a great time of year to cash in on any airline loyalty points. Pack your favourite snacks before you get there and avoid over-priced airport food. I recently got a reusable water bottle that is fantastic for the airport and means I never have to splash on duty free bottled water again! It’s also always a good idea to familiarise yourself with airline policies beforehand to avoid any unexpected fees, such as luggage restrictions and late-check in charges.

For those lucky enough to avoid the skies all together, but are instead dealing with a car journey, carpooling is one golden ticket for saving. In this case, I recommend as a group you choose whichever car is most fuel-efficient as this will save you money on gas. Plot your course wisely, avoiding tollbooths to the best of your ability, although this isn’t always possible. In the same vein, choose your pit stops strategically, such as places with free amenities like public bathrooms and rest-areas. I try to avoid stopping for snacks all together by bringing a selection before we set off – this also helps save on time! Finally, I find travel apps like GasBuddy and Waze super helpful for locating the most budget-friendly fuel and quickest routes, so I definitely recommend you take advantage of apps like these!

 

Hosting on a Dime

I’ve had the pleasure (I say pleasure…) of hosting Easter only a handful of times. That being said, on these occasions I’ve been able to employ a few useful tips that have helped me cut on costs and get a little crafty with the help of friend’s and family, such as budget-friendly decorations. DIY decorations are not only a great way to bond and get the kids involved in the festivities, but I find they bring a certain charm and cute, crafty look to your home. Raid your craft drawer, Pinterest some ideas, and unleash your inner Martha Stewart. Opt for reusable decorations – they're like the gift that keeps on giving, minus the awkward thank-you card.

Secondly, let’s talk affordable Easter table decorations. For me, I love to make sure the table is looking up to scratch as this is where everyone will convene to enjoy each other’s company. However, I don’t know about you, but I am not in procession of any fancy china. In the lead up to my hosting endeavours, I’ve discovered that charity shops and second-hand stores are a treasure trove for budget-friendly tableware. I like to choose a selection of odd pieces for a mis-matched dinner party look, but that’s up to you. For an even cheaper option when dressing the table with centrepieces, bring the outdoors in with freshly plucked flowers from the garden, interesting twigs that have caught your eye, maybe a few well-placed pinecones for a seasonal centrepiece that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

                                   

Entertainment

As a good host, your entertainment is a pivotal point of your gathering. However, thinking up decent ideas that don’t cost too much can be a challenge, but don’t dismay. Easter is such a strong theme for your event that we have loads of room to workshop some interactive elements and ideas for fun, creative, and enjoyable group activities.

Outdoor activities for Easter are a must - weather permitting. I recommend an egg hunt for the kids, which I’ve thrown together in the past with a couple hours work and materials that I’ve just had lying around. Last year, we hard boiled a couple dozen eggs and let the kids loose with paints to create crazy patterns and clatter them in loud colours (You’d be amazed what some 6-year-olds can come up with when handed a hard-boiled egg and my old acrylic paints). Once dry, you can then take to your garden or a local park and hide a bunch of your wildly decorated eggs for the children to find. Use old hampers or baskets, cardboard boxes (such as your easter egg boxes!), and the discarded egg trays to hand out to the egg-hunters. We allowed them to exchange the eggs for little chocolate treats at the end. We also played some games afterwards, like an egg and spoon race, and hide-and-seek!

For the adults, I recommend hosting a little budget-friendly Easter party while the hunt takes place, or afterwards depending on supervision. This is when the most important element of the day comes into place – the food! A strict budget calls for one thing: a potluck party.

 

Potluck Party

My family and I have held up a long-standing tradition of pot-luck events, simply because they tick so many boxes. Potlucks offer an entire range of benefits, such as fostering your community or family bonds while providing a diverse array of dishes that may nod to different cultures, dietary requirements, or just preference. I’ve got a lot of family who choose to avoid gluten, and loads of vegetarian friends, so this is an option that caters to them without having to put myself out too much. The inclusive nature of a potluck has always drawn me towards it as it really can be a time to bond and learn about each other’s different tastes, and where those preferences may have developed or funny stories related to their dish, as well as where they learned the recipe. The informal atmosphere encourages participation, making potlucks a relaxed and enjoyable way to bring people together. Of course, arguably the main reason for the potluck’s popularity, they help everyone involved with saving some money by patchworking their meal with friends and family. If you’ve ever hosted an event that involved providing food for the masses, you’ll know how stressful and pricey that can be, but in my experience, potlucks massively alleviate stress and expense, allowing host and attendees to enjoy the other aspects of the event – in this case, a fun-filled Easter littered with colourful egg hunts and charming decor. The reduced workload and cost-effectiveness make potlucks an attractive option for those seeking a more manageable yet engaging social gathering.

My own contributions to a potluck vary depending on the event, but you really can’t go wrong with a few tasty and hearty side dishes to round out the main dishes and add some pops of flavour to the plate. It’s always good to encourage some greens, so I always recommend an asparagus dish, which has many benefits as an Easter side. Asparagus is so versatile in that you can create many different styles of dish with the ingredient. At its best during the spring season, it is tastiest during this time of year and, for me, has always been a crowd pleaser – even among the little ones! I’ve done asparagus many different ways, but I love it done simple.

  • Combine oil, ½ tsp ground pepper, ¼ tsp salt, and 2 freshly minced garlic cloves together in a large bowl and add asparagus. Evening coat the greens by massaging. Spread your coated asparagus evenly on a large baking sheet on some parament paper. Before cooking, toss 125g parmesan cheese, 3 tbsp panko breadcrumbs, and 3 tbsp chopped walnuts together in a bowl. Sprinkle over the asparagus and place your baking sheet in a pre-heated oven at 220°C. Roast for between 10 to 15 minutes until the panko is golden brown.

Alternatively, for more of fuller side dish, I recommend anything with potatoes. Both cheap and multifaceted, potatoes are always a great option for a potluck. One of the tastiest and easiest ways to prepare potatoes is for a potato salad – and who doesn’t look some potato salad? The flavour profile here is super adaptable, but my favourite recipe is as follows.

  • Boil your choice of potatoes in salted water for 20 minutes, or until fork-tender. Simultaneously hard-boil eggs for around 12 minutes, and place in cold water afterwards. Once the potatoes are cooked, place them in the fridge with the eggs to chill completely. Once chilled, peel the eggs and dice both ingredients into a large bowl with a decent shake of salt and pepper, mixed herbs, mayonnaise, celery, sliced radishes, and fresh spring onion. Stir gently until the salad is well combined.

Potato salad promises to compliment any dish, and this recipe in particular has the benefit of retaining a crunch alongside the potatoes and boasting varied textures and flavours, which should be a nice surprise for guests.