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Easter is so much more than baskets of candy (isn’t that what we have Halloween for?). Easter is about the spring season, the colorful eggs, the excuse to dress your kids in pastel dresses and bowties, the awkward pics with the Easter Bunny and, best of all, Easter is all about the hunt. We were tempted to write a blog post about healthy alternatives to the Cadbury eggs and marshmallow goodies that have our kids hyped up each Easter. But, we decided that the Easter egg hunt deserved some quality attention this year. 

What Makes a Top-Notch Easter Egg Hunt?

A hunt is no fun if all it takes is the ability to spot the brightly colored Easter egg basket sitting on top of the fridge and the pile of colored eggs scattered around the living room. It’s also no fun if it requires the detective skills of Sherlock Holmes and the combination to a padlock. Basically what we’re saying is follow the Goldie Locks rule: not too easy, not too hard, but just right. 

So, how do we find this magical sweet spot? One word: Themes!

Easter egg hunts should stretch the imagination of your children and make them work for the delicious reward of chocolate bunnies & sugary Peeps. This year, try out one of these themed ideas and make Easter a holiday challenges the mind, works out the body and, of course, satisfies the taste buds!

Dusk Hunt

We’ve heard of the glow-in-the-dark egg hunts, but how about a dusk hunt! It will still be light enough to keep track of the kids, but dark enough that you can give them flashlights and let them go exploring. 

• Make the game harder with flashlight tag – If a kid is tagged by an adult they must wait five seconds before continuing to search.
• Make only some eggs that glow in the dark – For a group of all ages, make glow-in-the-dark eggs for the younger kids and require the older kids to search out the regular eggs, this allows for the younger kids to feel like they’ve won, too!

Mini-Game Challenges Theme

It’s no secret that it takes more time to set up an Easter egg hunt than it does for the kids to find and consume the goodies in the eggs. They’re often done and asking for more before you even have time to snap the pictures. This year, extend the hunt with mini-games designed to even the odds of finding eggs between the age groups and allow the kids to have even more fun than usual!

• Have each game coincide with a school subject: math, science, english, etc. Make them age appropriate questions, then they can continue searching. Ex: fifth graders can only answer fifth grade level questions.
• Have games require teamwork. Use puzzles, team building activities, quizzes, all games that compel kids to work together before they can continue searching for eggs. Make sure every kid is able to contribute and there are enough eggs for everyone to feel like they’ve won!

Crack the Code Theme

Add a little mystery to your hunt. Turn your egg hunters into super spies with codes to crack on their way to finding the treasure! It will not only be fun for the kids, but will be stimulate their minds before all the sugar.

• Provide clues throughout the day that will help them locate the egg stash. Use easy-to-crack codes, magnifying glasses, and backwards writing to challenge the kids. This can be as simple or intricate as you’d like.
• Provide costumes! If you give the kids glasses, magnifying glasses, and other spy gear it can give the kids the full spy experience and make it truly memorable
• Give each child participating one key to deciphering where the eggs can be found. Have them work together to solve each piece of the puzzle and reveal the hidden location of the eggs.

Arts & Crafts Theme

Let’s face it, parents go through a lot of early morning work hiding those eggs, and store bought plastic eggs do not come cheap! Encourage your kids to get involved by letting your kids decorate the eggs themselves; you can even have the older kids hide eggs for the younger ones so they feel a bigger part of the action.

• Don’t use eggs! Use found items like cardboard boxes, plastic cups, old soda bottles, anything the kids can decorate to hide the eggs and save you some money
• Have kids make eggs for each other. Pair up the kids and let them decorate eggs for their partner, they can make them as specific to the kid as they want. Each child will feel special and they will get to show off their artistic skills too!
• Once the kids find all their eggs, give them a coloring worksheet and have them color the eggs on the page as they are in front of them. Hang the colored pages up on the wall so you can all remember the great Easter you had!

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