Are WA residents buying eggs this Easter after price spike earlier this year?

From Easter egg hunts to decorating eggs, for some, eggs are a common sight in Easter traditions.

Since the dramatic spike in egg prices in early 2025, prices have settled down a bit. According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the wholesale price of a dozen eggs currently sits at just over $3.00, down from a peak of over $8.00 in mid-February.

“The national egg supply has been strained due to bird flu, but the good news is that it has been more than a month since the last significant detection of bird flu on an egg farm, which has helped to stabilize the wholesale egg market,” Emily Metz, president of the American Egg Board, said in a statement to McClatchy.

But the price for consumers is still around 50% higher than it was at this time last year, mostly due to bird flu.

“Americans eat and decorate more than three billion eggs every Easter season,” Metz said.

There’s been some speculation that the price change could put the annual tradition at risk. Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that some have turned to alternatives, including potatoes and marshmallows, in place of the classic hard-boiled eggs.

But with the average cost of a dozen eggs at $4.28 nationally, according to the USDA, will Washingtonians be doing the same?

Is WA still buying eggs this Easter?

Andrea Kingsford is the recreation supervisor for the Marysville parks department, which is holding both an Easter egg decoration event and its annual “EGGstravaganza” Easter egg hunt this year.

Marysville uses specially-ordered heavy-duty plastic eggs for their egg hunt, which will take place on April 19, but the decorating event features real eggs.

“We knew about the price change, so we just planned that into our budget,” Kingsford said in a phone call with McClatchy. “It’s not a huge event, so it was affordable for us.”

According to Kingsford, the egg hunt used real eggs at one point too, but hasn’t in at least two decades.

“We use plastic eggs that are candy filled, and with the exception, we do have some sticker filled eggs for our zero to two-year-olds,” Kingsford said.

Plastic eggs are widely available in stores and some places even sell plastic egg and dye kits.

“The traditional eggs that you can get at the store, and nowadays, of course, there are eggs shaped like carrots and eggs shaped like little bunnies and sparkly eggs and glitter eggs and golden eggs and plain eggs. There are even LED eggs,” Kingsford said.

But Kingsford added that many people still prefer to make their Easter eggs from scratch.

“I know a lot of families love to boil the eggs and dye the eggs,” Kingsford said.

Are Easter egg alternatives on the rise?

In addition to potatoes and marshmallows, some have suggested making Easter eggs from fabric, felt, paper mâiché or other common crafts supplies this year. However, Lily Meraz-Straws, a manager at arts and crafts supply store Craft Warehouse in Kennewick, said that she hasn’t seen a surge in customers looking to craft their own Easter egg alternatives.

“It’s not so much making their own Easter eggs but they are making their own Easter basket [items],” Meraz-Straws said in a phone call with McClatchy.

In an email to McClatchy, a company spokesperson said he hadn’t noticed a change either.

“I have not personally seen an uptick in sales on items I think people are using to craft alternatives to traditional Easter eggs through our website, though transactions like that don’t come with the personal interaction that would tell us why a person is making a purchase,” the spokesperson said.

But Meraz-Straws said she’s still seen customers looking for new Easter crafting projects.

“It’s been a lot more like, believe it or not, it’s called Neato. It’s a slime. It comes in different styles. It’s more like a fidgety toy. I have a lot of plush toys that are moving... We carry different styles of candy, old fashioned candies that a lot of grandparents seem to love because, ‘Oh, I grew up with this,’” Meraz-Straws said.

Where can you find Easter egg alternatives?

If you are looking for alternatives to real eggs for Easter, there are plenty of resources you can find.

National Public Radio suggests marshmallows, potatoes, or wooden and plastic eggs. Taste of Home’s list mentions 15 items, including chalk, felt, sugar cookies and Jell-O. You can find the entire list on their website.

Some crafting blogs and social media accounts have also posted their favorite Easter egg alternatives. Here are some of the more interesting options we found:

• Salt dough - from Bella Luna Toys
• Scrap fabric - from Woodlark Blog
• Peanut butter - from TikTok account CrowdedKitchen
• Jumbo pasta shells or small gourds - from Eat, Drink & Save Money
• Ceramic eggs - from The Optimist Daily

This story was originally published April 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM.