3 Steps to a Stress Free and Frugal Easter

Is it your turn to host Easter this year? That can be stressful… and expensive. But it doesn’t have to be. I want to share with you my tips to make hosting Easter (or any Holiday for that matter) enjoyable, easy, and inexpensive.

First, let me share a story of how my family (actually, my husband’s family) does Easter. But I need to preface this by explaining the age and quantity of children. As you may know, I have 4 kids; and their ages range from 2 up to 10. My sister-in-law also has 4 kids; their ages range from 4 to 10. And yet another sister-in-law also has 4 kids, aged 1 to 8. And finally, there’s one more sister-in-law with *only* 2 kids, aged 1 and 4.

Did you lose count? That’s 14 kids between the ages of 1 and 10, plus all the adults. A few years ago, we tried the whole sit down dinner with a ham or a roast and it just didn’t work – and that was when we had fewer kids.

So here is our solution for Holiday meals – all hors d’oeuvres. This might sound boring to you, but it’s anything but boring. Here’s what we serve:

• A plate of cheeses – a nice variety from soft and mild brie to sharp cheddars, and some nice blue cheese – all served with crackers.
• Cured meats to go with the cheeses and crackers – hard salami, pepperoni, soppressata, and prosciutto just to name a few.
• Spinach and artichoke dip.
• A couple pizzas (for the kids).
• Wine, beer, coffee, etc.

Maybe this wouldn’t work for you. And it might not work for us a few years from now… my point is this – when you’re hosting the Easter dinner, it’s ok to think outside the box. The point is to enjoy your guests, many of which might be family you only see a couple times a year.

So here are my 3 tips to give you a fantastic, low-stress, and inexpensive Easter:

1. Plan based on the ages of your guests.

Count up the people that will be in attendance, and their ages, and plan the food and activities based on that. If your extended family is anything like mine, maybe a big formal sit down meal won’t be the that enjoyable. Maybe you could keep the kids busy with an Easter egg hunt while the grownups have a nice (and quiet) meal.

If there are no little kids, then have that big meal!

2. Delegate and get help!

Just because you’re hosting doesn’t mean you have to do EVERYTHING. No one enjoys a host who is frantically running around making sure everything is perfect.

In my family, we figure that the person who is hosting the physical location of the Easter festivities is doing enough just by having it at their house. See if someone else can prepare the main course and simply bring it over ready to place in the oven at your home.

As for hors d’oeuvres, your guests can bring those. Hosting is a lot of work. So don’t be afraid to ask for help.

3. Stop at ALDI first.

No matter what type of meal that you might be serving – here’s my secret that will help keep it within a budget – ALDI. For real, if you haven’t been there in a while, they have a HUGE selection of those specialty items that you might not think you could get there.

All those special meats and cheeses? Yup, we get them all at ALDI.

Amazing boneless or bone-in Easter Ham? There’s a great selection at ALDI. Speaking of ham, have you checked out this Pineapple-glazed Easter Ham recipe? Oh my gosh. It’s so good.

And for other colorful Easter-inspired treats and sweets, ALDI products are now completely free of certified synthetic colors and dyes, partially hydrogenated oils, and added MSG.

And here is tip #4 – this is a bonus tip – SIT DOWN and enjoy your company. The star of any holiday get-together is the people that are there.

Available while quantities last. Items may not be available in all stores. Prices and labels may vary by location. Are you hosting Easter this year? Check out ALDI on their Facebook, Twitter & Instagram accounts for more hosting inspiration!

This post was written as part of the ALDI Influencer program, all opinions and thoughts are 100% my own.