Nifty Thrifty Easter

Nifty Thrifty Easter Every year about this time, the Easter bunny tries to figure out how to make the festivities clever and fun without breaking the bank. Here are some nifty, thrifty ideas for baskets, bunnies and bonnets that are cheap, cheap, cheap and will make everyone hoppy . BASKETS Think outside the basket. Instead of running to buy expensive store-bought baskets, be creative and repurpose things from around the house (or from garage sales or dollar stores) that are unique and fun: • Paint cans are great to fill with goodies, tie with colorful ribbon, and then seal. Kids love popping the lids open to find their treats. (And Dad’s will too if filled with tools!) • Plastic pail and shovel sets are doubly cool because kids can play with them later. • Berry containers (whether wood or plastic) and fruit baskets are adorable when decorated with ribbon, yarn or raffia and filled with treasures. • Pet bowls make great containers too. So, don’t forget your furry friends when its time to dole out Easter toys and treats! Tucking favorite things into the baskets is sure to bring on ear-to-ear smiles, and the possibilities to delight are endless. • Grass. Instead of buying plastic grass for your baskets, use your office document shredder to slice up newspapers, colorful tissue paper, and junk mail to make a planet friendly nest any chicken would adore. • Eggs. Coloring and decorating eggs are an eggcellent family project. Getting creative is easy with glue and beads, ribbon, markers, or stickers. Plastic eggs can be recycled year to year (once the candy inside is eaten!) And don’t forget to make a “golden egg.” Spray paint will work nicely to make a shiny egg worthy of Fort Knox. Nothing beats the delightful yell of “I found it!” • Sweet treasures. Rather than filling the basket with mounds of candy, pick out a nice chocolate bunny and surround it with inventive things like crayons, a coloring book, a kite, seed packets, cards, books, stuffed animals, bubbles, jacks, homemade “get out of chore” coupons, and other things that kids enjoy. Let kids begin their Easter morning with a hunt for their baskets. It will add a level of excitement and give a fun start to the day. • Scavenger hunt. When they wake up, present your kids with a clue that leads them on a hunt through the house. Kids love the excitement of figuring out clever hints to find their treasure. • Jellybean trail. For younger kids, let jellybeans show the way to where the Easter bunny has hidden the baskets. • Video expedition. Use your video camera to provide a secret agent mission around the house or yard to where the Easter Bunny has left the package of goodies. BUNNIES & CHICKENS Bunnies and chickens are fun and easy for your table centerpiece. Be on the hunt for them all year long. I’ve found some great things over the years at garage sales and I store them in a plastic “Easter tub” that I keep in the attic. (I have a tub for each major holiday.) Here are some ideas to make your table gorgeous: • Bunny slippers filled with flowers make an adorable centerpiece and a great after dinner costume. • Thematic baskets and containers with a blooming plant like an azalea or hyacinth are simple and charming. • Washcloth Easter Bunny. These adorable bunnies are cheap and easy to make, and are the perfect thing to fill with an egg and put at each place- setting for Easter dinner. Here’s how: o Lay a washcloth on a table. Fold it in half diagonally, forming a triangle. o Take the smallest end of the triangle and roll it toward the largest end, making a jellyroll. o Fold the two loose ends together to form a donut shape with “ears.” o Wrap a rubber band or pipe cleaner around the “neck” and use the last loop to make the ears stand up. o Glue a cotton ball or white pompom to the back to make the bunny’s tail. o Glue two small black pompoms or eyes in place and use a pink piece of ribbon or paper for the nose. o Get fancy by tying a ribbon around the neck or around the base of the ears. o Slip an Easter egg into the circle at the back of the bunny and it’s ready to delight. BONNETS During the darkest times of the Great Depression, when people couldn’t afford a new outfit, a fancy decorated hat at Easter became a simple luxury that was fun to wear to church and in the Easter Parade. (The granddaddy is New York City’s Easter Parade that makes it’s way down Fifth Avenue from St. Patrick’s Cathedral each year, and of which Irving Berlin wrote “In your Easter bonnet – with all the frills upon it, You’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter Parade.”) Here are some ideas on how to craft a fun-tabulous bonnet: • Store bought. Many stores now have fancy bonnets for sale at Easter. But who wants to spend fancy money?! • Homemade. Create a one-of-a-kind Easter bonnet by adorning a hat you already have with silk flowers, ribbon, costume jewelry, and even stuffed animals. • Outrageous. Make an Easter bonnet that makes ‘em laugh. I took a dollar store sombrero and covered it with straw to make a nest. Using a glue gun, I adorned it with plastic eggs and cut a spot at the top to sit a stuffed chicken. The results are over-the-top fun! HAVE A FUN & HAPPY EASTER! 2009 Bruce Littlefield, Fun Expert .

Load more