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Plan a Perfect Easter Egg Hunt

Plan an Egg-stra Special Event for Your Kids

By Shandley McMurray

What Easter celebration would be complete without an egg hunt? Whether you’re planning an indoor search for three or an outdoor event for 300, here are a few ideas to help you organize the perfect hunt this year.

After you've gathered all the information on egg hunting, please be sure to check out our great Easter printables, Easter games and activities, Easter Sunday recipes, and of course--Easter crafts.

Use different colors

Color code the eggs according to age, says Judith Manley, a mother of eight and grandmother of eleven, who remembers hunting for eggs with her children in Lewiston, New York. Get two- to four-year-olds looking for blue eggs while those four to six search for green, and so on. “That way the little ones have an equal chance at finding the eggs,” she says.

Make words

Paint a different letter on each egg, says Corinne Williams of Hammonton, New Jersey, a mother of one. Then have the kids create words with the eggs they’ve found. The kid with the most words wins a prize.

Keep a record

Always make a note of how many eggs you’ve used and where they’re hidden. There’s nothing worse than smelling a rotten egg in July or finding melted chocolate under the couch cushions!

Set boundaries

For safety, establish borders when planning an outdoor hunt, suggests Jane Brown, mother of four in Whitby, Ont.. Tell kids to stay between the house and the first maple tree, for instance, or to go no farther than the mailbox. “I forgot one year and the kids were in the woods behind the house for ages,” says Brown. “They came back very upset that they hadn’t found anything.”

Draw a map

Keep things interesting by setting up a treasure hunt for kids, says Brown. Give each child a map using picture clues for non-readers. Cut out a picture of a chair, for instance, or draw a coffee table to show them where the eggs are. Then be a bit sneaky by hiding another map at one of the clues. Use riddles for older kids and lead them to more difficult places, such as a specific novel on the book shelf.

Add a piñata

If you’re using plastic eggs, place them in a piñata once they’ve been found. Have the children take turns hitting it with a plastic bat while blindfolded. The one who finally bursts it open wins something special.

Planning a neighbourhood or church group hunt? Here are a few tips from the organizers of the Guinness World Record holder for the largest Easter egg hunt. More than 1,500 children searched for over 292,000 eggs at this hunt in Rockford Park District in Illinois.

Set a limit

Figure out your maximum number of participants before the hunt and stick to it. Hand out only that number of egg collection bags in the beginning to help keep your hunt under control. Ask a local store to donate the bags—it’s free advertising for them!

Use plastic eggs

Real eggs can crack and it’s time-consuming to cook and dye a huge batch. Instead, choose the plastic variety and ask everyone to return them at the end of the hunt so you can reuse them next year.

Supply good prizes

Every child should get a candy prize for participating. As well, have small prizes such as free ice cream cones, arcade passes or popcorn donated by local shops. For the grand prize, choose something that kids will really love, like a bike or DVD player.

Hide the prize inside

Go for random winners, rather than the children who have the most eggs. Simply place a note inside a certain number of eggs to declare the victors.

Stay safe

Think about your location carefully beforehand, and be aware of hazards such as water and traffic. An open space such as a football field is ideal. Make sure everyone knows where the boundaries of the hunt are, and if you have a large number of kids, have parents be responsible for keeping an eye on them.