Last updated on October 31st, 2023 at 10:05 am
Plan an Easter egg scavenger hunt at home to make Easter morning extra fun, exciting, and unique for your kids, young and old.
In our household, we tend to celebrate the holidays in a big way. Easter is no exception to that with an established tradition we have had ever since before our twins were born. Easter morning consists of the kids getting up way too early, enjoying an egg hunt, followed by our traditional breakfast consisting of cinnamon rolls from a can.
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It may not seem much except when it comes to the egg hunt, which I stress over and work on for several months prior to the day. The Easter Bunny comes sneaking through our house at night and doesn’t just leave eggs laying around, it’s slightly more complicated than that. Who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned Easter egg scavenger hunt? Especially one that is not only fun but can be educational and mind-boggling at the same time. Here are a few of the different Easter egg scavenger hunts we have done. They can be altered based on age while still maintaining the complexity of each child’s ability.
Use photos as clues
When our twins were just a little over a year old was when decided to up our game on egg hunts. What is great about this age is that they are really discovering the world around them while trying to maneuver walking and climbing. That year we decided to take pictures of places around the house and put them in the eggs. You can also find images online as well, either will work. This is great for that age because they can see the picture and should be familiar with where it is.
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This Easter egg scavenger hunt also works well for older kids. For our older daughter, we did the same thing; taking pictures of things around the house. In her caThis Easter egg scavenger hunt also works well for older kids. For our older daughter, we did the same thing; taking pictures of things around the house. In her case, though, we did extreme closeups of the location. It is really crazy how the picture changes when looking at it from that perspective. Examples for this egg hunt include taking pictures of the refrigerator, laundry basket, or mailbox if you wanted to take it outside. For the extreme closeups, a super magnified picture of a brick on the fireplace can be a real puzzler.
Puzzle scavenger hunt
Another great Easter egg scavenger hunt that can be done at any age is a puzzle scavenger hunt. For our twins, who were five at the time, we bought 24-piece puzzles. It’s important to either get pieces small enough for the eggs or eggs big enough for the pieces. For our oldest child, we did a 100-piece puzzle; putting 3-4 pieces in each egg. This one is pretty simple; you put the puzzle together and turn it over. On the back you could do one of two things; either draw a picture of where the big Easter basket is, or a riddle as the final clue. This is a great hunt that involves using fine motor skills and who doesn’t love putting a puzzle together?
Clues and riddles
If you are really feeling creative, you can do a traditional scavenger hunt filled with clues and riddles. Pinterest is filled with these ideas if you don’t want to have to create them yourselves, but then you have to find ones that fit into what is in your own house. For younger ones, it can be as simple as “where you go for your favorite outfit?” or “go to where you get your snack.” From there you can make the riddles more complicated by just not making them so obvious.
The Easter Egg Hunt Survival Guide
These are just a few examples of fun Easter egg scavenger hunts we have done over the years. If you are tired of the same, boring egg hunt clues, these ideas can really spice it up.
Tips for your Easter egg scavenger hunt
There are a few other things we do to really make Easter a fun holiday, especially when it pertains to the egg hunting portion.
- If there are multiple kids involved, designate a certain color egg for each child. That way there is no unfairness with one child getting more eggs than the other.
- Designated certain areas of the house to each child, allowing there to be no fighting over finding someone else’s eggs. For example, one year our son had the living room, our daughter had the kitchen, and the oldest had the bedrooms.
- Keep the location in mind: if they can’t reach it or see it, it kind of defeats the purpose.
- Have fun with this. This can be as much fun for the parents as it is for the kids. I personally love making these scavenger hunts and the final Easter basket they have to find. It’s a nice way to make it an even more special time in the spring.
- Make sure to put a little something in each egg along with the clue; a couple of jellybeans or other sweet treats or a couple of coins are exciting too. You can change the special prize depending on the ages of your kids.
What parents have to say about planning an Easter egg scavenger hunt
“The Easter egg scavenger hunt is my kids’ favorite part of spring. With a little extra time and effort, we all have a blast with it. There are so many creative ideas to get started.”
Tricia C.
“When I first started this it was picture clues around the living room for my 3-year-old twins leading to a big basket of goodies. Now that they are 12 we use the whole house and yard and wait for the cousins to come and join in the fun with complex clues, puzzles, and prizes. It’s so fun for the whole family and the kids wind up with little treats and even money at the end.”
Sara P.
“The scavenger hunt at Easter doesn’t have to be just for Pinterest moms. I’m the anti-Pinterest mom with 4 kids and I do it every year. Each kid gets a color egg so no one gets left out and even the little ones get plenty of candy and pocket change. Don’t over-think it and you’ll be fine and the kids will love it.”
Marsha P.
“I have so much fun putting this together for my kids every year. I use fun colored eggs and patterned sturdy card stock, new hiding spots, fun egg hunt riddles, and even give them some an outdoor clue of two when the weather is nice.”
Risa K.
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My kids get so excited for the holidays, we even countdown to them usually about a month in advance. Our house is decorated right now with cardboard cutout eggs and other random decorations I have collected over the years. I think it is very important to take that extra step when preparing for the holidays and to make our kids feel special and have a fun time. The Easter egg scavenger hunt will help to create lifelong memories and hopefully gives them something to share with their children someday. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate; it just takes a little creative thinking.
Marlana Zank is a stay-at-home mom to three kids, including an eleven year old daughter and four year old boy/girl twins. Let’s not forgot her amazing husband and Luna, the newest four legged member to the family. Her hobbies include reading, Zumba at the local Y, and a crazy obsession to “Gilmore Girls”, “Parenthood”, and “Supernatural”. Realistic hobbies include laundry, house cleaning, cooking for picky kids, and knowledge of all Disney and Nickelodeon.
