Creative Easter Egg Hunts
Bored of the same old Easter egg hunts at your house each year? Shake things up with a twist on the traditional hunt. Use some of these creative ideas, or think up some of your own!
Color Coordinated
Assign each child a specific color and instruct him to collect only eggs of that color. This is great for younger children who are learning their colors.
Puzzle Hunt
Buy a blank puzzle (available at craft stores), assemble it and write a message telling kids where a special treat is hidden. For example, you could write, “To find a chocolaty treat, look in the room where we eat.” Then break up the puzzle and hide a piece inside of each egg. When the hunt is over, kids can put together the puzzle to find their clue.
ABCs Hide
26 eggs per child, each with a letter of the alphabet written on it. Instruct each child to find all the letters of the alphabet.
Nighttime Hunt
Who says egg hunts have to happen during the day? Grab some flashlights and have a nighttime hunt in the backyard, or color eggs with glow-in-the-dark paint.
Bunny Money
Hide play money inside of the eggs and invite kids to use the money to “buy” trinkets and candy from a pretend store. This is a good one for school-age children who are learning about money.
Scavenger Hunt
Provide note card clues for where eggs are hidden. For instance, one clue can read, “Rub-a-dub-dub, look in the room with the tub.” When kids find that egg, there will be another clue leading them to the next one.
Golden Egg
Hide several eggs containing smaller prizes, such as trinkets or coins. Then hide a few golden eggs that contain bigger prizes, such as dollar bills or movie tickets. Make sure each child gets the same number of golden eggs.
Throw Them for a Loop
My mom and sister had an egg hunt for our kiddos last year. Some of the eggs contained coins, some had candy…and some had coupons that said, “Good for one bowl of squishy worm soup” and “Good for one order of French-fried spider legs.” The surprised looks on the kids’ faces were classic, and after they realized it was a joke, they had a great laugh about it.
Odd or Even
On each egg, write a number and assign kids either odd or even numbers. They must gather only those eggs.
Math Eggs
Write numbers on each egg, and at the end of the hunt have each participant add up the total for their eggs. The one with the highest total wins a special prize.
Coupons
Get creative with the contents of your eggs. Include coupons to get out of chores, hear an extra bedtime story or have a special breakfast—whatever your kiddos would love!
Checklist
This one works well for larger egg hunts: Each participant is given a checklist of items to find, such as 2 purple eggs, 3 multicolored eggs and so on. You could offer a prize to the person who completes their checklist first.
Parents’ Turn!
At our house, the kids enjoy taking turns hiding eggs for the parents. They love trying to fool us with challenging hiding spots!
Pet Playtime
You don’t have to limit egg hunts to humans! Cindy Lockhart of Belton says, “We have one for our dogs every year, from the time our girls got too old for them.” Hide doggie treats inside the eggs and let your furry friends have fun.
Tisha Foley and her husband, Chris, hide eggs for their two children at their home in Belton.