Saving $$$ on Easter

My how the kids have grown since last Easter. With the budget being so tight this spring, the Easter Bunny is going to have to be a little more creative with what he brings. First of all our bunny like to play little tricks on the three kids. He ties a piece of yarn to each child's bedroom door. Everybody has there own color. Then the yarn is bounced through the house where only bunnies could hop to. They are all tangled together and sometime even go outside. The kids wind up their yarn and follow it's path, and at the end is their Easter basket filled with all the goodies. The older kids have harder yarn mazes while the toddlers is quite a bit easier. Our bunny has been doing this for a few years now, and the kids are already asking if it is going to happen again this year. With the weather turning warmer (finally!) it looks like the baskets could end up in the back yard this year.

The baskets themselves are going to be stuffed with my coupon finds. From M&M's to Valentine kisses, free make-up to a CD I won on the radio. I also bought some t-shirts and clothes at 75% off at Target after Christmas. Their baskets are Easter buckets that I picked up last year at 90% off at Target after easter. I think I paid $.19 for them. I got Easter grass for $.29 and need to still get three chocolate bunnies, but after that I think I am done. I will be buying more for next year after Easter this year. Always planning ahead, as long as I don't forget where I hide them!

Here are some deals that I found that you can take advantage of:

Free printable coupons to stick into the baskets. They are kind of hokey, but could be fun for older children.

Here are some other free coupons to print out for their baskets.

The Disney online store has up to 25% off on many Easter items. No coupon needed but use coupon code MARSITE10 for 10% off your order on top of that. Go to this site to get in on the deal quickly before it is to late.

Print some free coloring book pages for the little ones while they wait for the Easter ham to finish cooking. The older kids can work on mazes, crosswords and unscrambles that you print from here to keep them occupied.

If you don't know what to do with all the candy in their baskets, here at Hersheys there are lots of craft ideas to use up some of that candy.

And don't forget the real reason we celebrate Easter. Here is a printable Easter story for children. You can print it and read it to all the children. I am going to make my older kids read it this year, they need the extra reading time due to spring break anyway. There are even questions at the end to ask the kids to get a conversation going. Make sure that your kids know that Easter is about Jesus rising for our sins, and not about a bunny giving us candy.