Easter

6 Money Lessons We Can Learn From the Easter Bunny

Paul Michael — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 08:00:10 +0000

Easter is upon us once again, and with it comes the arrival of the Easter bunny and baskets full of treats. Sure, everything about this holiday is delicious and worth the caloric splurge — right down to the succulent Easter ham — but what can we learn from all this spending? Maybe it's time to embrace the bits of financial wisdom we can get from the Easter bunny himself. What can he teach us about this annual day of sweet treats? And how can he help us with our money over time?

1. Hard work is rewarded

Hunting for Easter eggs is something most of us remember fondly from our childhood, and pass on to the kids of today. And there's a simple lesson to be learned here; the more work you put in, the more you get out of it. In this case, get out there early, search every nook and cranny, and fill your basket with as many eggs as it can hold. Then, there's egg decoration. Many schools, and some families, like to make a competition out of the task. While a simple egg dipped in dye is ok, those who really go the extra mile win the day. And that can mean winning a basketful of goodies, or a fun experience.

In your career, your financial management, or a creative pursuit, the more effort you put in, the more you'll get out of the entire process. You'll also be much prouder of the reward you receive, knowing you truly earned it. So do the work and get the rewards — financial or otherwise.

2. Don't compare your assets with your neighbor's

How many times have you seen some kids continually look into the baskets of their friends, saying, "No fair, you have way more than me!" And "How many have you got?" They're so concerned with what others have, they get less eggs than they could if they were focused on their own egg haul. Plus, it's also a quick path to misery. They may have only four or five eggs in the basket, but that's still a bunch of free candy and goodies that they didn't have an hour earlier.

It's been said that we measure our happiness by our neighbors, and that can be frighteningly true. For example, you're proud of your new car, especially next to your neighbor's old rust bucket. But when they trade that in for a brand-new car twice the price of yours, with all the bells and whistles, your paradigm shifts. Your great car … now, is not so great, even though it's the exact same car. This attitude can make you spend money when you don't want to. So, focus on yourself, not what others have.

3. Never put all your eggs in one basket

When kids are running around, grabbing as many eggs as they can to load up their baskets, there's no problem. But in the real world, we want to avoid this practice.

Whether it's the stock market, your career, investors, or clients, diversification is the key. When it comes to your career, these days it's essential to have other irons in the fire. Layoffs happen daily in America, and all too often, people are finding it hard to get the same job because it's dying out. You should consider finding other ways to bring in money, in areas that are growing in strength; even if it's just a side business flipping thrift store finds on eBay. (See also: 15 Ways to Make Money Outside Your Day Job)

4. Something of value may not be visible … yet

That Easter egg hidden in the dense grass isn't something that can be found immediately. But for those with a little perseverance, it's waiting to be collected. So much that we do in life applies to that moment. It's the idea sitting in the back of your head that can become a business venture. It's the investment opportunity that seems like nothing special. Or, if we are to be very literal, it's a hidden treasure tucked away in your basement or attic; something worth a small fortune, just waiting to be uncovered one day. Keep your eyes peeled for the prospect of uncovering something of value, and it's much more likely to happen.

5. Don't judge a book by its cover

In the case of Easter, don't judge the contents of an egg by its shell. Many parents and schools will put the most valuable prizes, like cash and gift cards, inside the most unassuming eggs. The big, gold, shiny eggs may well be fool's gold, containing only a few candies.

Now, if you have ever shopped at a garage sale or thrift store, and found something valuable, you'll know it was hiding in plain sight. It didn't look like much, but to the right person, it was worth a lot. People can be judged in just the same way. Do you hire someone based on how they look, or what they offer? It is, of course, the latter. A home can look terrible at first glance, but after a little sweat equity, they can double in value. Find your hidden gem.

6. Something can come out of nothing

We all know (well, most of us, anyway) that the Easter bunny doesn't really exist. However, look at the excitement and incredible good will generated by the existence of this fantasy, including the revenue generated every Easter. We spend big bucks on this holiday each year. And yet, there is no bunny. There's no magic. It's all something we have created. So, do likewise with your finances. Can you find a way to create money out of something that doesn't exist right now? Is there a gap in the market? Do you see a need that is not being fulfilled, like all those contestants who appear on Shark Tank? It may not exist right now, but you can make it real, and you can make it a financial success.

