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

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. 

Give Christmas Lights a Second Chance

Christmas lights on wooden background
elenaleonova/istockphoto

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.

Turn Soup Cans Into Flower Vases

Flowers in tin cans
mspoli/istockphoto

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.

Use Wrapping Paper in Place of a Table Runner

wrapping paper rolls
ronstik/shutterstock

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.

Repurpose Cookie Cutters

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

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!

Hang a Handcrafted Banner

Easter bunny banner
gojak/istockphoto

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.

Make a Candle More Colorful

Closeup of jelly beans in a glass jar
Pgiam/istockphoto

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.

Bring the Great Outdoors Indoors

Branches in a vase next to Easter eggs
Vitakot/istockphoto

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.

Turn Dollar Store Figurines Into a Modern Display

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

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.

Weave an Easter Basket

Closeup of child making a paper Easter basket
wildpixel/istockphoto

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.

Use Paint Samples To Make an Easter Garland

Paint samples
scyther5/istockphoto

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.

Freshen Up Place Settings

pink tulips
Claudia Paulussen/shutterstock

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.

Create an Easter Door

Easter craft supplies
lucop/istockphoto

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.

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Meet the Writer

Raechel Conover has been a staff writer for Cheapism since 2010. In that time she has written hundreds of stories and review articles for the website, many of which have also appeared on Yahoo, MSN, TIME, The New York Times and various other websites. She also played a key role in developing the Cheapism blog and served as the blog manager for a number of years.

Now with three young kids she remains a regular contributor to Cheapism.com. She’s a self-confessed shopaholic and frugal mom, always scouring the clearance racks for deals, utilizing local resale websites, and stacking coupons. When she isn’t writing or deal hunting, she can be found taking full advantage of free community activities and events with her husband and children.

Raechel has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Communications from The Ohio State University. Based in Dublin, Ohio, Raechel also does freelance writing work and social media consulting for local companies.