Egg prices are still soaring. Some families find less expensive alternatives for Easter decorations. They dye and paint potatoes, marshmallows, or even rocks.

Last month, the average price of eggs reached a new record high. $6.23 per dozen! For years, the average price stayed below $2.00.

Some families post videos of their creative crafts on the internet. One video shows a mom filling cupcake tins with dye. Her child skewers marshmallows with toothpicks before dipping them into the food coloring. 

Another family created marshmallow chicks by dipping marshmallows into yellow food coloring. The eyes are dots of black icing. Orange M&Ms turn into beaks and feet.

Other videos show shoppers plucking bags of potatoes off the shelf.

“Potatoes are about the only thing I can afford,” one parent comments. 

Kelly Friedl lives in Chicago, Illinois. She dyes eggs for Easter with her two kids every year. This year, they are doing something a little different. The family made foil eggs. Try it yourself. Cut egg shapes out of cardboard and wrap them in foil. That makes shiny eggs to decorate and reuse.

The Paas company sells egg dyeing kits. Its recent survey shows that most families who celebrate Easter will still dye eggs this year. But almost eight out of 10 of those families say they will dye fewer than in past years because of the cost.

Craft store Michaels says its craft kits with plastic, plaster, or wooden eggs are flying off the shelves. Walmart carries a carton of 12 plastic eggs with dye supplies. It also offers Play-Doh kits.

Easter, or Resurrection Sunday, celebrates Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. So why do many folks decorate eggs? Eggs are a symbol of new life because chicks emerge from them. Christians have used that symbolism to represent Jesus emerging from the tomb. 

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. — 1 Peter 1:3