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This article is from Paul Michael of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

10 Smart Things to Do With Leftover Easter Goodies

Ashley Marcin — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 09:00:11 +0000

The Easter holiday means a house filled with pastel… everything... cluttering the house. Don't toss all those goodies right away after. Instead, here are some ingenious ways to repurpose your leftovers for immediate use or year-round enjoyment.

1. Plastic Eggs (Practical)

These birdseed ornaments will liven up your backyard for pennies. Mix together flour, birdseed, water, and corn syrup. Scoop mixture into your plastic eggs, firmly packing to fit. Then close them up to set into your egg shape. Gently open the eggs (it helps to place them in a muffin tin) and let air dry for a few hours. To hang, tie some string or yarn around them. This tutorial makes about 18 small feeders.

2. Plastic Eggs (Pretty)

This sophisticated tealight flight is incredibly easy to make. Take your leftover plastic eggs, crack them in half (using the bottoms only), spray on a few coats of spray paint, and attach them to a piece of scrap wood with strong glue. Let everything dry before you place tealights inside to create a beautiful glow.

3. Plastic Eggs (Educational)

I've seen quite a number of ways to repurpose plastic eggs for learning. For my four-year-old daughter, I plan to work on reading skills with these word family eggs. Just collect your eggs, and use a permanent marker to write several letters on one half and the rest of the word on the second half of the egg. (For example, b-, c-, m-, s- and -at to make bat, cat, mat, and sat.) Your child can turn the sides of the eggs to create the different words and see how they relate.

4. Egg Dye

You've finished coloring your eggs — now what? Use leftover dye to get crafty. Try dying bare yarn in a rainbow of colors for whatever projects you have on your calendar. First, soak the yarn in vinegar and water. Get your dyes ready in different containers and use plastic pipettes for coloring. Apply the dye to the yarn, microwave to set, rinse, squeeze, and hang to dry.

5. Jelly Beans

Teach your kids some engineering basics using colorful jelly beans as your guide. To set up the experiment, you'll just need toothpicks, jelly beans, and some creative minds. Make cubes to start and then move on to more complicated shapes to see how they stabilize and shift. The author of this project said that these simple supplies gave her kids over a month of educational enjoyment.

6. Fake Grass

We typically fill our Easter baskets with fake grass of the paper variety. I then use whatever we have left for wrapping gifts (usually in gift bags) throughout the year. I've also used it as cheap packing material and given handfuls of it to my daughter to add dimension to art projects. Alternatively, you can carefully collect your leftovers and reuse them next year.

7. Hard-Boiled Eggs

Before eating your hard-boiled eggs, make sure they haven't been sitting out of the refrigerator for longer than two hours, haven't been in contact with pesticides or animal waste in an outdoor hunt, and aren't more than a week old. Once you've considered these food safety points, you can eat them plain, make deviled eggs, or whip up a delicious egg salad.

8. Candy

These leftover Easter candy cookies will help clear out your pantry shelves for fresh spring produce in no time. You simply mix together the dough base with flour, baking soda, sugars, salt, vanilla, and eggs. Then chop up two cups of whatever candy you have left (assorted chocolates probably work better than jelly beans), fold it into the dough, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown.

9. Baskets

Whether they're crazy colored or more neutral, you can always find great uses for baskets around your home. I store my daughter's markers, crayons, and other art supplies in small baskets that I keep in my craft room. When we're ready to do some coloring or art, I grab a basket and it helps keep everything tidy. Use yours to wrangle small toys (cars, blocks, etc.), books, or store it away to use again next year. Don't like your basket's looks? Spray paint it another color to suit your mood or decor.

10. Egg Crates

There are seriously a million ways you can reuse an egg carton in your home. My current favorite? I'm organizing my seedlings for the upcoming planting season. Just cut the lid off, poke a small hole in the bottom of each cup, fill each three-quarters full with soil, place your seeds inside, and put it on a plastic tray. Then label so you know what is what. (See also: 11 Creative Ways to Reuse Egg Crates)

How are you re-using your Easter stuff? Let us know in comments!

