How to have a cheaper family Easter

Easter used to be a fairly simple affair; a nice bit of lamb, an Easter egg or two and handmade cards. But these days, there’s pressure to make it more of an extravaganza, with themed outfits, home makeovers and excessive amounts of chocolate (not ideal, when chocolate prices have soared).

On top of that, “schools are closed for that extra bit longer. That means, if you’re a parent, you’re having to spend more on looking after your children during that time, whether it’s putting them into holiday clubs or taking them to various events, on excursions,” says Rajan Lakhani, personal finance expert and Head of Money at Plum.

The rate of inflation won’t help either. “Inflation has been quite significant over the past few years, and until recently, it had started coming down, but now potentially it’s increasing again, with what we’re seeing going on with geopolitical events,” says Lakhani. “Even though the rate of inflation is decreasing, that doesn’t mean prices of things are decreasing, it just means they’re increasing at a lesser pace.”

These factors combined can lead to a very pricey Easter, but there are ways to cut costs and watch the pennies…

Make an Easter budget

As with anything that could bust your average weekly spend, it’s worth having a budget in mind. One you’ll actually stick to. “Easter is one of those holidays that can steeply become very expensive if you aren’t careful. Between the chocolate spending and the pressure for a full Easter dinner, costs can add up really fast,” says Lakhani. “There are various apps where you can create a specific pocket allocated to your Easter spending and draw from that specifically, so you’re not using any other money, and you’re reminding yourself to stick to that budget.” Try Plum, Monzo and Pocket.

Chocolate and the egg hunt

First, temper expectations. “The Easter bunny doesn’t need to shop for high-end chocolate,” says Lakhani. “You can buy affordable, good-tasting chocolate, like supermarket-own brands and wrap it up yourself in colourful tissue paper with a ribbon, and that creates similar excitement.”

The Easter bunny can also be late. “If your family doesn’t mind a delayed celebration, wait till Monday morning, many of the biggest retailers will reduce Easter egg prices significantly during that period after Easter Sunday.” And that doesn’t have to stop you having an Easter egg hunt. “Kids remember searching for the items and being with friends or family, more than the volume of sugar or chocolate,” says Lakhani. “Replace the chocolate eggs with reusable plastic eggs filled with stickers or fun items. Or create oval shapes from felt, and have coupons to find which allow the kids to stay up later or offer some form of reward.”

Skip shop-bought chocolate nests for making your own too, using own-brand chocolate and cereal. “My kids love stirring in the cornflakes or shredded wheat,” says Lakhani. You can save on the mini eggs on top by shopping around too. “Big brands have seen shrinkflation, so it’s really important you check out different options so you’re getting value for money.”

The roast dinner and beyond

Children will generally miss out on free school meals being off school for Easter, so food spend will go up alongside the Easter meal. Shopping around, buying frozen rather than fresh, buying in bulk, making the most of leftovers and being signed up to supermarket loyalty schemes, will all help, as will batch cooking.

For the roast on the big day, “big supermarkets will offer pre-prepared food options, but it’s best to work out whether you can save money by cooking from scratch,” says Lakhani, it’ll also likely taste better. “For example, honey-roasted parsnips; supermarkets will be selling them for upwards of £3 for a small portion, when you can easily buy carrots, parsnips and whatever you want with your lamb, along with a pot of honey, for less than that.”

Again, delaying until Easter Monday means you could snag a roasting joint for half the price too, and “stick to what’s in season, whether it’s carrots, peas or spring greens, they’ll be much fresher and much cheaper.”

Plus, “if you are hosting extended family, you don’t have to shoulder all the costs” says Lakhani. Ask loved ones to bring side dishes, pudding, or even chocolate eggs.

Decorations and days out

The shops are chock-full of Easter decorations, but homemade can be just as good and fun to create. Simply raid your recycling box for materials and grab a glue stick. “Making origami bunnies, weaving paper baskets or making papier mache eggs and getting the kids involved is a really good option to not only keep costs down but keep them engaged during the holidays,” says Lakhani.

If you do want to buy some decorative bits, consider buying in the post-Easter sale and hold onto them for next year, and, “go online to source discount codes and vouchers before buying anything” says Lakhani. The same applies for excursions and meals out. “There’ll be a lot of offers at this time of year, like ‘kids go free’. You can use AI tools like Perplexity and Claude which can scout multiple sites for discount codes, offers and vouchers,” he adds. “That’ll help you save money and time because you’re not having to trawl through lots of individual sites to find the most relevant discounts.”

Time together

You really don’t have to go all out for Easter, regardless of what you’re seeing other families doing on social media. “Kids don’t remember the extravagance. What they remember is actually spending time with family, doing an Easter egg hunt with their cousins and siblings, and that’s what’s most fun about it,” says Lakhani. “People are so busy now, and when it comes to working life, things are so fast moving. The opportunity to take a few days holiday and spend some quality time with family and your children is really important.”