Think Outside the Egg, Montana. Five Items to Color for Easter

Average US egg prices have dropped from their record high in February of $8 a dozen to a somewhat more reasonable $5 a dozen. It's hardly a bargain, though. The current egg price is still more than double what they were 1 year ago ($2.14 in March of 2024).

My family will be dying Easter Eggs this year, but we might cut it back from our usual 36-count of eggs to 24 or 18. If you're wondering about dying or painting other items, here are five things that are cheaper than eggs to consider.

Marshmallows. Credit Walmart

Hard marshmallows

A 10 oz. bag of Great Value marshmallows is just $1.17. They're not exactly round, but are vagualy egg-shaped. Dump them on a cookie sheet and let them air dry for a few days to become hard. The marshmallows should absorb Easter egg dye quite well.

Rocks are abundant in MT. Credit Michael Foth, TSM/Canva

River rocks

Montana is covered with rocks. Head to your favorite spot on the river with a five-gallon bucket and fill it up with round-ish rocks. You can't dye them, of course, but kids - and adults - enjoy painting rocks. You can't beat the price.

Get our free mobile app

Dye some potatoes and make a colorful potato salad. Credit Walmart

Potatoes

A 3 lb bag of yellow potatoes can be had for $2.12 at Walmart. Peel and boil them (if you plan to eat them later), and once they're cool, you can dip them in Easter egg dye. The potatoes will absorb the dye and make for an extremely colorful potato salad.

Wooden eggs are cheaper than real eggs. Credit Walmart

Wooden eggs

It's crazy that you can buy wooden eggs for less money than real eggs. Walmart online has packs of 20 wooden eggs for $3.26. I suspect the unfinished wooden eggs would absorb food dye fairly well, or you could paint them.

Credit Canva

Cauliflower florets

Cauliflower is certainly not egg-shaped, but this could be a fun, healthy Easter tradition to start at your house. The colorful cauliflower trend is all over TikTok. Cauliflower readily absorbs food dye, and you can buy a head of cauliflower for as little as $3.12.

Do you have any other great ideas for things to dye or paint for Easter instead of eggs? Leave a comment if you're reading this article on Facebook, or shoot us a message on our app.

10 Fun or Unique Ways to Decorate Easter Eggs

Eventually, they introduced more colors like neon, decorative stickers, and other decorations to offer more options. But now there is everything from gadgets that will rotate eggs to eco-friendly egg kits, here are a few fun options for Easter eggs this year.

Gallery Credit: Tony Hart