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This article is from Ashley Marcin of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

8 Reasons the Easter Bunny Should Give Money Instead of Candy

Tim Lemke — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 09:00:05 +0000

In 2015, the average family spent about $140 on Easter-related goodies. That's a lot of cash for a lot of sugar. Is it a good idea to be spending so much on something that's gone by the end of the spring? (Aside from those immortal Peeps, of course.) Or is it better to save your dough and give them some lessons in personal finance instead?

Now, I'm not going to be the one to suggest that the Easter Bunny forgo candy in favor of sensible financial gifts. It's the Easter Bunny, not the boring Easter Financial Planner, after all.

But there may be ways to weave in personal finance lessons while letting your kids gorge on some treats. Here are some good "financial" alternatives to chocolate bunnies and jelly beans, and why they're so much sweeter as gifts than sugary, empty calories.

1. Kids Need an Early Lesson in Saving

Many banks offer savings accounts for people under age 18, with parents having joint custody and control. Other banks, including Wells Fargo, have some accounts allowing children over 13 to have full control. Your kids are free to use the savings account and learn about deposits and withdrawals, interest, and even how to use an ATM card.

2. Savings Bonds Teach the Power of Patience

It's easy to purchase U.S. Treasuries through Treasurydirect.gov and gift them to whomever you want. You can even have a gift certificate delivered with the bond. Savings bonds are very simple financial instruments that are virtually guaranteed to grow in value over time and teach children about interest. And if they are long-term bonds, they'll get lessons in patience, as well.

3. Becoming a Choco-Stock Holder Is Way More Fun Than Just Eating Chocolate

If you want to let your kids embrace chocolate, but give some financial lessons along the way, give them a few shares of a chocolate or candy company. Hershey [NYSE: NSY] is the largest chocolate company in North America. Its stock is a solid performer with a 2.5% dividend. Another solid option is Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company [NASDAQ: RMCF]. And it's also possible to invest in international chocolate makers including Nestle and Cadbury.

4. They Can Learn How to Build a Nest Egg

Let's say you take that $140 you're planning to spend on Easter and instead, place it in an index fund that mirrors the S&P 500. If you do that every year for the next 10 years, you'll have more than $2,000 to give to your kiddos, according to most investment calculators. Do it for 20 years and you'll have more than $6,000. Do it for 30 years, and you'll have more than $14,000. Seems a lot better than cheap baskets and piles of fake grass, am I right?

5. Give Them an Early Start on Saving for College

It's hard to think about your kids going off to college when they still believe in the Easter Bunny. But college ain't cheap, and there may be no greater gift than helping them avoid thousands of dollars of debt when they graduate. A 529 college savings plan will allow you to put money into the stock market and have it grow tax-free, provided the funds are used for college later. And you may also get some additional tax breaks from your state. The annual cost of public college tuition in 2030 could top $40,000, while private school tuition might run you $90,000 or more, according to the College Board. Start saving now! (See also: The 9 Best State 529 College Savings Plans)

6. You Can Help Them Start a Business

When your kid is opening a Hershey bar, consider telling him the story of how Milton Hershey founded several businesses before hitting it big with chocolate. Your kid has great ideas. Why not help them see if they can turn their smarts and creativity into a money-making operation?

You can help them craft a business plan, learn how to develop and market products, and even keep a balance sheet. Many schools offer real-world business lessons through the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, so it's worth exploring whether the program is available in your area. Even if your child isn't ready to start a business now, giving them lessons in entrepreneurship can open up a world of opportunities later.

7. Make Chocolate With Them Instead of Buying It

Adults know it takes time to properly save for big ticket items like homes and cars, and that the most patient investors are the ones that come out ahead. By teaching your children to make chocolate instead of getting store-bought candy, they will learn the value of patience over immediate gratification. They'll also learn how to be frugal by exploring DIY options, rather than immediately spending money on pre-made, overpriced items. Because, after all, their homemade chocolate is bound to taste better than whatever the Easter Bunny drops off.

