Break with tradition. This Easter, hatch some fun with these fresh and festive ideas.
You’ve Been Egged!
Peep in on your friends in this undercover egg-venture that keeps on giving. Stuff plastic eggs with Peeps or other wrapped candy and place them in a basket tagged with this KC Parent original poem. Leave the basket by a friend’s door, ring the bell and scamper away!
The Easter BunnyWas out for a hop,He saw your houseHe made a stop.That wascally wabbit,He had you pegged,No bunny was home, soYOU'VE BEEN EGGED!(Keep one egg, and egg somebunny else!)
Egg Knocking Tournament
Don’t crack under the competition. Participants pair off with hard-boiled eggs. One person holds her egg with the small end up; the other taps it with the small end of his egg. The egg that cracks is out. Winners face off again until one last egg remains intact, symbolizing a year of good luck.
Going on an Egg Hunt
Break the egg mold with these variations on the standard Easter egg hunt:
Prize Egg: Secretly designate a specially decorated egg as the “Prize Egg” before the hunt begins. Write a description of the Prize Egg (“blue with yellow polka-dots”) and place it in an envelope to reveal after the hunt. Whoever finds it wins a special prize.
Golden Egg: For a more spirited hunt, hide a golden egg for a prize.
Egg Someone’s Yard: Surprise friends or neighbors by hiding plastic eggs in their grass. Inside the eggs include personalized photo puzzle pieces to assemble into a picture of your family holding a sign wishing them a “Happy Easter!”
Hoppin’ Hunt: Don your bunny ears and hitch up your “bunny sacks” (old pillow cases or potato bags) in a hoppity race for eggs. Drop your collected eggs into a basket placed in a stationary location in the yard, then bounce away to gather more.
Follow the Fluff: Create a scavenger hunt for eggs and toys. Leave one egg in a basket of Easter grass with the first clue. Kids follow the clues to find and collect each egg and toy (hidden together) from around the house. For younger kids, leave a trail of cotton (bunny fluff) or construction paper carrots to follow until their baskets are brimming with the eggs and toys.
Bunny Booty: Initiate a scavenger hunt for Easter loot with a pirate map of the backyard. Spray paint an X to mark the Bunny Buccaneer’s rabbit hole of buried treasure (chocolate coins and golden eggs), then get out your shovels and dig.
Bunny Trail of Evidence
Hand your kids magnifying glasses and do some detective work on Easter morning. See if they can spot evidence of the Easter Bunny’s visit: cotton tail tuft (cotton balls), the half-nibbled carrot and celery left out the night before or rabbit prints leading to and from the door (a stencil of paw prints and sprinkling of flour will do the trick).
Egg-vent Countdown
Kids springing with untamed anticipation for a certain bunny’s arrival? Create an Easter Egg-vent to count down to the holiday. You’ll need:
- Cardboard egg carton
- Acrylic paints and paintbrushes
- Plastic eggs (numbered 1-12 with a marker) and filled with candy or Cheddar Bunnies snacks
- Decorative items: ribbon, tulle on a spool, raffia, butterflies, silk flowers
- Paint the carton and allow it to dry; place eggs inside. For a decorative twist, cut the carton in half and stack both halves; secure with tulle, raffia or ribbon. Embellish with butterflies, flowers and spring accessories.
Boiling a Peel-Perfect Egg
Ally Stouse, Prairie Village mother of two, reveals the secret to a perfect hard-boiled egg: “Bring water and a generous amount of salt to a boil (salt hardens shells). Add eggs and boil for 12 minutes; remove eggs and cool.”
Uncrackable Eggs
Carrie Bell, from Overland Park, has mastered the art of dyeing eggs with her two young boys (and keeping their hands from turning the colors of the rainbow). “To prevent eggs from cracking and keep the mess in check, insert them into a wire whisk.”
Wendy Connelly lives with her husband, two kids, and bunny, Mr. Tubbins, in Overland Park.