Hop to It! 12 Cheap and Easy Ways To Decorate for Easter

Easter basket with eggs and bunny ears on a white background. Beautiful Easter composition. Festive decor.
Marina Bagrova/istockphoto

Easter Decorations on a Budget

There are plenty of ways to celebrate Easter: Attend a church service, dye Easter eggs, buy a bag of the best jelly beans around. But before running to the craft store to sped hundreds of dollars or loading up at the grocery store for an elaborate Easter brunch, try making these 12 cheap and easy Easter decorations. Everything on our list can be created with inexpensive supplies or by repurposing things you already own.

Editor's Note: This story was updated March 2024.

Christmas lights on wooden background
elenaleonova/istockphoto

Give Christmas Lights a Second Chance

Lights can liven up any holiday — and provide extra value if you use them more than once a year. Dig out a box of white lights from the basement or the garage and create an Easter bunny outline. The colored lights can make festive Easter eggs.

Flowers in tin cans
mspoli/istockphoto

Turn Soup Cans Into Flower Vases

To display Easter flowers, just save used soup cans or glass jars, wash them out, and wrap them in scraps of fabric. Turn this idea into a craft project for kids by letting them use non-toxic paint to dress up the cans or jars in simple pastel patterns, such as stripes and polka dots.

wrapping paper rolls
ronstik/shutterstock

Use Wrapping Paper in Place of a Table Runner

Try using brown craft paper or eco-friendly wrapping paper as a table runner for an Easter celebration. Young kids can decorate it with Easter stickers (there are always some left over from those egg decorating kits), crayons, markers, and watercolors. The paper is also handy for protecting the table from spills or drips while decorating eggs or tackling other craft projects.

Bunny cookie cutter with eggs and baking ingredients in the background
MKucova/istockphoto

Repurpose Cookie Cutters

As a cute Easter brunch, fry up eggs or pancakes in bunny or chick shapes using metal cookie cutters. For an Easter celebration later in the day, place the cookie cutters on a small plate and fill with pistachios or a single color of Easter M&M's. No more party mixes in plain glass bowls!

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Easter bunny banner
gojak/istockphoto

Hang a Handcrafted Banner

For a sweet, homemade Easter banner to hang, there are a number of ways to go, from fun versions using cereal boxes to a vintage style using pages from a tired book. This bunny bunting project steps it up a bit, calling for burlap, felt, and a glue gun.

Related: These Cheap Easter Basket Ideas Are Anything but Basic

Closeup of jelly beans in a glass jar
Pgiam/istockphoto

Make a Candle More Colorful

If you have a pillar candle in a glass hurricane candleholder displayed year-round, surround the base of the candle with jelly beans for an easy Easter makeover. No hurricane candleholders in the house? Fill an empty glass vase with jelly beans instead.

Branches in a vase next to Easter eggs
Vitakot/istockphoto

Bring the Great Outdoors Indoors

Your yard can yield Easter decor even if the daffodils have yet to pop. Fill a large vase with branch clippings for a starkly elegant — and free — decoration. Add a pop of color by tying the bushel of branch clippings with a colorful pastel ribbon in a bow.

Related: The Best Things to Buy at the Dollar Store

White bunny figurines next to a flower arrangement
grau-art/istockphoto

Turn Dollar Store Figurines Into a Modern Display

Try this idea to put an elegant spin on Easter decor: Pick up Easter-themed ceramic figurines, prime them, then spray paint them a uniform white. Cluster them together surrounded by moss or Easter grass to create a centerpiece, or display them on a shelf.

Closeup of child making a paper Easter basket
wildpixel/istockphoto

Weave an Easter Basket

This craft can be a cute way to display eggs as well as reuse some everyday items that might otherwise be thrown out. Don't worry, no basket-making course required — just pick up items like plastic mesh berry baskets, construction paper, and glue, and follow these simple instructions.

Paint samples
scyther5/istockphoto

Use Paint Samples To Make an Easter Garland

Hit the local home improvement store and grab a handful of paint samples in bright colors (or dig up any you might have considered for a wall). Cut them into the shape of an egg and use a hole punch and twine to string them into a cute egg garland.

pink tulips
Claudia Paulussen/shutterstock

Freshen Up Place Settings

When setting the table for Easter dinner, why not make each place special? Pick a handful of fresh tulips and attach one to each rolled napkin with a color-coordinated ribbon. This will make the table feel both simple and elegant.

Easter craft supplies
lucop/istockphoto

Create an Easter Door

Use basic materials to turn the front door into a bunny or an Easter egg. A white, gray, or beige door transforms easily into a bunny with eyes made of white paper plates and black construction paper, ears and a nose cut from poster board, and black electrical tape for whiskers. To make an Easter egg entryway, use poster board to create zigzags, polka dots, and stripes in a rainbow of colors. Place them in rows that span the width of the door in the middle and get shorter toward the top and bottom, to suggest an egg shape.

This article was originally published on Cheapism

Easter basket with eggs and bunny ears on a white background. Beautiful Easter composition. Festive decor.
Marina Bagrova/istockphoto

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