Host the most eggsciting Easter egg hunt of the year with the right plan in place and a few fun twists along the way. Get your Easter egg hunt checklist ready, because you're about to plan an unforgettable event for kids and adults alike. These egg hunt tips and tricks will impress everybunny on your guest list.
Start With Choosing a Theme
This isn't your average Easter egg hunt. You'll get all the RSVPs with a whimsical or fun Easter egg hunt theme.
Have a Hippie Egg Hunt
Swap your dainty painted eggs for far out tie-dyed eggs in this colorful twist on an Easter celebration. Invite guests to arrive in their best hippie outfit and help you search for eggs in 70s-inspired baskets.
Include the Easter Bunny's Pals
Could it be that the Easter Bunny is just a plain old rabbit during the off season? Host a forest critter egg hunt for the little ones and make it all about the small, cute animals that a bunny might hang with. Decorate with hedgehogs, squirrels, birds, and bears for an Easter egg hunt that honors all the creatures of the forest.
Make It Fancy
If your guest list includes tons of adults, make your egg hunt extra fancy with a glittering golden egg party. Trade the colorful pastels of traditional Easter decor for bright white and glimmering gold details.
Get Your Easter Checklist in Order
The last thing you want to do is start your egg hunt without the proper preparations. Make your checklist and stick to it for a smooth Easter event that's fun for guests and stress free for you.
- Send out invitations a minimum of two weeks before. Even a simple text or email will do.
- If your hunt is on Easter Sunday, consider setting the time for late afternoon so guests have time to travel from church services.
- Let guests know if baskets are provided, and have a couple of extras on hand just in case.
- Calculate how many eggs you need. A good practice is to expect 15-20 eggs per person.
- Find the filler for your eggs, including small candies, stickers, and tiny toys.
- Fill your eggs one or two days in advance and be sure to count the total number you have before hiding them.
- To avoid weather issues, plan to hide your eggs the day of your event. You'll want to have everything hidden before people arrive, so you're not scrambling. If your kids are taking part, try to hide eggs before they wake up that morning.
- Buy more candy or other egg fillers than you expect to use. You never know if you'll need to console a little egg hunter with an extra chocolate or two.
- Be sure to ask about allergies or dietary restrictions for your little hunters. You'll want some allergy alternatives on hand just in case.
- Snap photos of where you hide the eggs. You might lose track of the well-hidden ones, and having a point of reference will help jog your memory so every egg is accounted for at the end.
- Buy quality eggs. The last thing you want is for little hunters to find an open egg with all the goodies spilled on the ground. Grab some plastic eggs that snap tightly together for a sturdy treat vessel.
Use These Easter Egg Hunt Tips for a Fun Event
You want your Easter egg hunt to be the talk of the neighborhood, so throw in a few surprise elements that guests of all ages will love. A few helpful hacks will also keep your hunt running smoothly and help little egg hunters avoid meltdowns or frustration.
Try an Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt
For older, more experienced egg hunters, a scavenger hunt is a fun alternative to the typical structure. Start by giving kids their basket with the first clue inside. From there, have a collection of eggs in each clue's hiding spot, one for each child. Keep clues simple, but engaging and fun. The final clue could lead your little detectives to their Easter baskets, their favorite sweet treat, or a surprise gift. Use our pre-written printable clues or blank printable clues to create your own.
Use Balloons for Toddlers
Easter egg hunts are exciting, but often overwhelming, for toddlers. Make the process smooth and egg-stra fun by tying balloons to the eggs. This is a great way for toddlers to spot their objective and help older kids know which eggs they should leave for the younger hunters.
Include a Golden Egg
A golden Easter egg, hidden in a completely unexpected place is the aim of the entire hunt. Kids might find treasures along the way in all the other eggs, but this one should be the most enticing one to search for. You can fill it with a fun toy, a gift card, or even stuff it full of as much candy as the egg will allow.
Let Younger Kids Go First
If you have a big group of egg hunters with lots of age variation, try staggering your start time. Let toddlers start first, so they can find the more obvious eggs. Kids from five to eight start just a couple of minutes later and are followed by everyone else. This cuts down on the kid stampede and gives younger children the chance to hunt on their own before the older kids jump in.
Vary Your Fillings
People expect candy during holiday celebrations, but parents might not want all that sugar coming home with them. Try to add variation to your eggs by using miniature toys and prizes, press-on tattoos and stickers, and even tickets that are redeemable for prizes that don't fit inside eggs, like coloring books and sunglasses.
Assign Colors
If your group regularly runs into sharing issues, or you just want to avoid the fight, assign egg colors to each child. Give them each a different color basket and tell them they can only grab the eggs that match with their basket. This helps with age differences, diet restrictions, and just catering to different personalities.
Set Up a Basket Decorating Station
Make every part of the egg hunt an opportunity to have fun and be creative. Set up a small table with felt Easter baskets and invite kids to decorate their own while they wait for the hunt to begin. Include acrylic paints, markers, pompoms, ribbon, sequins, and feathers so each child can personalize their own basket.
Use the Confetti & Gold Glitter Approach
Eggs don't have to be full of treats to make the experience fun. A great way to get older kids and even adults involved is to make the event more about the thrill of the hunt. Fill every egg, except for one, with rainbow confetti. One egg out of the bunch will be full of gold glitter. Hunters must crack open every egg they find until someone discovers the golden glitter bomb. You might get covered in confetti for this one, but that's half the fun.
Make the Hunt Fun for Teens
Teenagers might not look forward to the Easter egg hunts they loved as kids, but they might get involved if there is something planned specifically for them. Let teens work together in a neighborhood-wide scavenger hunt or a search for cash instead of candy. You can even hide glow-in-the-dark eggs after sunset so teens can tap into that childhood nostalgia without everyone seeing just how giddy they are.
Pick the Best Hiding Place
The true key to a perfect Easter egg hunt comes down to how you hide the eggs. You want to have a good mix of simple and complex hiding places so egg hunters of all ages can enjoy the experience.
- Place some eggs out in the open for the youngest hunters of the group.
- Use ribbon or fishing line to hang eggs from tree branches. They may be easy to spot, but harder to reach.
- Let older kids hide eggs for the younger kids. They might recall some of the best hiding places they discovered in egg hunts past.
- Hide some eggs indoors and some outdoors. You can always tell kids how many are in each area.
- If you're hiding eggs inside, try simple spots that are easily concealed like canisters on the kitchen counter, inside a lampshade, or tucked into someone's shoe.
- For outdoor eggs, look for places that are safe for kids to access but still unexpected. Inside shrubs, buried in gravel, or between deck and fence posts are great places to stash a few eggs.
Fill Your Easter With Fun
After this unforgettable Easter egg hunt, you'll be the designated event host for every holiday. All you need are a few unique updates and a bit of creativity to plan the perfect Easter egg hunt for an eggsciting welcome to springtime.
