How to Have the Best Easter Egg Hunt

Easter is coming up!  That means it’s time for Easter egg hunts!  Here are some tips on how to have a PERFECT Easter egg hunt…..

Don’t only hide candy.

Nothing makes a candy holiday worse than kids who eat too much and have an upset stomach or are too wired.  We like to hide items other than candy in the eggs.  Here are some of our favorite non-candy items to hide (depending on age, of course), along with links to where you can purchase some:

• Quarters, pennies, etc.
• Erasers
• Stickers
• Stamps
• Puzzle pieces
• Redeemable tickets from the parents: “one day of not doing dishes” or “one vegetable-free meal” or “trip to the zoo”
• Bouncy balls
• Marbles
• Rings
• Earrings
• Bracelets
• Charms
• Temporary tattoos
• Play-do
• Barbie clothes
• Shells
• Mini bubbles
• Socks
• Silly putty
• Seeds for gardening
• Nail polish
• Lip gloss
• Hair ties
• Balloons
• Punch balloons
• Cars
• Grow toys (the kind you put in water and they expand)
• Legos
• Plastic animals
• Army men
• Parachute men
• Plastic insects
• Wind-up toys
• Whistles
• Finger puppets
• Keychains
• Dice
• Spinning top
• Shoelaces
• Glow-in-the-dark stars
• Beads
• Water beads
• String/yarn
• Stress ball
• Mini yoyos
• Mini notepads
• Crayons
• Markers
• Hairbows
• Earphones
• Fidget spinners/cubes
• Polished rocks

Change the day.

We enjoy going to church on Easter Sunday, and sometimes the hunt can take away from that.  We like to do our Easter egg hunt on Saturday instead so that Sunday we can focus on the true meaning of Easter.

Egg Color Assignments.

One of the biggest problems with Easter egg hunts is that some children will find more eggs than others, and that always ends in tears.  In our home, we assign different color egg for each child.  If they find an egg that isn’t their color, they just move along and keep searching.  It allows us to hide the younger children’s eggs in easier spots without the older children taking them all first.

Divide the labor (and locations).

We usually have the kids hide eggs for each other!  We divide up the house into zones, and let a few kids hide eggs in each zone for other kids.  We only have to help the younger kids hide eggs for the older kids……and make sure the older kids aren’t hiding the eggs in spots that are too difficult for the younger kids.

Make some rules.

There should always be some guidelines for the hunt.  Things like “no one opens eggs until the hunt is over” or “don’t tell another kid where their egg is unless they ask.”  Otherwise some kids might spoil the hunt for the other kids.

Recycle

Unless a plastic egg is completely cracked, save it for next year!  Save yourself some time and hassle by not having to go to the store after more eggs.

Don’t use grass in the baskets.

We use tissue paper instead of grass in the baskets.  We hate the mess grass makes, and when they’re on a hunt, it just gets dragged all over the house!  Plus, the tissue paper can be repurposed for gift bags, or it can be used again next year.

What makes Easter egg hunts easier for your family?