I will never forget being a kid and being told the Easter Bunny was unlikely to come this year because Mum quite simply couldn’t afford it.
At the time it was, and still is, a first world problem. We woke to chocolate eggs but they were burnt factory seconds and selling for 20 cents each at the local discount store, so they tasted like chocolate flavoured concrete in pretty foil.
We knew Mum just didn’t have the money to buy chocolate Easter Eggs, but she didn’t want us to miss out.
So through the risk of broken teeth we smiled and still laugh about it today. It was the poorest but best Easter for all the laughing we did.
It was kinda like the stick we used as a Christmas tree one year, not because it was a trendy or lazy thing to do, rather it was all we could afford.
But now 20 years on, I’m wondering how I can share some of these life and money lessons with my own kids at Easter, instead of succumbing to the all too easy, spoiling them rotten habit that they have become accustomed to.
According to a survey of 1,000 Australians, by ME Bank, the average Australian will fork out $62 on chocolate for Easter, an increase of $14 on last year’s average outlay.
Families are expected to spend even more, rising to $74, an increase of $4 on last year.
With this in mind we’ve come up with the following tips for spoiling your kids at Easter without spending much.
- Pick your chocolate eggs wisely. The cost of one good tasting egg can be worth much more than the taste of many bad ones, and good ones that can make you sick from an overdose. (Note: chocaholics may not agree!)
- Get crafty. The old hard boiled egg paint trick is still a winner. So are drawing, painting and the Easter Egg hunt.
- Spending time with your kids at Easter. Switch the phone and social accounts off. And just play.
If you’re needing a bit more help with picking chocolate on both taste and cost, then comparison website Mozo has also ranked this for you.
“Mozo’s tasting results throw the assumption that you have to pay more for great tasting chocolate out the window. We saw some cheaper and even no-frills brands give the more expensive brands a run for their money in the taste stakes,” says Kirsty Lamont, Mozo Director.
“Scooping up both the People’s and Expert’s Choice, Lindt’s bunny boasted the highest average overall score of 7.2 out of 10. At $4.50 per 100g, Lindt comes in as a more budget friendly option ahead of Kinder and Haigh’s.”
An overall scoring of 6.5 out of 10 saw Cadbury’s dairy milk Easter chocolate come in second place. Of the seven chocolates tested, Cadbury is third cheapest with a price point of $3.00 per 100g.
Surprisingly, Woolworths and boutique chocolatier Haigh’s were found to be on equal footing, with average overall scores of 4.8 and 4.9 respectively. However, at $9 per 100g, Haigh’s Hollow Egg costs more than four times the price of Woolworths’ per 100g.
“Haigh’s has nice milk chocolate caramel flavours, but I was expecting more from this company,” says David Ralph, expert chocolatier from Kakawa Chocolates.
Ralph says he found it difficult to tell the difference in taste and texture between Haigh’s and budget brand Red Tulip.
Not having a great aftertaste saw Red Tulip fare the worst in the tasting with an average overall score of just 3.8. Yet the classic brand ranked on par with Kinder and Woolworths in the expert’s assessments.