8. Give Them an Allowance — And a Budget to Buy the Chocolate

Depending on the child's age, it may be time to pay them for doing chores around the house. It's often recommended to give a child 50 cents a week for every year they've been alive. So a six-year-old might get $3 a week if they take care of their responsibilities. But the allowance should also come with lessons on spending. Set limits on what a child can spend each week, so they understand the power of accumulating savings. Who knows? Perhaps they'll realize they can afford even more than what was left on Easter morning.

What other gifts should the Easter Bunny give other than candy? Share with us in the comments!

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This article is from Tim Lemke of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

7 DIY Easter Baskets That Cost $10 or Less

Brittany Lyte — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 10:30:12 +0000

The Easter bunny will hop across America on Sunday, March 27. Four out of five Americans will participate in the celebration, spending upwards of $17 billion, or $145 per person, on everything from greeting cards and flowers to food and candy. If you're looking to cut back on this year's holiday splurge, a great place to start is the Easter basket. Read on for our guide to architecting a basket full of simple, stellar fillers for $10 or less.

1. The Beach Basket

If you live on the shore or you're planning an upcoming family beach vacation, try out a sunshine-and-sand-themed Easter basket. Start with a sand bucket. If you already own one, clean it up and use it, otherwise you can buy a new one for a couple bucks at your local party store. Fill the pail with low-cost beachy items, such as an inflatable beach ball, flip flops, or stuffed sea life animals.

If you have multiple children, consider drawing up paper invitations to a sand castle building contest! Give the contest a nifty name and be sure to outline the rules. For example, you might want to institute a one-hour time limit and declare yourself the judge. And don't forget to set the date! For inspiration, print out photos of spectacular sand castles and staple them into an idea book.

2. The Wellness Basket

Revolt against sugary jelly beans and the Russell Stover chocolate rabbit with a healthy spin on this year's Easter gift. To begin, swap the traditional wicker basket for your child's lunch box and fill it with healthy snacks. Think almonds, tangerines, grapes, and little boxes of raisins. If your child has a favorite fruit or veggie, be sure to include it. Toss in a jump-rope, fun Band-Aids, a stopwatch, or a cool pair of running socks for good measure.

3. Spring Has Sprung Basket

Dig around the garage for an empty flower pot. Scrub it clean and fill it with tulip bulbs and seed packets. Toss in a pair of gardening gloves, a shovel, and instructions on how to grow your own spring flowers — and voila! You've got yourself a green thumb spin on the traditional Easter basket.

4. For Your Little Artist

Got a wicker basket sitting around the house? Find some simple Easter-themed clip-art on the computer and print it out in black and white for homemade coloring sheets. Staple a few favorites together and you've got yourself a custom coloring book. Include a small box of crayons or a paintbrush and a set of non-toxic paint.

5. For the Tech-Head

For the child who's always glued to a screen: Fill a basket with handmade coupons redeemable for prizes. One iTunes song download. One movie download. One new smartphone app priced under $2. To make it last, add the stipulation that only one coupon can be redeemed per week. Staple the coupons into a book so they don't get lost in the shuffle of the holiday.

6. For Your Little Handyman

Clean up an old tool box and fill it with a toy hammer and wrench, a clipboard and paper, and a measuring tape. You can also pick up a kid-sized hard hat for $3 to $6 on Amazon. If you don't have a spare tool box sitting around the house, you can buy a plastic crate for about $1 at Walmart.

7. For the Fashionista

An inexpensive purse or a statement hat make for perfect replacement Easter baskets for little girls who love style and design. Fill the purse or the head of the hat with mini bottles of nail polish (navy, beige, gray, and apple red are trending right now), a pocket mirror, a brush, and a set of colorful barrettes.

What are you planning to spend on Easter baskets this year? What do you plan to include in them?

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This article is from Brittany Lyte of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

10 Ways to Have a Cheaper Easter

Mikey Rox — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 17:00:09 +0000

Easter has never been a break-the-bank holiday, but you can easily go overboard. Keep your bunny budget in check with these tips to cut costs during this time-honored spring celebration.

1. Shop For Easter Gifts on Presidents' Day or Post-Valentine's Day

Easter baskets are filled with more than sweets, like small trinkets, toys, and clothing. In fact, one of my favorite Easter gifts as a kid was a kite, and when I'm making an Easter basket for my husband, I like to include a swimsuit for summer. To save on this and other items I put in the basket, I shop ahead for holidays like Easter during big sale events throughout the year, like Presidents' Day and after Valentine's Day. The former is a great way to score big savings on clothing items, while the latter yields copious amounts of deeply discounted candy.

