Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

Having organized and hosted several community Easter Egg Hunts, I have quite a bit of experience in this area. It's a great deal of fun for an event that actually lasts less than 10 minutes, but seeing the faces of the children it is worth all the planning. Although it may be too late for a community Easter Egg Hunt this year it's never too early to start planning for next year, starting a fund or getting commitments for contributions.

In the meantime, it's not too late to put together a neighborhood hunt, or plan one for your extended family.

For the smaller scale, simply ask each participating family contribute eggs (Or, for the really die-hard hunters, get together with families and dye eggs as a group - don't make one person do it all!). Plastic eggs are easier, and not as messy, but dying eggs is a fun activity for young and old.
If using plastic eggs, fill them up with either small toys you can get at a dollar store, or candy. Make sure the smaller children to not have choking hazard toys in the eggs in their area.

In the larger hunts we offered prizes, so we put a number in an egg that would correspond to a prize. Having a prize for different age levels - like a large toy or gift basket (we had them donated by businesses in the community).

It always works better if you have a different area for different age groups, making the search harder for the older kids. Block off areas for different age groups, like 2-4; 5-6; 7-9. Have an age cut off point.

Make sure each child has a container to put their eggs. If they did not bring their own baskets, and you are not giving each child a basket, have plastic bags handy just in case.

One lesson I learned the hard way - both as a parent and an organizer - parent involvement always causes problems. Instruct parents this is a kids activity and NOT A COMPETITION! Every child should have the opportunity to get as many eggs as they can, ON THEIR OWN. Unfortunately there are some parents who may feel their child should get them all.

There are usually some smaller children who are shy and afraid to get out there and search, so make sure you keep some eggs back to put in their baskets after the hunt is over, so they don't feel left out.

An Easter Egg Hunt is a fun experience, but there will always be greedy people who can make it unpleasant, so lay down rules ahead of time as to age designated areas, no parents, no pushing and no taking eggs out of someone else's basket.

You can extend the event by having other outdoor parties to entertain everyone, including a sack race or relays.

Another aid for Easter comes from Avery Labels - click HERE for Free Easter templates to make great Easter placecards or Easter Cards from your own printer!

Happy Hunting!