It’s the most anticipated part of Easter – the part where kids search out plastic eggs with sweet filled treats and prizes. And it’ll be all over way too soon! Why not prolong the fun with a few time-tested tricks of the trade?
Before the Egg Hunt
Hiding eggs takes so much longer than finding ‘em – but it’s so very much worth it when you watch the kids laughing, giggling and having so much fun.
Prefill eggs.
Plan to hide 5-10 eggs per child, and prefill the eggs with small treats (one per egg), such as fuzzy chicks, temporary tattoos, stickers, small toys, character band-aids, friendship bracelets, hair bands, silly bands, or bulk candy.
Send out invitations.
Delay the hunt.
Have kids decorate their own white paper bag before the hunt, or hide the empty Easter baskets. Either one makes the party take just a little bit longer, and builds up anticipation prior to the sugar intake.
Bunny masks – two short words that make this hunt last even longer – kids just can’t see through masks as well as they can without them! Find them at the store, or make them yourself out of paper plates.
Set up hiding area.
If you have several age ranges, consider setting up three areas: 3 & under; 4-6; and 7+. Another option – hide different color egg for each group.
Food
It’s not a party without the food! At the very least, kids will want to have a little something to drink. May I suggest small bottled waters to counteract the sugar?
Other ideas: appetizers, cookie cutter tea sandwiches (egg salad perhaps?), brunch, egg shaped cookies.
Games
With so much sugar, it’s good to be prepared with a few active games for the kids. Try a few of these to wear out the kids:
- Pin the Tail on the Bunny or Easter Picture Bingo
- Classic Three-legged race
- Classic Egg & Spoon Race
- Bunny Tag (one person wears bunny ears or fleece hoodie, and everyone else has a fleece tail. If the bunny gets your tail, you become it)
- Egg roll
- Relay race (two teams, multiple players; one team member at a time races with arms full of eggs to marked spot and back; if you drop an egg you must stop and pick it up; first team to have all players finish, wins)
- Send them home with some printable games
Variations of the Traditional Easter Egg Hunt
Jelly Bean Hunt.
Hide jelly beans instead of Easter eggs. Have you ever try to find a black jelly bean on top of a black object?
Flashlight Hunt.
That’s right, hunt for eggs after dark with a flashlight!
Color-Coded Hunt.
Find all the pink eggs first, blue eggs second, etc.
Yard-to-Yard.
If you have a neighborhood with lots of kids, get the parents together to do a yard-to-yard hunt. Ahead of time, the houses that are participating can put up a big colorful sign and hide the eggs before meeting at the starting home. You’ll need enough adults to supervise kids in various locations.
Hidden Easter Basket Clues.
Turn the task of finding a hiding Easter basket into a scavenger hunt with clues. The basket can be empty for the following egg hunt, or already filled to the brim with Easter treats.
Grand Prize Egg Hunt.
Every hiding plastic egg has a number AND a treat. The highest number wins an extra prize.
Secret Notes.
In coordination with the Grand Prize Egg Hunt, substitute several numbers with little notes like “Give aunt Janet a big hug” or “Choose a piece of candy out of Trevor’s basket” or “Do one favor for uncle Chris”. If they did get a number, the highest number wins an extra prize.
Checklist Egg Hunt.
This one works best for large Easter egg hunts. Make checklists for each child and include the list with a pencil in each Easter basket. Kids find ONLY what is on their checklist and no more, otherwise someone else would be without enough. The checklists could read something like this.
___3 blue eggs
___4 pink eggs
___2 yellow egg
___1 orange eggs
___2 purple eggs
___3 green eggs
Easter egg hunts are a great tradition and by using the tips, variations and secrets of the game above, you’re guaranteed to have a great time this Easter!