easter-egg-hunt.bmpHost a Fabulous Easter Egg Hunt

This is a terrifically fun way for families to celebrate the season!  An Easter egg hunt is an event that lends itself to family, neighbors, friends, or all of the above!  In the course of my research on this topic, I’ve found that there aren’t too many variations on the egg hunt theme, but I think I’ve simplified the approach!

Planning

Saturday or Sunday?

  • Should you host your party on Easter Sunday or the day before?  This totally depends upon who you are inviting to your egg hunt! 
  • If your party is for family, I’d choose Sunday.
  • If it’s for neighbors or friends, I’d choose Saturday.
  • You should probably have a rainy day plan or a rain date as well.

Eggs

Toy-Filled Eggs

  • You will need A LOT of colored plastic eggs!  Plan to fill at least 10 eggs for each child participating in the hunt. 
  • Luckily, these eggs can be found inexpensively at your local dollar store or discount stores like Target, Michaels or Walmart.  The earlier you get your hands on these eggs, the sooner you can fill them! 
  • For filling, consider stickers, small toys, or change as alternatives to candy.  Check out orientaltrading.com for a huge assortment of items to fill your eggs!  Keep in mind the ages and needs of your guests;  do you need to consider “choking hazards” or food allergies?

Menu

  • Plan to serve brunch either before or after the hunt.
  • Decide which time works best for your crowd.  This may depend upon the ages of your guests.
  • Check An Easter Egg Hunt Brunch for a suggested menu.

The Big Hunt

  • If the children are diverse ages, create two separate areas for hunting.  Consider the front yard for big kids and the back yard for the little ones. 
  • Pair helpful teenagers with toddlers.
  • Hide the eggs according to the age of the hunters - easy spots for the younger set and trickier locations for the more experienced hunters!
  • Limit the number of eggs that each child can find so that all the children end up with a similar number of prizes.  As mentioned above, 10 eggs is a reasonable number.
  • Ask your guests to BYOB or bring their own basket!  Or provide each child with a plain, white gift bag and have them decorate it when they arrive at the party.  The children can then fill the bag with eggs during the hunt.

Final Thoughts

Will your egg hunt be an annual event or a one time only event?

  • If you’d like to host the hunt again, I recommend collecting the plastic eggs after the children have emptied the contents into their bags or baskets.
  • If it’s a one time only event, let the eggs go home with the kids!

The Golden Egg

  • This is an idea where one or two golden eggs are hidden along with the plain plastic eggs.  The finders of the golden eggs receive a special, larger prize. 
  • DON’T do this!  As the parent of 2 crying children at last year’s hunt, one of whom was knocked over by a more aggressive hunter, the golden egg is not worth it’s weight in gold!

Have a wonderful celebration!  And watch out for that leftover candy!

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