10 tips for hosting an awesome Easter Egg Hunt (without blowing the budget)

Have you thought about hosting your own neighborhood Easter egg hunt?

Our annual neighborhood Easter egg hunts are one of our favorite ways to celebrate one of our favorite holidays. We generally host ours on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. Kids running and giggling, parents lounging and chatting, everyone happy and having fun… It’s one of the highlights of our year. I hope these simple tips will help you organize your own little hunt!

Here’s how we pull it off on a small budget:

1. Send the parents instructions for the older kids ahead of time.

Ask them to prep the the big kids so that they won’t burst from their cars to scoop up all the obvious eggs (set out for the littles) before they’re supposed to.

2. Ask the kids (parents) to bring their own Easter baskets.

You might want to have a couple of spares on hand just in case anyone forgets.

3. Get your group photo of all the children together before the hunt begins.

This way the older ones won’t be too hyped up on sugar to sit still and the younger ones won’t be melting into nap-time. (I learned this one the hard way.)

4. Go over the instructions again with the kids once you’re ready to start.

Keep it short and simple and encourage the big kids to help the littles.

5. Release the kids in “heats” according to age.

Let the littlest kids go first to find all the obvious eggs and then release the bigger kids 10 minutes later to storm the yard and collect their bounty. Alternately, if your property is big enough, send the big kids to the front yard and the little ones to the back yard.

6. In addition to a few “real” eggs, use plastic eggs with candy and prizes inside of them.

When the hunt is over, the kids can open their eggs, keep all their treasures (chocolates, raisins, teddy grams, nickels, stickers, pretzels, blueberries, jelly beans, etc.) and then return the plastic eggs for next year’s hunt. (Give them the heads-up during instruction time so they won’t be too disappointed when they’re asked to hand back the shells.)

7. Have a potluck-style spread of yummy treats for morning tea.

Ask each family to bring a little something for morning tea to share. Add coffee, teas, and juices and then watch as your table is filled with muffins, scones, cheese and cracker platters, veggies, fruit, and more. YUM.

8. Set out an Easter basket with candy for the parents.

Load up a “parents only” basket on the morning tea table just in case the kids don’t want to share their bounty.

9. Make sure to get lots of photos.

Designate someone to take photos (if you’re able) so you can be free to host. Some fun shots to think about capturing are: egg hunting shots, kids showing off their haul, details of the morning tea and decorations, chocolate-smeared faces, parents chatting over coffee, etc.

10. Remember the reasons why you celebrate in the first place.

Every family is different, but for ours, we celebrate because of our faith. We love the party, we love the chocolate, we love the bunnies, we love the tasty treats… but more importantly, we love what God has done for us and who he is. Jesus is our reason for celebrating all of it. You may or may not share our faith, but no doubt you celebrate because holidays are a wonderful reason to gather the family together, have some fun, and build special memories. Whatever your reasons are, ENJOY.

Happy Easter friends!