Easter gatherings might be a little different this year, due to COVID-19, but whether outdoors or inside, an Easter celebration isn’t complete without an egg hunt! We are here sharing 4 helpful tips for hosting your own Easter egg hunt. Maintaining these treasured holiday traditions can bring peace and joy during troubled times.
1. Gather Enough Easter Baskets for Your Egg Hunters
While this year’s Easter egg hunt might be limited to your immediate family, you’ll still want to make sure everyone has their own basket to collect eggs. There are a variety of basket sizes and styles to choose from. Determine the style that works best for the ages of your family members/guests.
Shopping tip: Target offers a variety of baskets. Click here to see the many options that can be ordered online and shipped to your home, or take advantage of the order online, pick up in store option. Because of the inability for many to shop in person, early online ordering is encouraged.
2. Prepare Easter Eggs
The most important part of an Easter egg hunt is having plenty of eggs for your Easter guests to collect. While the number of eggs you allot for each person is up to you, I recommend at least 1 dozen minimum, per person. The more eggs, the better! Decide now whether you plan to hide real eggs, plastic Easter eggs, or a combination of the two. Both options require preparation. If you live in an area of the world where social distancing restrictions aren’t in place, you have the option of inviting guests and asking them to contribute to the egg supply too! An exciting addition to any egg hunt is including a few golden prize eggs. Include slips of paper with the word “PRIZE” on them. Anyone who finds a prize egg can exchange it for a bigger prize from a prize table or grab bag.
Filling dozens and dozens of eggs takes time. Allow yourself plenty of time prior to your Easter egg hunt to gather supplies and fill or decorate eggs. Fun filler ideas for plastic eggs include: money (we recommend putting a small slip of paper with a monetary IOU on the paper, vs actual money in case the egg is never found), candy, gift cards (see tip for money), prize slips (redeemable for a prize from a prize table), stickers, small trinkets/toys.
Don’t forget to have some rules in place for maximum number of eggs that each participant can collect, or you might have some unhappy egg hunters. Rules could include a limit based on age, or a limit based on time. For younger children, and to make it a little more challenging, you could put a limit on each color of egg collected (assuming you hide an equal number of each color).
Shopping tip: Purchase your choice of eggs now, before there is a shortage of supplies. Plastic eggs, egg dye and decorating kids, Easter treats, toys, and prizes, as well as other Easter basket filler can all be found for purchase on Target’s website. While dying eggs is a fun Easter tradition, the current Coronavirus climate may make real eggs scare. Plastic Easter eggs may be the most reliable source this year and can be reused for years to come.
3. Plan the Hunt Area
Your hunt location might depend on the restrictions in place due to COVID-19 this year. But whether your hunt is indoors or outdoors, to be successful, you will need to designate a space that considers the age of your guests. A smaller area is ideal for younger children with eggs “hidden” in more obvious locations that are easier to reach. This will allow younger children to feel successful and encouraged. A broader hunt area with eggs placed in harder, more clever hiding spots will keep older children engaged and happy. They love using their super sleuthing skills to find eggs. If appropriate for your situation, mark off the hunt area using string or tape.
4. Prepare a Plastic Egg Recycle Station (*Optional)
If you host an annual egg hunt and opt for plastic fillable Easter eggs, you may want to consider recycling them each year. After all, the kids are mostly after the contents of each egg and discard them after they’ve removed the toy or treat. An easy way to collect the eggs after an Easter egg hunt is to have a box, bucket, or basket on hand with a “plastic egg recycle” sign on it so that family and/or friends can return empty eggs. An extra step, but time-saving gesture, is to have guests also pair the matching tops and bottoms of each egg before returning them for future use. Plastic egg recycling helps to cut down costs and waste from year to year.
While life is unpredictable right now, holding on to time-honored holiday traditions can help bring a sense of normalcy to our uprooted lives. We hope these Easter egg hunt hosting tips will be helpful as you navigate these unprecedented times.
