Easter is getting so expensive that some parents are putting socks and leftover Halloween candy in their kids' baskets

By Charles Passy

With candy prices up, here's how people are saving money while putting their Easter baskets together

These days, plenty of parents are finding economical ways to fill out an Easter basket.

For many consumers, celebrating Easter has become an increasingly expensive proposition. But for others, it has turned into an opportunity to flex their money-saving muscles - even to the point of stuffing socks and underwear in those holiday baskets.

At least that's how Sarah Rubino of Los Angeles, a mother to two boys, is approaching the springtime holiday coming up this Sunday. Rubino says she's aiming to economize as much as possible - and that means everything from buying lower-priced candy in bulk to reusing baskets from previous Easters.

And, yes, she plans to include some necessities among this year's offerings, including socks and underwear. Rubino said she'll tie the clothing items up with a colorful ribbon to "make sure it fits with the aesthetic." She adds that she's not worried her boys will balk at the idea.

Rubino is hardly alone in rethinking her Easter spending. It undoubtedly speaks to the fact that candy - typically, the biggest basket staple - is pricier than ever, with one report showing consumers are now getting 40% less of the sweet stuff for the same amount of money compared to 2020. And that's to say nothing of other financial pressures consumers are facing these days - notably, $4-a-gallon gas.

So when the going gets tough, the tough ... use leftover candy.

That's another money-saving method that some consumers are embracing during this and recent Easters. On a Reddit thread, one commenter said they are "putting uneaten Halloween candy in Easter eggs." On another Easter-related thread, a different commenter said: "We also throw in any leftover birthday favors and stocking stuffers." (They didn't reference candy canes, but who knows?)

Of course, a more typical way to save money cited by many Easter shoppers is buying store-brand candy instead of the name-brand kind. Store brands are typically 25% to 30% cheaper, according to the Private Label Manufacturers Association.

And for candy and a range of other basket-filling items, shoppers are also turning to discount outlets. "Don't be afraid to hit up your nearest dollar stores," said Brian Theis, a cookbook author who likes to put his thrift-minded ways to good use during Easter.

Dollar stores aren't the only retail option when it comes to economizing on Easter spending. Christine Gast, a New Jersey resident who shops for her five nephews, is big on thrift stores, especially for the clothes and stuffed animals she purchases to fill out those baskets. She said she also sources "buy nothing" groups on Facebook for toys and books that "my neighbors no longer need."

Gast goes as far as to create her own bubble solution to keep her nephews in soap bubbles for the holiday. "I'm not paying anything" for it, she said, explaining that she just uses the dishwasher soap she already has.

What about the physical baskets themselves? Gast also finds those at thrift stores. But Melanie Ferguson, a content creator behind the Southern Crush at Home platform, suggests other affordable ways to garner or fashion a basket on the cheap. In fact, she's done a whole video on the subject.

What could be Ferguson's most cost-conscious basket is not really a basket at all. Rather, she takes a plain white bag and decorates it to the max - an "Easter basket of sorts," as she describes the final product.

Is Ferguson worried about looking too cheap? Not really - young children are a lot less particular than people may think, she notes. "Kids like just about everything," she said - pointing to how, at Christmas, the most popular "gift" often turns out to be a big box itself, rather than the item inside it.

Still, if you opt for a bunch of low-cost or practical things to fill out an Easter basket, it doesn't hurt to throw in a splurge item or two. At least that's what Rubino says; she's putting a special stuffed toy in one basket she's fashioning, alongside the socks and underwear.

In the end, she said, "you have to spend a little" for the holiday.

-Charles Passy

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04-04-26 1039ET