In comparison to other holidays that are widely celebrated in America, and particularly in my community of Monroe, Mich., Easter is a relatively frugal holiday season.

The trick is to focus on the traditional religious and cultural celebrations of the spring holiday, and bypass the trendy ideas that can and will become fairly expensive, fairly fast.

Think about it:

• The season of Lent before Easter is a time when many Christians abstain from meat on Fridays or abstain from frivolous expenses such as candy. I know someone who decided to go meatless for the entire season of Lent. It’s a lot easier to take the “frugal option” for recreation or meal planning when friends, relatives and colleagues are doing that too, even when different motives are involved.
• Easter brunch or Easter dinner is no more elaborate than, and actually fairly simple in comparison to, Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner. (And the grocery stores are just as hungry for your business, which means the shopper who pays attention to the deals can get a lot for her money.)
• The most popular foods at Easter include eggs. How frugal is that? And it’s  cheaper to use the traditional methods of food coloring and vinegar to color the eggs (or the REALLY old methods such as boiling water with certain herbs or plants) than it is to use the newer dyes and plastic “wraps.”
• Candy is a big deal at Easter, but no more so than at Christmas, and certainly much less money need be spent on candy at Easter than for Halloween.
• Easter baskets, plastic eggs and other candy containers can easily be recycled or purchased off-season and saved for the next year. If you use the same Christmas stockings year after year, why are you buying new Easter baskets?
• If you like to decorate your home for the season, there are relatively few “themes” to pick from for Easter. The traditional Easter colors and motifs also are less likely to become dated than the ever-changing visual trends we see at Christmas.
• There is a tradition of “Sunday best dress” for Easter, but it’s no more expensive than what attire is traditional at Christmas. Besides, Easter attire can be more easily recycled for occasions such as weddings, graduations or First Communion celebrations as compared to a typical Christmas outfit. And there are very few occasions when you can re-use a Halloween outfit.
• There are no expectations of “lighted” indoor or outdoor Easter holiday displays that can eat into the electric bill. Yes, there were attempts some years ago at selling Easter tree decorations. But how many people bought into that concept? The “spring ornaments” I acquired are ones that blend in well with my Christmas tree ornament collection.
• There isn’t as much social pressure to travel on the Easter holiday weekend as compared to Thanksgiving or Christmas. (Is there a song “I’ll be home for Easter”?)
• For those families who send out Easter greeting cards, you’ll find that the Easter card list is much shorter than the Christmas card list.
• There is no reason to buy toys and videos at Easter. The stores would like you to think so, but really, there is no need for it. Tell the children that Easter bunny brings eggs and candy. (And watch for the candy sales because the retail competition is pretty fierce.)
• There are lots of free, family-friendly Easter events in the Monroe, Mich., area (and many other communities across America) ranging from the Easter egg hunts on Palm Sunday weekend to the Good Friday Journey to the Cross program in Ida. (There may be more numerous events at Christmas and Halloween, but the variety of Easter events is just amazing. It’s OK to be a “church visitor” to Holy Week events if you don’t belong to a congregation or your church’s schedules are not convenient. Many churches expect and welcome visitors this time of year.)

Check through my archives under keyword “holidays” for discussions about Easter, Lent, and other holiday seasons throughout the year.