You can start your hunt by having several parents load up a dozen plastic eggs with small goodies (candy, tiny toys, pennies, etc.), and then hide them all around the best backyard in the neighborhood. (For the purposes of an egg hunt, the best backyard is a messy backyard – one with lots of nooks and crannies, a shed, a barn, a play structure, bushes, trees, tall grass, etc.) Don’t forget the rules. Understanding that Easter Egg Hunts, like Pinata Games, can bring out the worst in even the sweetest child, impose some rules to make the hunt a little more fun for all, and a little longer lasting. (With no rules, the biggest, fastest kid will likely snatch up a majority of the eggs in 30 seconds flat, leaving the smaller kids in a zombie-like state of shock…) For example, if the kids involved range in age from 3 to 10, we pair up big kids with little, giving them one basket between them, and tell the bigger kids to let the little ones pick up every other egg. Another option for evening out the playing field might also be to assign each child a color. Make sure that you have an equal number of eggs of each color. Either way, once you say the word, stand back and be prepared to catch the action with some very fast film or a video camera. After everyone has collected their eggs, compared contents, and devoured the edibles, you can continue the hunt with many different variations, including:
Divide the kids into two groups, and let each group take turns hiding the eggs for the other group to find. Have the kids hop on one leg while looking for the eggs. Pair up the kids again, blindfold one, and have the other verbally direct the first to the eggs.
Happy hunting!
