I don’t believe that every holiday should be viewed as a gift-giving opportunity.  I’ve seen trinkets and doodads that I have paid good money for pile up in my children’s rooms. Why do we feel compelled to buy things for holidays?  Maybe we are brainwashed into believing that it is the “right” thing to do since the stores are filled with sugary treats and cheap, plastic toys imported from China.  My challenge in recent years has been to replace all of those things with something lasting. . .memories and family traditions.  Here are some wonderful easter memory-creating ideas that won’t break the bank.

• Handmade Easter Baskets
  Who says you have to have the prettiest Easter basket on the block?  Children don’t usually care about that.  They take more pride in the things in which they can claim some ownership.  Some great materials for having a good, old-fashioned family crafting session to make your own Easter baskets might be felt, fabric, paper mache, wood, and even an empty gallon milk jug.
• Bunny Paw prints
  Grab an old shoe box lid and cut out big bunny paw print to make a stencil . On “Easter Eve” use the stencil to make paw prints through your house by sprinkling baking soda in the stencil. Turn it over to make left and right feet. (the baking soda vacuums up off the carpet)
• Grow An Easter Tree
  This is a beautiful tradition that began in Germany and Austria. It’s easy to “grow” your own Easter Tree.
• Follow the Ribbon
  This is a simple tradition that doesn’t take much preparation. All you will need to do is buy some narrow inexpensive ribbon from a local craft store. Choose a different color for each member of the family (15 to 25 yards per person depending on how crazy you want this to be). Once the kids are in bed, tie a ribbon to each of their hidden baskets and wind them in and out of the furniture and the other ribbons.  Before you know it, everyone will be tangled in ribbons and laughs.
• “Egg” Your Friends
  Before you run out the door with a carton of eggs to throw at your friends’ homes (you wouldn’t do that, would you?), check out this fun and social Easter tradition.
• Plant Some Magic Easter Beans
  The night before Easter, plant some magic Easter beans and see what happens the next morning!  This could easily replace the need for a Easter morning basket filled with treats.
• Confetti Egg Fight
  Simply hollow out your eggs before dying them and then fill them with confetti for an explosion of colorful, Easter fun.

Do you have any family Easter traditions either from recent years or from when you were a child?  Members can use ListPlanIt’s Easter Planner or other Easter lists in Holidays & Occasions.  Not a member?  Join today to create and manage lists for every occasion in your ListPlanIt account.