There have been a lot of jokes and memes circulating about using potatoes for Easter this year instead of eggs. All jokes aside, this idea is actually a fun and affordable Easter craft to do with your family! But, no, it won’t save you money. Eggs are still averaging $4 per dozen right now in most states, though we’ve seen many Walmart and Target stores under $3 per dozen. And they’re expected to drop even more in price throughout 2023. However, if you are living in an area with outrageous egg prices, or just want to try something new this year, consider painting potatoes instead of eggs for Easter.
To keep costs down, check your local Walmart for a 5-pound bag of potatoes and aim for $4 or less. At around $4 for five pounds, that works out to $0.40 per potato for average medium potatoes, or $0.30 per potato if you get a bag with a lot of smaller potatoes. Eggs at $4 per dozen work out to $0.33 each and at $3 per dozen, you’re only paying $0.25 per egg. So, unfortunately, the potato idea won’t save you any money. But it’s still a fairly inexpensive (and fun!) family craft for Easter.
Tip: Be sure to download The Krazy Coupon Lady app for tips to save on groceries and more Easter craft ideas!
Painting potatoes instead of eggs is possible (and affordable).
The supplies for painting potatoes instead of eggs are pretty minimal. You need a total of four items, and everything — aside from the potatoes — can be found at the dollar store. While shopping for your potatoes, look for a bag that has around 20 small potatoes rather than a dozen huge ones. These smaller potatoes look more like eggs, and you’ll get more crafts per dollar by opting for more potatoes per bag.
What you’ll need:
- Bag of potatoes (look for about 20 small potatoes)
- Paint (Dollar Tree, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby), $1 each
- White paint or primer (optional, but helpful)
- Paint brushes or cotton swabs
And now on to the fun part! Here are all the steps for painting potatoes instead of eggs this Easter.
Wash the potatoes to remove any dirt or debris.
To ensure the paint adheres to the potatoes, you’ll want to give them a good wash before painting. Rinse them under water and use a paper towel to gently clean the skin. Try not to break the skin because you’ll want that surface to paint smoothly. Let them dry completely before starting the next step.
Prime with white paint or primer to give your potatoes a more vibrant end result.
This step is optional, but we think it makes a huge difference. By giving the potatoes a quick white layer, your colorful paints will be much more vibrant. If you want the eggs to look bright and colorful, we recommend you do this step!
Shop primer:
Start with a base coat color.
Once you’ve got a dry, primed layer, it’s time to cover your potato in a base color. Pastel colors are a fun Easter option, but you can really use any color palette you want for these. You can either leave the eggs one solid base color or move on to the next step.
Shop paints and brushes:
Time to get creative and paint these Easter spuds like eggs.
Here’s the fun part! Get creative with designs like polka dots, stripes, chevron patterns, or really anything your heart desires. Try using different-sized paint brushes to create lots of fun designs on the potatoes.
Related: Having a DIY Chicken Coop vs. Buying Eggs: What’s Exactly Cheaper?
Let the Easter bunny do their thing. Plus, if these “eggs” get lost outside, they will sprout and not rot.
One of the best things about painting potatoes instead of eggs is that you can still hide them for an Easter egg hunt, but don’t need to worry about them rotting if you miss one. They’ll sprout outside, and maybe you’ll end up with a little potato farm!
Potato stamps are another fun option for painting potatoes instead of eggs.
Painting these spuds whole isn’t your only option, either. You can turn them into stamps for another fun and easy Easter craft. Using the same supplies as above — along with a knife — you can create your own potato egg stamps.
Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and create some fun designs.
This part is for adults only. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise so you have an oval egg shape. Use the knife to carve out designs in the egg to create fun shapes.
Paint the designs to create the stamp effect.
Use paintbrushes to apply paint in fun patterns along the designs you cut out. Using more than one color will have brighter, more festive results. And you can also skip the priming step here! No need to do a white layer; just paint your colorful paint directly onto the potatoes.
Press the painted potato half onto paper for a pretty Easter “egg.”
Press the potato half firmly onto a piece of paper to create the stamped egg. Be sure to press evenly to create the egg shape. You can even repaint the potato to use the same design multiple times. You can do one potato design per paper or get wild and use all your potato stamps on the same piece of paper.
Hang them on the fridge or display them with dollar store picture frames.
Let the potato stamp eggs dry completely and then hang them on the fridge. Or, use dollar store frames to create potato egg art you can use every year in the spring!
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