Easter egg hunts are an incredibly fun part of Easter! So here are 20 ways you can organise your hunt โ from planning tips that make the hunt extra exciting for toddlers, to having fun with riddles and scavenger hunts for older kids.
Easter egg hunts: 20 great tips
1. Get crafty with the egg basket
Collecting eggs is so much more fun if the kids have decorated their own egg baskets. Any container will do, from a plastic or metal bucket, to a wicker basket from a discount store, or even an old egg carton. Use stickers, ribbons, paint, textas, crayons, etc., to add colour and pizzazz! You can even create your very own DIY basket here.
Crafting your own Easter basket encourages creativity, recycling and as well can give kids a sense of accomplishment when they finish it!
2. Label the eggs
Make the Easter egg hunt fun and fair by placing each childโs initials on the eggs. You can use a permanent marker to label foil-covered eggs or plastic eggs holding small chocolate eggs or toys inside. This works very well if there are big age differences between the โhuntersโ and means that siblings are less likely to compete against each other.
3. Colour coordinate your eggs
Another option is to buy sets of eggs in different colours, then assign each child a certain colour egg to collect. They may only collect eggs that are ‘their’ colour – which means you can avoid an unfair hoarding of all the eggs! And make the hunt extra hard for big kids.
4. Allocate 12 per child
For kids aged four and older, allocate about a dozen eggs per child; this way everyone will have a nice full basket byย the end of the hunt.
5. Record where you’ve hidden them!
Donโt forget to count the number of eggs before you hide them. You donโt want to find any ant-covered chocolate blobsย later in the week, plus youโll know when the hunt has ended. If youโre hiding a lot of eggs, you might also want to keep a list of where youโve placed them โ inside the hose reel, behind the pot plant, on the porch, etc.
6. Set the rules
Donโt forget to set up boundaries and outline them for the kids before the Easter egg hunt begins. For example, there will be no eggs in the front yard, or in Dadโs veggie garden โ this will keep everyone safe and anything of value from being trampled.
7. Give them a list
Make the hunt more of a game by giving each child a list of the types of eggs they need to find. For example, four red eggs, two polkadot eggs, three striped eggs. They can tick off what they’ve found as they go.
8. Riddles
Give older kids a list of riddles that will lead them to each egg, like โIf you find a peg, you might find an eggโ which leads them to an egg in the peg basket.
9. Try a scavenger hunt
Even older kids will love a scavenger hunt, so try placing clues inside plastic eggs that lead the kids to different areas and more clues around the garden and finally to a major prize, such as a basket full of eggs or a few chocolate bunnies.
10. Don’t just hide eggs
Up the ante by placing a $5 note inside one plastic egg as a special prize for one extra-lucky hunter โ the tweens will love the competition. For toddlers, you could hide a Kinder Surprise egg as โthe Golden eggโ.
11. Zone the garden
If there is a big age difference between your hunters, you might like to divide your backyard into zones. Plan a section for toddlers where the eggs are easy to find (think at the edge of a flowerbed or on a garden chair) and a section for older kids where the hunting gets a little trickier (think in the branches of a bush and behind cushions on an outdoor setting).
12. Hit the local playground or park
If you live in a unit or have a tiny backyard, you may have more fun with the kids by making use of your local playground or park for the hunt. You can hide the eggs on top of slippery dips and in swings, or on rocks or behind trees.
13. Buy some bunny ears
Give all the kids a set of bunny ears to wear, so you have a whole groupย of cute little hoppers hunting for their eggs.
Give the kids some bunny ears!
14. Adults can dress up, too
Have Dad or another relative or friend dress up as the Easter bunny to get everyone in a hopping great mood.
15. Get creative with remnants from the Easter Bunny
Leave talcum powder footprints on a deck and half-eaten carrots on an outdoor table as telltale signs the Easter Bunny has visited. Young ones will love it!
16. Picnic rugs for egg eating
Set up a few picnic rugs around the backyard for the obligatory egg tallying and scoffing that comes after the hunt. Itโs much easier to wash a few rugs than gather chocolate crumbs from all over the house and yard.
17. Limit the chocolate on your Easter Egg hunt
Unless you want a bunch of sore tummies or a houseful of hyperactivity, set a limit for the number of eggs a child can eat afterwards (according to age). For example, eat three now and save the rest for later in the holidays.
18. What if it rains?
Set up a wet weather plan for your Easter egg hunt. Hunts are heaps of fun outside the house and get the kids outdoors, but they can be really interesting inside the house, too, as there are lots of unique hiding places. Just be sure to set search limits as you donโt want kids rifling through your lingerie drawer.
19. What if it’s hot?
If the day is very warm, hold the chocolate egg hunt as early in the morning as possible to avoid a serious melting moment! Or try hiding the eggs in cool, shady spots. You could also freeze the eggs before hiding them to be really sure they’ll stay solid.
20. Keep your animals safe
If you have dogs, lock them in a separate part of the house or garden while the Easter egg hunt is happening. Chocolate can make a dog very ill, so itโs best to keep the temptation well away from them.