2. Make the Easter Egg Hunt a Neighborhood Affair

What's better than an Easter egg hunt with your family? An Easter egg hunt with multiple families! Not only is this a good chance to spend quality time with your neighbors and catch up after a long winter spent hibernating, but it also provides all the neighborhood kids with ample space and goodies to search and find.

To coordinate the effort, send out a free sign-up form from SignUpGenius asking participating families to contribute one dozen eggs for each child, which is made cheaper by buying plastic eggs in bulk. Users can leaves comments on the sign-up form to let everyone know what goodies they'll put in their eggs to ensure a wide variety of treats.

3. Use Multi-Purpose Containers as Easter "Baskets"

If you and your family have traditional Easter baskets that you use from year-to-year, that's awesome — and your kids will cherish it (or at least the memory of it) forever. If you don't, consider using multi-use containers that cost you no money out of pocket, or that you can repurpose after Easter. You can use something lying around the house — perhaps one of your kids' beach pails. Or, do like I did and buy a container that I already needed for the house; a nice basket I picked up for my dogs' toys, which I'll use as my husband's Easter basket this year.

4. Limit the Candy in Festive Packaging

Seasonal items are corralled into one section of the store because it makes all the holiday things easy to find. It also makes it more difficult for you to compare prices with the same items that come in everyday packaging — a stealthy marketing tactic that's silently robbing you blind.

When I recently walked down the Easter aisle at Target, I found lots of fun, pastel-colored goodies. Some of the prices were reasonable, but others were above and beyond a rip-off. The candies in plastic eggs, especially, have a high markup because of the price it costs the manufacturer for such festive packaging. They try to fool you with the $1 price tag — you think you're getting a great deal at just a buck — but don't be a sucker. Some of those packages have a mere handful of tiny candies inside the eggs whereas if you buy the regular-size bag of the same candy, you can get up to five times as much for around $2.50.

That's not to say you shouldn't buy any candy in festive packaging — what's Easter without a few bunnies and chicks in the basket? But limit yourself and fill the rest with treats from the everyday candy aisle. Your kids totally don't care what color the foil wrapping is on their favorite chocolate.

5. Ditch the Plastic "Grass" for Recycled Paper

What happens to all that non-biodegradable plastic "grass" that fills the bottom of Easter baskets to make them look prettier? It ends up in the trash, where it will eventually make its way to its forever home at a landfill (once your kids dig out all the loose jellybeans hidden underneath it). Save the planet and your money by reversing the process. Take colorful paper — like weekly circulars — out of the recycling bin, cut into thin shreds, and fill the baskets with this decorative "grass" instead.

6. Shop the Big-Box Craft Stores for Discounts

Most of you probably head to Walmart or Target for Easter items like plastic eggs and decorations (kudos if they're on sale), while savvier shoppers reduce costs by sticking to dollar stores. I take an altogether different approach and purchase these seasonal items at craft stores that consistently have 40% to 50% off sales and similar coupons on a daily to weekly basis. A.C. Moore and Michaels, in particular, are well known for their deep discounts that you can readily find with a few flicks of the finger. You can only use one coupon per one regular-price item, so you may have to spread out the purchases. My gym is right next to A.C. Moore, so I pop into the store several times a week to get everything I need at a serious savings.

If stopping by these stores multiple times to stock up isn't convenient for you, consider holding out until the last minute to get what you need.

"Typically, Easter egg packages at Hobby Lobby are $.88 or $.97, but during the last week before Easter they're an extra 40% off," says Melea Johnson, founder of Freebie2Deals.com. "Buy enough so it's only a one-time purchase that will last for years."

7. Search for Free Easter Activities in Your Area

If you don't live in a neighbor where an all-hands Easter egg hunt or Easter-themed activity is feasible, your family can still get in on holiday fun at other local events — for free.

"Don't pay to attend a huge Easter egg hunt in your city," Johnson advises. "There are plenty of places in your area that offer free Easter egg hunts throughout the weekend."

