With the arrival of spring comes Easter, a holiday I love but aways seems to be a TON of work: the fancy meal, decorating eggs, cleaning up after decorating the eggs, filling easter baskets, hiding the eggs, answering all the confusing Easter Bunny questions… It can be very overwhelming. As a perfectionist, in years past I have found myself being more concerned about the egg dye staining my hardwood floors than the enjoyment I get out of watching my kids create their egg-dyed masterpieces. It’s sad, and I hate to admit it, but it’s true. Please tell me I’m not alone! 

This year I have decided to tone it down a bit: to make things a bit easier on myself with less expectation, in the hopes that I can actually relax and enjoy the happiness that Easter brings. I will make a meal, but it won’t be fancy. I have vowed to completely remove myself from my comfort zone and let my kids dye a gazillion eggs with all the colors, and all the mess (outside of course), and I promise to be right there with them, in the moment. I’m not giving them baskets filled with a plethora of sugary sweets and little knick-knacks they’ll forget about two minutes later. Instead, we’ll eat great food, decorate eggs, play yard games and simply enjoy spending quality time together. It’ll be different, but a good different. 

In order to stay on budget, I gathered an assortment of fun finds from Dollar Tree and Walmart. I can’t guarantee you’ll find the exact same items I did, but at least you’ll have a general idea of what to look for. Heck, you might actually find better, less expensive things than I did!

I knew I wanted my table to be simple, but also give me the ability to reuse as many items as possible. I chose a natural theme for a few reasons: low cost with great variety, and the fact that it can be very simple yet still look beautiful.

A few creative money saving ideas:

Here’s what I purchased from the Dollar Tree:

• 2 gold wire baskets = $2

• small plastic egg holders (that are actually snack trays), 12 in a pack = $1

• 1 bag green spanish moss = $1

• 4 votive candle holders = $4

• kraft wrapping paper roll = $1

• 6 gold chargers = $6

Here’s what I purchased from Walmart:

• 2 potted mint plants = $4

• 6 white cloth napkins = $7

• 1 bag brown spanish moss = $2.25

NOTE: the dishes and glass vase I already had so I didn’t include them in my estimate. And, the floral accents & branches in the vase I scavenged from my yard. You’ll be amazed at what you can find at home if you just do a little diggin’ around!

Grand total: $28.25 (plus $1.70 tax) = $29.95

There you have it! A beautiful yet very affordable nature inspired Easter table scape. I hope this inspires you decorate simply and affordably, then spend the majority of the day celebrating with family and friends. 

Happy Easter!