Filled with family, friends, a little bit of competition and lots of candy, Easter egg hunts are easily one of the most-anticipated yearly events among kids everywhere. Sometimes though, it’s fun to change it up a bit! These ideas are sure to make this year’s Easter egg hunt an event for the memory books!
Color-Coded Egg Hunt: Instead of making it a free-for-all, assign each participating child his own color. When it’s time to start the hunt, make sure kids know to pick up only the eggs in their designated color and leave any other colors behind for someone else to find. This is a great way to make sure all the kids get an equal chance to play and an equal number of eggs at the end.
Different Sized Egg Hunt: Mix it up a bit by giving your kids different sized eggs to look for instead of just the standard size. Because they are different sizes, you’ll be able to hide some of them in smaller spaces, making the game a little bit harder for older kids. To increase the competition a little bit, tell the older kids they can find only the mini eggs, and the kid who finds the most gets an extra prize.
Easter Egg Store: Not every parent is a fan of how much candy is collected during the hunt. Instead of stuffing eggs with candy, try stuffing them with tokens or tickets. Set up a small “store” in a separate room for after the hunt, filling it with inexpensive books, crafts and novelty toys. Let kids redeem their tokens and tickets for prizes that aren’t riddled with sugar.
Scavenger Easter Egg Hunt: Older kids might particularly like this one! Instead of hiding Easter eggs in the backyard, hide them around town with clues. Give the kids their first clue, then send them to find the rest. This hunt may take a bit more planning (and driving!) on your part, but it’s sure to be one of the best Easter egg hunts they’ve ever had.
Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt: Instead of having an Easter Egg hunt during daylight hours, try having it at night! Use glow-in-the-dark Easter eggs, or have your kids decorate them with glow-in-the-dark paint. Hand out glow sticks and flashlights to each participant after dark and send them to find as many eggs as they can. Feel like this might be too easy? Use non-glowing eggs and arm the kids with just flashlights.
Reverse Easter Egg Hunt: Play this version if you dare! Have your kids make a list of parent-approved privileges they want or chore assignments they don’t want. Fill each Easter egg with a slip of paper naming one item from that list and tell the kids to hide them in the playing field. The adults are the ones who get to find them! Any eggs the adults find are reclaimed, but any eggs they miss belong to the kids. They can redeem those eggs for privileges over the next month.
Rebecca Ishum lives in Belton with her husband, Sean, and their 7 children.