If you think the cost of eggs has made your Sunday morning breakfast expensive, wait til you try filling an Easter basket this year! Before you take out a personal loan to cover the cost of an egg hunt, consider these 5 ideas using plastic eggs that are just as fun—maybe even better!—than the real thing:

1. Fill ‘em up! Get creative with your egg fillers by branching out beyond the traditional chocolates and candy. Try healthy snacks such as nuts and raisins, instead. Or skip the treats altogether and use small plastic toys (light up rings and mini cars are popular choices), stickers, or good ole fashion cash.

2. Decorate! Just because you’re using plastic eggs doesn’t mean you can’t continue the egg decorating tradition. Instead of using dye kits, try stickers, paint or markers. If you’re extra crafty, create egg birds by using a hot glue gun to affix googling eyes, an orange felt beak, and feather wings.

3. Play games! Use your plastic eggs for an Easter-themed family game night. You can find a template and instructions for Easter egg bingo at Sunny Day Family’s website, or create your own. For toddlers, head over to TeachingMama.org for some simple but creative games, including Memory and an egg race.

4. Sensory fun! Fill plastic eggs with birdseed, rice or beans to make some fun musical shakers. Powerful Mothering has a free printable for an educational color sorting activity that’s perfect for preschoolers. Slime and silly putty are also fun sensory options for preschool and up!

5. Reuse! After you’ve had your decorating, hunting, gaming fun, continue to recycle your plastic eggs by using them as seed starters. Simply fill each half with a small amount of soil, add your seeds and some water, and store them in an empty egg carton. Another fun option is to use your eggs as bath bomb molds. You can instructions at MomFoodie.