Search the Internet or browse your local calendars, like your Chamber of Commerce or nearby churches.

8. Pass on PAAS, Consider Kool-Aid Instead

Paas Easter egg kits are somewhat of an American tradition — at least they were when I was a kid — but with so many other options these days, it's probably not important to your kids with which brand their eggs are dyed. If that's the case, get creative to save cash by swapping out the prepackaged kit for a homemade version made from your kids' favorite flavored drink packets.

"Use Kool-Aid to dye your Easter eggs; it's so much cheaper than purchasing a dye kit — and it smells fruity, not like vinegar," Johnson suggests. "PAAS egg coloring kits start at $1.50ish. And each Kool-Aid packet costs around $.20, and store brands cost around $.12. You can pick and choose which colors you want to do and purchase a handful."

9. Take Advantage of "Free Dinner" Deals at Your Supermarket

I'm not sure if this is common in your neck of the woods, but several of the supermarkets around me offer a free ham for Easter if you meet a certain purchase criteria within a specified window of time, which is usually something like X amount of dollars spent each week for X many weeks.

Mike Collins, owner of the personal finance blog WealthyTurtle, loves to take advantage of this annual promotion.

"My number one tip to have a cheaper Easter is to get your main course for free," he says. "As a family of five we never have any problem reaching the minimum spending requirement, so we always get the meat for free and just have to pay for the sides."

10. Host a Potluck Dinner

While Mike Collins is paying for the sides, you can absolve yourself from all that jazz by hosting an Easter potluck. Pop your free ham into the oven to heat up (it's likely already cooked), and let your friends and family brings all the trimmings.

"One of the best ways to save on Easter is to have a potluck with family and friends. That way, you're not stuck with all of the costs, and usually your guests won't mind contributing by bringing a side dish, appetizer, or paper goods like plates and napkins," says CouponPal's Erin Konrad. "Not having to pay for all of the food and beverages also allows you to spend money on things like decorations, supplies for an Easter egg hunt, or party favors (if kids will be attending)."

Do you know more ways to have a cheaper Easter? Please share in comments!

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This article is from Mikey Rox of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Best Money Tips: Cheap Easter Crafts for Kids

Ashley Jacobs — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:00:32 +0000

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some stellar articles on cheap Easter crafts for kids, ways to save $100 in a month, and debt lessons from The Pursuit of Happyness.

Best Money Tips: Cheap and Fun Ideas for Easter

Ashley Jacobs — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:00:10 +0000

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some great articles on cheap and fun ideas for Easter, improving your resume, and tax tips to make your life easier.

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This article is from Ashley Jacobs of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

20 Creative Uses for Peeps Beyond the Easter Basket

Sonja Stewart — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 10:00:11 +0000

Love them or hate them, Peeps are here to stay. And I mean stay. The apocalypse will happen before they will go bad. And if there's ever a nuclear meltdown, viola! You have roasted Peeps. Here are new ways to use the eternal Easter treats. (See also: 5 Affordable, Eco-Friendly Easter Ideas)

1. Wreath

Hot-glue Peeps on a Styrofoam circle to make a Peeps wreath.

2. Table Centerpiece

Place chopsticks in the bottom of a dozen Peeps and arrange in a vase as a Peeps bouquet.

3. Outdoor Decor

Thread fishing line through the Peep heads, and hang on tree branches outside.

4. Collage

Make a mixed-media collage with Peeps.

5. Packaging

Use Peeps instead of packing peanuts for fragile shipments.

6. Romantic Gesture

Spell out your loved one's name on a bed using Peeps instead of rose petals.

7. Improved S'mores

Make Peeps S'mores using a microwaved Peep, a melted Cadbury egg, and graham crackers. You may fall into a sugar coma, but when you wake up, you'll realize it was worth it.

8. Garland

String Peeps on fishing line, leaving space in-between, and hang it as a garland across your windows.

9. Crown

Take floral wire and make the shape of a wreath around your head using a couple layers of wire. Then tie Peeps onto it that have been threaded with fishing line. You can also use fake daisies in-between the peeps to make a daisy/Peep chain for your head.

10. House of Horrors

Make a Peep house of horrors. Using the ever-faithful fishing line, hang Peep heads, ears, and beaks around the house on Easter morning. This is especially fun for teens.

11. Peeped-Up Egg Hunt

Have a Peep hunt Easter morning. Instead of eggs, which can rot if you don't find them all, hide Peeps. They won't rot. You can find one behind the couch next November, and you'll still be able to have a sturdy nibble. (Some people prefer stale Peeps to the fresh ones.)

12. DIY Candy Necklace

Peep necklaces are a fun way to entertain your children on Easter morning. String them with fishing line, and carefully intersperse jellybeans in-between each Peep.

13. Peepiary

Glue-gun Peeps onto a Styrofoam ball. Place a dowel in the bottom and place it in a decorative bucket with sand, rocks, or foam in the bottom to hold it. You have a Peep topiary.

14. Photo Frame

Glue-gun a wooden frame with Peeps and decorative Easter grass. Place your favorite Easter picture inside, and enjoy the ambiance.

15. Stamp

Use your Peep as a stamp. This one works best with the bunny-style Peep rather than the chick. Take your Peep and dip one side in your child's favorite washable, non-toxic paint. Then stamp away.

16. Peep Plate

Take your peeps and hot-glue-gun them to an inexpensive Easter platter that you can bring to parties. Just glue the edges so you have room to shove goodies on the plate...like more Peeps. A Peep platter, stuffed with Peeps. Never too much of a good thing.

17. Holiday Photos

Take pictures of Peeps in various locations around town. Then frame them for an Easter montage to be placed around your home once a year.

18. Peep Notebook

Take a Peep and glue-gun it to the cover of your favorite spring journal. You can also glue rows of them so they cover the whole notebook cover. This works best with the bunny ones rather than the chick ones. You can give it away or hoard it for yourself.

19. Peeps in a Jar

Fill a cute mason jar 1/4 full with spring-colored M&Ms. Then place the peeps around the inside, facing out. This works very well with the bunny ones.

20. Non-Lethal Warfare

Give them to the boys and encourage an outside Easter battle. Bonus: The carcasses are edible.

No spring is complete without your fill of these small, sugary confections. When you realize there are so many ways to fill your life with these treats, you may find yourself buying them in bulk to carry you through the year. Or you may just be waiting for the Peep season to pass. Either way, there's no escaping them.

This article is from Sonja Stewart of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Now is the time to buy: Easter Supplies

Andrea Karim — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 17:31:21 +0000

I was shopping for some paintbrushes* yesterday at one of my favorite arts-n-craft supply stores, and lo and behold, Easter supplies were still in stock- but discounted to really low prices.

Craft stores are a great place to stock up, because they carry such a range of goodies and decorations. Wreaths made from (faux) eggs, which were priced at $29 before Easter are now $9 each at my JoAnn's fabrics.

If you haven't done so already, now is the time to go get a good deal on Easter baskets, plastic eggs, and more bunny decorations that you can possibly fathom. Just throw them all in that big bin marked "Easter" and put 'em away until next year. When you open the box in 2008, you'll be delighted that you had the foresight to get out and buy stuff cheap, so all you'll need is some fresh jellybeans, some Peeps, and maybe a poor, defensely chocolate bunny or two.

(Picture by blueskygirl)

*Thank you, Paul, for pointing out that a paintbrush without a 't' is, in fact, a painbrush.

This article is from Andrea Karim of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

When Good Food Goes Bad Part V: Cooking with Peeps

Andrea Karim — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 20:01:58 +0000

I suppose defining Peeps, a favorite of my childhood, as "good" food that goes bad, might be a bit of a stretch.

Those marshmallow chicks that come in an array of unnatural colors go stale REALLY quickly. You open the pack, and about five minutes later, they're as good as inedible.

Despite the fact that we are all diabetics, my mum still buys each of her offspring a pack of Peeps every year. I'll nibble one or two, realizing that they're not nearly as sweet as I remember them. But honestly, I can't eat the whole box, so I usually end up throwing them away. That, and I have issues with anthropomorphic foods, meaning that I only ever eat the chocolate bunny (poor bunny!) once someone else threatens to take it away from me.

