A traditional Easter egg hunt for candy-filled plastic eggs or dyed eggs can be a lot of fun. But after a couple of years of doing the same thing, you might be itching to switch things up a bit.
If you want to cut back on the candy, or if you are looking for a way to keep a big hunt more organized (but still tons of fun), here are seven clever Easter egg hunt ideas to take your Easter game to the next level.
1. Glow-In-The-Dark Hunt
Your family’s Easter egg hunt doesn’t have to take place during the morning, or even outside. If the weather forces you to stay indoors, or if you want a fun activity for the night before Easter, try a glow-in-the-dark hunt.
This idea comes from Growing A Jeweled Rose, and you can make your glow-in-the-dark eggs with glow sticks or finger lights. Since you are lighting up your eggs from the inside, you won’t be able to fill them with candy or money, but you can make a prize basket for the kid who finds the most eggs.
2. Fitness Hunt
Why not make this year’s egg hunt a fun activity that gets your kids moving? Amy Roskelley recommends writing fitness-related clues on pieces of paper and then putting those clues inside plastic eggs.
You can make up your own clues or use the ones recommended. Here are some examples:
- Sit down and stretch; you’ve been busy as a bee. Then get up and run to the nearest tree!
- Raise your legs high and touch your knee to your nose. Do this 10 times, and then check the garden hose.
After you have placed all of your clues inside the plastic eggs, hide the eggs around the yard or inside your home. When the kids hunt for the eggs, make sure they do the exercises on the clues before moving on.
At the end of the fitness treasure hunt, you can direct the kids to the car and then take them somewhere fun. You could also have the final destination be the dinner table and have prizes or treats ready for the kids to enjoy.
3. Puzzle Hunt
Since kids get plenty of candy and gifts in their Easter baskets, it really isn’t necessary to fill up the eggs with even more. Instead, try a puzzle hunt, like Kristen’s at Make The Best Of Everything.
First, buy a blank puzzle, which you can easily find online, and then paint the puzzle with acrylic paint. You could paint a Bible verse or personalize the puzzle by painting your kids’ names on it. The options are endless. Once the puzzle is dry, put one or two pieces inside of each plastic egg before hiding the eggs. When the kids have found all of the eggs, they can spend some time putting the puzzle together.
4. Easter Store Hunt
Jessica from Life As A Mom recommends filling your eggs with tokens that your kids can use at your Easter store.
Start by making your tokens, or “yolkens,” and place them inside the plastic eggs. Buy different items that your kids will enjoy during the spring and summer — things like pool toys, sidewalk chalk, or water balloons — and put a token price on each one. Once your kids finish their hunt, they can spend their tokens on the prizes they want.
5. Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt
Wunder Mom suggests making age-appropriate scavenger hunt cards for your kids.
For the little ones who are learning their colors and numbers, you can make scavenger cards that instruct them to look for a specific number of each color of egg. For the older kids, hide the eggs well and give the kids clues that direct them to the hiding spots.
You could also line everyone up at a starting point and turn the scavenger hunt into a race.
6. Reward Hunt
Britni at Play Party Plan recommends an Easter egg hunt that skips the candy and gets the kids involved.
Have your kids fill out slips of paper with little rewards like “I get to stay up for an extra 30 minutes” or “I get to choose what we have for dinner.” Then hide the eggs. Whatever rewards the kids find, they get.
You can make all of the eggs in your hunt reward eggs, or you can mix the reward eggs with candy-filled eggs or dyed eggs.
7. Color-Coordinated Hunt
If you have a lot of little kids participating in your Easter egg hunt, this is a great way to make sure everyone gets the opportunity to find plenty of eggs. The idea comes from Sew Many Ways, and you start by selecting your colors.
The number of kids will determine how many colors you will need. For example, if four kids will be looking for eggs, you will need four different colors of eggs with corresponding baskets. You can buy plastic eggs in the colors you’ll need, or you can dye real eggs. You will need the same number of eggs in each color.
Once you have the eggs you need, hide them in your yard or in your home. On Easter morning, let each kid pick the color they want, and then give them a bag or basket in their color. If a child picks blue, then they get the blue basket and must look for all of the blue eggs.
These clever Easter egg hunt ideas will put a unique spin on this year’s hunt. Each one is so much fun that you might just end up starting a new holiday tradition!
