The change of season and warming weather and Easter holidays often bring along a renewed motivation for spring cleaning. I certainly love a home refresh for spring, especially when it comes to celebrating Easter.
With any holiday, though, it’s so easy for spending on home decor and holiday accessories to spiral out of control, and by the time Memorial Day runs around, a quick look at the bank account turns into frantic wondering, “how did I spend that much on my Easter party?”
Over the years I’ve come up with a few tried-and-true ways to enjoy that renewed springtime feeling and celebrate an Easter meal with friends and family, without accidentally breaking the bank.
1. Thrift Store Glassware Treasure Hunt ($10-$20)
Every thrift store or flea market I’ve ever been to has an abundance of glassware, in a wide variety of styles. Glass vases, serving platters, drinking glasses, pitchers—you name it, I’ve seen it. And at a thrift store, they are often only $1-$5 each! Glass can be easily cleaned to a bright sparkle, looks classy, and can provide such a lovely, light springtime vibe to your home.
2. Palm Sunday Palms ($0)
About a week before Easter, so many churches provide palm branches for use during Sunday services. The key here is not to be brazen about it—taking an entire basket of free palms home for an elaborate wreath project is not particularly charitable. But adding the one or two or three that your family uses during the services to a vase or a tablescape—or making the ever-popular palm crosses—can provide such a lovely burst of light green to your home.
3. Simple Grocery Store Flowers ($5-$20)
Have you walked through the floral section at your local grocery store recently? They can have truly amazing offerings! If you’re willing to skip the pre-made arrangements, and instead buy just a handful of loose flowers to arrange at home, grocery store flowers can work magic. Especially if you combine them with a thrift store glass vase, you’ve got a gorgeous centerpiece for a fraction of the cost of an order at a traditional floral shop! (Stores like Trader Joe’s and Sam’s Club are known for having a wide selection of affordable flower bundles.)
4. DIY Projects ($0-$100)
There’s always the DIY route for cost-effective decorations—these can be truly amazing, stunning results with very low cost—if you keep in mind a few notes of caution.
First, consider cost.
I recommend looking in your supply closet to see what you already have (popsicle sticks? food coloring for eggs? colored tissue paper?) and then searching accordingly. The cost of DIY projects can quickly get out of control. Just because you make something yourself does not mean it’s inherently less expensive than purchasing a pre-made alternative!
Second, consider complexity.
“Know Thyself ” is one of my three keys to party planning. Keep in mind your skill level, the types of equipment needed, and what brings you joy. If you love using your Cricut and jigsaw and sewing machine, go nuts. If you don’t own a glue gun and have little patience for detailed crafts, keep it simple.
Trying new crafts and projects is always fun, but two days before Easter is not the time to attempt making a delicate wreath of Easter eggs when you’ve hardly ever used food coloring before. Tears and papercuts and frustration and Pinterest fails are much less likely if you focus on Knowing Thyself and remembering that DIY is supposed to be fun!
5. Raid Your Own Closets—and Cabinets ($0)
Please remember that most of the beautiful tablescapes, recipes, stationery products, home decor inspiration, and Pinterest pins that you see for Easter have one goal in common—to sell something.
This is fine! And I personally love looking for new ways to make my home beautiful.
However, this phenomenon also means that, when looking for springtime decorating inspiration, it’s very easy to forget what you already have that will fit the season.
Some cheap ways to decorate for Easter with items I already have:
Bring out the china and wine glasses that you save for special occasions. Easter is a special occasion!
Arrange together your various potted plants, from outside or elsewhere in your home, to create one central corner of abundant indoor greenery.
Switch out coffee table books and photos to feature spring colors and spring themes.
Dig through any piles of stuffed animals in your house to feature fluffy sheep, cute bunnies, darling butterflies, or any other adorable creatures that emerge in the spring.
Strings of plain white Christmas lights can be repurposed in so many ways—bundled in vases, behind white curtains to give the effect of fairy lights, strung across balconies and patios, and more.
Any basket can become an Easter basket.
Scarves in your closet can easily be repurposed as table runners.
And there you have it! Celebrating Easter and the new season doesn’t need to be expensive at all. I also love these strategies because they remind me to be grateful for what I already have when I’m tempted to sigh and dream of an unlimited home decor budget when flipping through magazines and Pinterest. With a little thinking outside the box, your home can look brand-new and on-trend without spending a fortune!
Madeline is a recovering people-pleaser and reformed perfectionist, who helps women learn to host their own parties and events with sanity and budget intact.
