Planning an Easter dinner for your family can be exciting and fulfilling. You're the one who gets to make all the decisions and reap all of the praise for a job well done. Plus – you get all of the leftovers! 

Unfortunately – especially if you are organizing a dinner for a large, extended family – Easter could also be stressful, time-consuming,and expensive. That's why we put together these shopping tips to make the holiday just a tiny bit easier.

Head count. Ge tone early and confirm it a few times before the big day. If not, you could end up with way too much food – or worse, too little.

Planning an Easter dinner for your family can be exciting and fulfilling. You're the one who gets to make all the decisions and reap all of the praise for a job well done. Plus – you get all of the leftovers! 

Unfortunately – especially if you are organizing a dinner for a large, extended family – Easter could also be stressful, time-consuming,and expensive. That's why we put together these shopping tips to make the holiday just a tiny bit easier.

Head count. Ge tone early and confirm it a few times before the big day. If not, you could end up with way too much food – or worse, too little.

Menu. A lot of this is about planning ahead, and it's your choice how you want to handle it.Is your meal going to be traditional or modern? Do you want to make all the decisions, or ask your family so that there's a consensus? You could even go the wedding route and ask guests to choose between options, such as ham,chicken, or vegetarian.

Go list crazy.Once your menu is complete, obviously you are going to want a grocery list, but you might want to take it one step further – make a cooking list. That means doing an inventory of your cookware and utensils to make sure you've got everything you need and can avoid last-minute shopping or borrowing.

Watch for sales and buy early. Many stores have great sales leading up to Easter, but if you see a killer deal a month out, don't hesitate to pounce on it – what's the freezer for, after all?

Don't be a Christmas Eve shopper. Yes, it applies to Easter as well. Not only will you end up waiting in longer lines, you run the risk of grocery stores selling out of what you need. Head to the store at least a week in advance of the holiday –preferably more.

Be disposable. If you opted for a "modern" meal – especially if that means grilling or eating outdoors – save yourself the hassle of washing all those dishes and go for some paper plates with nice Easter designs instead.