Emily Linn has been rethinking her family’s Easter menu this year.

Rising food costs are making it more difficult for Marylanders to celebrate, whether that’s serving up Easter brunch or dinner or filling baskets with festive candy.

“I’m trying to keep costs under control, even though I plan to have a very festive and lively Easter meal,” said Linn, the financial empowerment and community initiatives manager for the city of Gaithersburg.

It’s a sentiment she’s seen many clients of the Gaithersburg Financial Empowerment Center express this year, too.

Food price inflation is on the rise and expected to continue in that direction, with a 3.6% increase compared to last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Financial experts point to factors including rising gas prices, housing costs and the government shutdown last fall that forced many Montgomery County residents to cut their budgets.

“We’re experiencing real inflation for the first time in a long time, and that’s been really tough for folks,” said certified financial planner Sarah Kaplan, managing partner at Kaplan Financial Group in Rockville.

Even so, Easter spending is projected to reach a record $24.9 billion this year, beating the U.S.’s previous record of $24 billion in 2023, according to a new report from the National Retail Federation. Average spending is expected to hit almost $200 per consumer.

Many consumers, the NRF survey says, are preparing to bear the brunt of rising costs in the name of tradition. But others are trying to figure out how to celebrate Easter on a budget.

“Folks are rethinking their approach to a lot of what goes into holiday preparation as a result of the rising costs,” Kaplan said.

Good news about eggs

Whether your Easter menu tradition involves ham, fish, lamb, beef or other proteins, grocery store receipts can quickly tally up if you’re not mindful.

“You can have a cheaper cut of meat, but if you prepare it the right way, it can be just as delicious as a super expensive cut of meat,” said Linn.

Visiting less-expensive grocery stores or shopping in person rather than through a delivery service like Instacart can also help drive down costs, Kaplan said. Bone-in spiral sliced ham prices, for example, can vary wildly among popular Montgomery County grocery stores.

A 10-pound ham at Giant in Wheaton will only cost you about $10, but more gourmet options can get much pricier: $8.49 per pound at Wegmans in Rockville adds up to about $85 for a ham of the same size, or nearly $100 for a $9.95 per-pounder at Whole Foods in Bethesda. ALDI, Safeway, Harris Teeter and Trader Joe’s prices fall somewhere in between.

Be it deviled, dyed and hard-boiled or quiche, eggs also make up a large portion of Easter food sales. Last year, prices skyrocketed amid a devastating bird flu outbreak that killed millions of chickens. So Linn’s family skipped the tradition of dyeing Easter eggs.

“They were just too expensive to justify,” Linn said. “It was not a good use of money for us to buy a dozen eggs just to color them and throw them out.”

The good news: While beef, vegetables and desserts make up some of the products that have seen the largest markups in the past few months, per the USDA, eggs are actually one of the few items that have seen large price decreases.

Still, costs in Montgomery County can vary depending on store, quality and brand. Locally, a dozen eggs will cost you $1.85 at ALDI, $3.69 at Harris Teeter and $5.99 at Trader Joe’s.

It’s possible to avoid breaking the bank this year — Kaplan suggested being more strategic about celebrating in a budget-friendly way, which could include changing menu items or grocery stores or shifting to a potluck-style meal.

“Sometimes the instinct is, ‘I do things a certain way every year and they have to be done that way,’” Kaplan said. “We get stuck in the same mental recording we have over and over again about what’s expected of us or how we have always done it.”

Popular Easter candy prices are not so sweet

It’s not just brunch and dinner — skyrocketing candy prices for Easter baskets are putting a dent in the Easter Bunny’s wallet as well.

Easter is among the biggest holidays of the year for candy sales. But filling up an Easter basket this year with Hershey’s, Reese’s and Cadbury products is going to cost significantly more than it did in the past.

Easter candy prices have spiked 67% in the last six years, according to a new national report from financial research platform InvestorsObserver.

Notably, chocolate-based products, including Reese’s peanut butter eggs, have risen from $3.99 to $6.29. Hershey’s milk chocolate bars that cost $3.99 in 2020 have more than doubled to $8.29.

Other products have also been hit with shrinkflation, according to the report: Cadbury Mini Eggs cost $5.29 this year compared to $3.49 in 2020 — despite dropping from 10 ounces to 9 in 2022.

There are some sweet deals still to be found, however.

If you’re looking to build an Easter basket on a budget, non-chocolate treats including Peeps may be the way to go. The bunny- and chick-shaped sugared marshmallows weren’t included in the study but remain much more affordable than most other popular Easter candies. A 10-pack of Peeps will run you just $1.49 at ALDI or $2.29 at Giant.

Linn previously chose more chocolate-based candies for her kids’ baskets and Easter egg hunt prizes. This year, she picked a wider variety of options to stretch that candy budget a little further. Starbursts and jelly beans are joining this year’s lineup, with fewer chocolates.

“But that’s OK. The fun and the joy of searching for eggs is really the memory, especially for my kids’ ages,” Linn said of her children, ages 3 and 6.

“That’s what they will remember and enjoy the most. If it’s a few pieces less than last year, they’re not going to be counting. ... What matters is that you’re all together with the people you love most.”