Easter Egg Hunts are great fun for children, and something that I like to set up for my two every year. Over the years I like to think I’ve become a bit of a pro at organising “eggcellent” Easter Egg Hunts, and today I thought I’d share a few of my top tips for hosting a successful event with you all.
First things first, size up your space. Decide whether you’re going to hold your event indoors or out, and don’t forget that the weather in the UK can be super unpredictable so you should definitely have a backup plan in place just incase it rains.
Next, define your hunts boundaries, which you’ll need to explain to both the children and their parents before starting. I like to use some Easter themed bunting to mark the perimeter of our hunts, and hang signs to indicate no entry on the doors of any rooms inside that I don’t want any children entering. One year I forgot to do this and at the end of the day we found Stacey’s duvet covered in chocolatey hand prints … oops!!
Next, decide what kind of eggs you’re going to hide and how many there will be for each child. I usually spend the 3-4 weeks prior to an egg hunt stocking up on things such as Cadbury’s Creme Eggs, Kinder Surprise, Mini Eggs, sweets and small treats. And the week before the hunt I buy in enough baskets or buckets for the children to collect their eggs in. If you have a large number of children attending, you could also ask them to bring their own, but make sure you have a couple of spares to hand just incase someone forgets to bring theirs.
Last year I just hid wrapped eggs around our garden for Stacey and Oscar to find, but this year I’m planning on filling some two-part plastic eggs with treats for them to find instead. With Oscar old enough to toddle round on his own this year I think it will be a lot of fun, and the plastic eggs will prevent him from squeezing any chocolate eggs and them melting in his hand and causing a sticky mess!
I recommend hiding around 7-8 eggs per child per egg hunt. Stacey has always known that this means she can have one chocolate egg (or treat) per day for a week and she’s always been happy with this.
Always keep in mind the ages of the children attending your hunt, and make sure that the eggs are hidden in appropriate places for them to find. I always stick to the following guidelines:
Toddlers
Keep it simple for toddlers. Spread the eggs out on the lawn or living room floor where they’re clearly visible. Younger children often stop and play with one egg once it’s been found so don’t worry if they don’t seem to be joining in as much as you’d like. They’ll still be having lots of fun!
Age 3-6
Choose fairly obvious hiding places for slightly older children. Ideas here include behind rocks, in plant pots and on low tables. Don’t put things too high up for children in this age group or they’ll get frustrated if they can’t find any!
Age 6+
Children in this age group will definitely appreciate a challenge! Here you could hide eggs under bushes, on walls or on branches of trees (just don’t put them too high up as you don’t want them climbing and hurting themselves). You could also add some extra fun by seeing who can find their eggs the quickest, or have them hop around like bunnies as they search. The possibilities are endless!
If you’ve got a mixed-age crowd, you can combine any of the ideas above to keep everybody happy and busy. And if you have any teenagers lurking about make sure you ask them to help hide the eggs and keep the little ones in check. They secretly love to be asked as they get to join in the fun without it feeling ‘babyish’. To keep things calm and fair during the hunt, have children search in shifts: babies and toddlers can start while the older ones work on a craft project. Baker Ross have a wide range of “eggciting” Easter craft kits available on their website. Then let the older kids loose while an adult reads a story to the little ones.
And last but not least have fun. As long as you’ve prepared everything in advance your egg hunt should go off without a hitch. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that I always have a couple of sick buckets to hand when we have a large group of children attending. After all, you can tell them not to eat more than one egg and save the rest till later until your blue in the face, but kids will be kids and there’s almost always one who will ignore you! Sad but true.
Why not let me know in the comments below.
