How to Plan the Best Easter Egg Hunt

Each spring, millions of parents hide Easter eggs for their children to find over the Easter holiday, but most of these egg hunts are poorly planned and end all too soon. Planning the best Easter egg hunt just requires a little time and effort, but the payoff will come when the children hunting the eggs are all smiles during their fun-filled Easter egg hunt.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Plastic Easter eggs Candy Small toys Cash Easter baskets

Choosing the Best Easter Egg Hunt Location

1. Find an outdoor space with plenty of good hiding spots for the Easter eggs. An ideal location will have large open spaces for younger children and trees, shrubs, and outdoor furniture or yard items to hide eggs on or in for older children.

2. Reserve an area park, playground or field for the Easter egg hunt if your yard is not ideally suited for Easter egg hunting.

3. When hiding the Easter eggs at the location, make sure that all the children are occupied and not able to watch as the eggs are hidden.

4. Hide the Easter eggs at different difficulty levels if different age groups of children will be participating in the Easter egg hunt. For the best Easter egg hunt, young children will hunt for eggs hidden in obvious locations, while older children will hunt for eggs hidden in more conspicuous places.

Filling the Best Easter Eggs

5. Buy enough good, quality plastic Easter eggs so that each child participating in the Easter egg hunt will be able to get a good number of eggs. Fill the Easter eggs prior to the day of the Easter egg hunt to avoid a last-minute rush to get things ready for the hunt.

6. Choose appropriate items to fill the eggs with. Fill eggs intended for young children with candy that they will be able to eat and won't choke on, or fill them with small toys. Fill Easter eggs for older children with candy they like or cash. Be sure to fill each egg with an equal amount of candy or cash unless the hunt will involve bigger "prize" eggs. If the forecast for the day of the hunt is calling for hot temperatures, you may want to avoid chocolate candy if the eggs will be sitting out for a lengthy period of time.

7. Securely close each egg to prevent the eggs from opening and spilling their contents during the Easter egg hunt. If you are unsure if the eggs are sealed tightly enough, use scotch tape to tape the two egg halves closed.

8. Store all filled Easter eggs in one location so that everything is ready for the day of your best Easter egg hunt.

Managing the Best Easter Egg Hunt

9. On the day of the Easter egg hunt, designate an adult to be in charge of the children while you and other adults hide the Easter eggs. Keep children busy with Easter-themed games, songs, story time or a craft activity.

10. Hide the Easter eggs according to what age group they are intended for. The Easter eggs filled with items for young children should be hid in relatively obvious locations that are low to the ground. Eggs intended for older children should be hidden well in more obscure locations. Be sure not to throw the eggs or let them fall to the ground, as this will usually make them pop open. Instead, gently place the Easter eggs in their hiding spots.

11. Gather all of the children together once all of the Easter eggs are hidden, and prepare them for the best Easter egg hunt. Each child should have a basket or bag to collect their Easter eggs.

12. Young children should be allowed to hunt first in the area where the eggs that are easier to find are located. Once they have started their hunt, instruct the older children to not take any of the eggs meant for the younger kids. Show them the area where their eggs are hidden, and allow them to get started on their Easter egg hunt. It's a good idea to inform the older kids of their egg limit so that they will know when to stop hunting and allow other children to get their share, too.

13. Adults that hid the eggs should walk around during the Easter egg hunt and keep an eye on the eggs they hid so that they will be able to tell when all the eggs have been hunted.

Tips & Warnings

• After the Easter egg hunt is over, make sure all the parents have an eye on their children in order to monitor candy consumption. Some parents are fine with their kids eating some of the candy right away, but others may want them to save their candy for a later time. If your yard isn't ideal for Easter egg hunting, and you can't find a park or playground, ask a friend with a larger yard if you can hold the egg hunt there. Eliminate fighting over eggs by telling the children that what is in their basket belongs to them and that they are not allowed to put their hands in anyone else's basket.