Anyway, it's my mother's thoughtfulness that leaves me with two boxes of uneaten Peeps this Easter Sunday. Thank goodness a local chef has come up with a way to prevent waste and consume strange dishes using the poor, innocent, marshmallow chicks.

Seattle chef Jason Wilson had the brilliant idea of melting down the Peeps and pretending that they are actually edible. Below is one of the recipes, the only frugal one to be found. The other recipes involve truffle oil and foie gras, two ingedients that no self-respecting chef would cook without, especially now that arugula has fallen out of favor, but certainly not two items that most people have simply lying around the house. Hence, I'm only posting the frugal ones, but check out Wilson's recipe for Green Eggs and Ham at Weekend America's site. You can download and listen to the show's podcast here.

Peep Fondue

Ingredients:
2 rows of Peeps, one blue, one yellow
1 tbsp. Butter
1/3 cup water
1/2 pear, sliced
1/2 apple, sliced
chocolate cookies
cheese, sliced into logs

Procedure:
In a saucepot on low heat, slowly melt the Peeps with the butter and water, stirring consistently. When Peeps are melted and fondue is ready, serve in a fondue pot, keeping mixture warm because it will become solid if left to be cold.

Terri's Peep Hut also offers up some fun, if more conventional, takes on how to use up Peeps for all seasons. My personal favorite:

Peepuccino

Dissolve one peep in a very hot cup of black coffee – species and color
of peep is of your choosing. Stir until frothy.

Geekbabe also has some excellent Peeps links.

This article is from Andrea Karim of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Easter

6 Money Lessons We Can Learn From the Easter Bunny

1. Hard work is rewarded

2. Don't compare your assets with your neighbor's

3. Never put all your eggs in one basket

4. Something of value may not be visible … yet

5. Don't judge a book by its cover

6. Something can come out of nothing

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10 Smart Things to Do With Leftover Easter Goodies

1. Plastic Eggs (Practical)

2. Plastic Eggs (Pretty)

3. Plastic Eggs (Educational)

4. Egg Dye

5. Jelly Beans

6. Fake Grass

7. Hard-Boiled Eggs

8. Candy

9. Baskets

10. Egg Crates

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8 Reasons the Easter Bunny Should Give Money Instead of Candy

1. Kids Need an Early Lesson in Saving

2. Savings Bonds Teach the Power of Patience

3. Becoming a Choco-Stock Holder Is Way More Fun Than Just Eating Chocolate

4. They Can Learn How to Build a Nest Egg

5. Give Them an Early Start on Saving for College

6. You Can Help Them Start a Business

7. Make Chocolate With Them Instead of Buying It

8. Give Them an Allowance — And a Budget to Buy the Chocolate

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7 DIY Easter Baskets That Cost $10 or Less

1. The Beach Basket

2. The Wellness Basket

3. Spring Has Sprung Basket

4. For Your Little Artist

5. For the Tech-Head

6. For Your Little Handyman

7. For the Fashionista

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10 Ways to Have a Cheaper Easter

1. Shop For Easter Gifts on Presidents' Day or Post-Valentine's Day

2. Make the Easter Egg Hunt a Neighborhood Affair

3. Use Multi-Purpose Containers as Easter "Baskets"

4. Limit the Candy in Festive Packaging

5. Ditch the Plastic "Grass" for Recycled Paper

6. Shop the Big-Box Craft Stores for Discounts

7. Search for Free Easter Activities in Your Area

8. Pass on PAAS, Consider Kool-Aid Instead

9. Take Advantage of "Free Dinner" Deals at Your Supermarket

10. Host a Potluck Dinner

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Best Money Tips: Cheap Easter Crafts for Kids

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Best Money Tips: Cheap and Fun Ideas for Easter

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News & Events

20 Creative Uses for Peeps Beyond the Easter Basket

1. Wreath

2. Table Centerpiece

3. Outdoor Decor

4. Collage

5. Packaging

6. Romantic Gesture

7. Improved S'mores

8. Garland

9. Crown

10. House of Horrors

11. Peeped-Up Egg Hunt

12. DIY Candy Necklace

13. Peepiary

14. Photo Frame

15. Stamp

16. Peep Plate

17. Holiday Photos

18. Peep Notebook

19. Peeps in a Jar

20. Non-Lethal Warfare