Easter is such a fun time of year. I’m excited to share with you today how we’ve incorporated our kids into our celebrations to make this holiday special for the whole family. I’m sharing my BEST Easter Egg Hunt Ideas for kids of all ages!
Growing up we had several traditions this time of year from finding a new spring dress to enjoying a grand meal with family, but especially our Easter egg hunts. Each year these traditions made Easter a special time. So, when I became a mama and had littles of my own, I knew that I wanted to carry on the traditions that my family had set.
THE HUNTERS
In my family, I was an only child. I had one cousin who was a year older than me, but we were the only children in our family. We were more like siblings than cousins, having grown up across the street from one another our entire lives. So, when it came time for the annual egg hunt, my mama had it easy.
Fast forward to our first egg hunt with my own children, and things were a bit trickier. My son is quick and the oldest of 8 grandchildren, with my niece just being shy of 4 years old and my new nephew only weeks old. So what do you do when you have a lot like that? Ages that have such a range make egg hunts hard because the skill and interests are so different.
We’ve mastered our Easter egg hunt ideas over the years to include the BEST Easter hunt hacks to make hunting fun for all ages!
EASTER EGG FILLERS
Let me take you back to our first egg hunt. Spoiler alert, we were not prepared! We decided to hold our first egg hunt when my son was four years old and my daughter was three. At this time there was only one other grandchild, my niece who was just shy of turning two. We gathered at my in-laws and figured we would stuff the eggs there while the kids weren’t looking, but no one picked up any egg fillers! So we raided the pantry and found crackers, sun-dried prunes, and a handful of coins. It was all about the hunt anyways, right? HA! Let’s just say I don’t want to repeat using prunes anytime soon.
Now we have eight grandchildren with ages ranging from ten to weeks old. This is quite the interest gap. How do you stuff eggs that will please a crowd? Tiny parts that are choking hazards are a no-go for toddlers and baby bath toys are of no interest to our tweens.
When I’m looking for egg stuffers for toddlers to tweens, I set my sights on things that they can use. I don’t want little junk toys that will just end up in a drawer a few days later. I want things that they can use and continue to use for months to come.
Here are my collection of the BEST Easter egg fillers to date!
I have found these little items in the dollar spot at Target, the Dollar Store, Walmart, Five Below, and CVS believe it or not!
THE EGGS
Now, I know what you’re going to say, “What is a toddler going to do with Legos?” and “But my tween will not play with Matchbox Cars!”
This I, too, know so here’s comes the secret Easter egg hunt idea…
COLOR CODED EGGS! Yes! Color coded eggs. When we all gather at my in-laws, each grandchild is given a single egg. This egg is the color that they are only to search for! Genius, right? Remember all those bags of multicolored plastic eggs? Divide them up! Separate them by color and assign each child one color to search for.
Plastic Easter eggs come in bags of single colors and multicolors so no matter if you have only a few children or a dozen, you’re covered!
I carefully stuff each single-colored egg lot with items that fit that particular child. Then, I don’t need to worry if our 3-year-old niece ends up Matchbox Cars or holiday erasers. I know that my tween son will get things that interest him or that he can use, like new hand sanitizer and a festive face mask!
HIDE THE EGGS
May the best hunter win! When you have a large age gap in your family like we do, hunting can be short and sweet or long and drawn out. How do we make it fun and challenging for our older kids, but not frustrating for our toddlers?
How and where you hide the eggs matter!
For our older children, we make it a bit more difficult. Kids always think to look down at the ground when searching for eggs, so think up! Hide your eggs in higher places, like the top of a bush or in the fork of a tree. We’ve hidden our eggs in bird feeders and on wind chimes before, too. I also choose colors that will blend in better for our older children, like green eggs. The color is harder to spot in a row of bushes. You can hide their eggs behind or inside things as well, such as behind pillows or inside potted plants. The men folk in our family usually hide the eggs for the older kids, and they have a blast trying to out-smart them!
For younger children, hide their eggs in obvious places. beside a flower or at the edge of a flowerbed. Nothing too tricky so that they can still hunt for eggs, but not become discouraged. I also choose bright stand out egg colors for them, such as pink or orange. These colors pop against green bushes or dark brown mulch.
For toddlers, egg hunting can be frustrating especially if it is their first time. My biggest suggestion is helium-filled balloons! Tie a helium filled balloon to each egg, and then scatter them around the yard. They will learn how to “hunt” or search for eggs, but the frustration is taken away because they are only looking for the floating balloons!
If the older kids finish before the younger ones, we encourage them to help the younger ones, but not tell them directly. We have taught them to use the “you’re getting colder” and “you’re getting hotter” terminology to help direct the younger ones to their eggs.
ALL TOGETHER NOW
The last special tradition we have for our Easter egg hunt ideas is the golden eggs. Each little gets to find two golden eggs which hold puzzle pieces. Once all the eggs have been found, the kids sit down and work together to put their puzzle together. The pieces make up one puzzle and the children are so excited to see what their puzzle will show.
This makes for a fun activity for them to work together to complete while the adults finish setting the table or enjoy some quiet time.
I choose puzzles that have around 24 pieces to them and show some kind of Easter scene. You can find simple Easter puzzles in the children’s or toddler sections at your local Target, Walmart or Dollar store. I put a few pieces in each of the golden eggs until all the pieces have been distributed.
It’s a great way to bring them all together for pictures at the end and encourage them to work as a team.
I hope these Easter egg hunt ideas help make your holiday extra special for all ages!
LOVE THESE IDEAS, SAVE THEM FOR LATER!
