How Much More Your Easter Basket And Dinner Will Cost In 2026

The negative impacts of unrelenting food inflation are perhaps most felt when holidays roll around. Back in January, Tasting Table reported that candy is a sweet pantry staple costing you way more now. Chocolate specifically has been carrying steep price increases, even at Costco. Now, as Easter approaches, chocolate eggs and bunnies are looking more harrowing than exciting to many households across the country. The National Retail Federation estimated that U.S. Easter spending will reach a record-high $24.9 billion this year, up from the previous record of $24 billion in 2023. Average per-person holiday spending is anticipated to hit a record-breaking $195.59. 

Other research published by InvestorsObserver found that the same Easter basket budget in 2020 will get you 40% less in 2026. The study tracked the prices of five popular Easter candies sold at national grocery store chains and determined that the cost has spiked 67% since 2020. This means that, to purchase the same amount of candy that $90 would buy in 2020, folks would need to spend $150 in 2026. Meanwhile, shrinkflation lowers these cost-per-value margins even further. In 2022, Cadbury Mini Eggs shrank from 10 ounces to 9 ounces without changing price. Another Easter staple, Hershey's milk chocolate bars, cost $8.29 today compared to $3.99 in 2020 for the same product.

As the struggle to meet basic needs rages on, lower-income consumers are doing less to celebrate Easter this year, foregoing travel to stay home and opting out of traditions like flowers or decorations, per a recent report by The Food Institute. According to the outlet, a traditional Easter meal for a group of 10 people prepared at home will cost more than $125 in 2026 — not including the drinks or the dessert.

Looking forward, grocery inflation isn't expected to cool down any time soon. On a macroeconomic scale, the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict has impacted the price of pantry staples that home cooks rely on to cook dinner every day, let alone a bountiful Easter dinner. These war-driven price spikes also apply to the fuel needed for holiday travel. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the current average price of gas in America is about $3.96 per gallon, an 85% increase from a year ago.

Tack a fully-loaded Easter basket — or a few baskets, depending on how many kiddos are in the household — and the financial hit of the holiday can be overwhelming, to say the least. To try to help folks enjoy the holiday as stress-free as possible, Tasting Table rounded up a few tips for assembling an Easter basket on a budget.