Plan the Perfect Egg Hunt this Easter

No Tantrums or Teen Drama with a Perfectly Planned Easter Egg Hunt

With the disappointment of your little Easter chic only finding blue eggs when they wanted yellow, or one sibling ending up with more chocolate in their basket than another, Easter egg hunts come with a certain level of trepidation.

Avoiding tantrums is the main challenge for a younger Easter egg hunt audience. But it can be equally difficult hosting an egg hunt for older kids, where attention spans are more discerning.

The secret to success is in the planning. Let’s take a look.

Barefoot Bunnies

For little Easter bunnies, making the hunt as ‘egg-citing’ as the treasure is key to a harmonious Easter hunt. Hide eggs around a trail of different textures that little ones can explore barefoot. Kids love the opportunity to kick their shoes off and the barefoot sensory experience provides a nice distraction. Berries, leaves, grass cuttings, water, shredded paper, cooked spaghetti, feathers, sand and of course mud, all make for great outdoor sensory fun. Add an Easter theme with pastel-dyed pasta, craft chic’s amongst the grass cuttings and nest’s amongst shredded paper to thrill kid’s imaginations as well as their tummies.

Fantastic Finds

For Easter savvy toddlers and pre-schoolers – those who know that chocolate is the name of the game with an egg hunt – the key to avoiding drama is to add boundaries, remove competition and make sure the treasure doesn’t disappoint. Rather than a scatter approach to the hunt, set up a series of hopping bunnies in a numbered trail for little people to follow. This removes the panic ‘dash to find’ nature of an egg hunt that can sometimes end in tears. To add to the suspension, the choccie treats at each bunny could get bigger and bigger as the hunters move along the trail, ending in an impressive prize for each chirping Easter chic. Each station could have a piece of fancy dress to put on along the way to keep the egg hunt light-hearted and fun. Enjoy the sheer delight in little faces as the anticipation grows as the end of the Easter hunt gets closer. Add some “Nearly There” and “Follow Me” markers along the way to draw the hunt out.

Photo Scavenger Hunt

This is one for families with teens, where parents are not quite ready to let go of the Easter egg hunt tradition, despite an impressive display of huffing and puffing from disinterested teens. Most teenagers will be familiar with a scavenger hunt, where a prize is awarded to those who complete a printed check-list of finds. Pique the interest of your phone-obsessed kids by making this a photo scavenger hunt – so, the premise is “find and take a photo of the following * insert checklist *.  Make this timed to keep wandering minds ‘on task’ and make the prize something coveted, like cinema tickets or a pampering treatment. There’s scope for lots of fun with this one.

Follow the Clues for a Gift for You. The First One’s Easy it’s in Your _____

Pinterest is the place to head to to plan an Easter egg hunt with clues. There are lots of Easter egg hunt clue templates online that you simply print or write out, roll up and pop into a fillable egg. Position appropriately throughout your house and garden, making sure the hiding places and clues match up! This is a good one for households with pets, as chocolate is poisonous for dogs.

Top Planning Tips

• Choose eggs and a type of hunt according to age. For varying age groups, cater for the youngest and perhaps buddy older kids up with little Easter bunnies to make things fairer.
• For older kids, don’t forget to hide high as well as low. Up in trees and in more unusual places, such as on car tyres, is always lots of fun.
• Make a note, photograph or jot a rough map of where you’ve hidden eggs or clues, in case any get missed and you can prompt with ‘warmer’ and ‘colder’ signals.
• Have spare prizes.
• Plan for the afternoon and when kids have already eaten a good lunch. This avoids hunger-driven egg feuds as well as a sugar-rush before bed.
• Don’t leave anyone out – including pooch! Easter bonnets and fun costumes are a great way for all ages to feel involved. (Just remember that chocolate is poisonous to dogs, so make sure not to forget about any hidden chocolate treats)

Download our very own Easter egg design to print out and colour in here! Decorate your front door or windows and create your very own Easter egg hunt for your local community when they’re out on their daily walk!