How to Make an Awesome and Cheap Easter Basket

A random, lunchtime journey into my local dollar store a few weeks ago sped up my Easter Basket planning for this year. Usually I would wait so there is less likelihood of little eyes finding my stash but the bright colors got me. I can’t lie; bright, fun, Spring colors get me every time and within about 20 minutes I had almost every thing I needed for AWESOME and CHEAP Easter Baskets.

The supplies:

• A plastic bucket ($1)
• Tissue Paper or newspaper to bulk up the bottom (free or cheap)
• Easter Garland ($1)
• Assorted candies, toys, stickers, containers (around $1 or under)

Ball up several sheets of tissue paper or newspaper to line the bottom of your bucket. This ensures that your goodies are front and center (and it means you need less to fill your basket).

Next use your garland in place of Easter Grass, it makes NO mess! The last thing I want to do Easter morning is pick up the trail of Easter grass.

Now you are ready to fill your basket! It’s best to start with the tall items in the back of the basket first and build it forward. I used a sticker book I picked up at Michael’s for a dollar along with a puzzle from the dollar store as my base of this basket. The special pink chocolate bunny is a Niagara Chocolate from Sweetworks bunny and will run you more than a dollar but it was my showstopper piece for this basket as my daughter is OBSESSED with chocolate. However, many of the pieces in the basket came in multi-packs that I split up between the 2 baskets I made, so it all works itself out.

And of course I couldn’t help but take out my Silhouette CAMEO and whip up a little personalization for the buckets. If you don’t have a cutting machine you can use stickers or, my personal favorite, paint pens!!

When I saw that the dollar store had Lisa Frank puzzles I automatically put down whatever other puzzle I had in my hand and picked it up. Lisa Frank was my hero in elementary school!!

Again, everything in this basket was put together on the cheap, plus a little personalization here and there.

I can’t wait to see the excitement on the faces of my two daughters on Easter morning when then get their AWESOME Easter Baskets. They will never know that the Easter Bunny made them on the CHEAP!