Hosting an Easter Egg Hunt

Easter Basket Ideas

Paper Bags

Using simple brown paper bags, construction paper, white string and glue you can make a “Bunny Bag” for collecting eggs. Cut out rabbit ears to glue to the top of the bags which also double as handles, cut out and glue on or simply draw on some eyes and use the string for cute bunny whiskers.

Paper Mache

Remember this from school? Mix one part flour with about 2 parts of water until you get a consistency like thick glue. Add more water or flour as necessary. Mix well to get out all the bumps and you have papier mache paste. Then use an inflated balloon to help you shape your basket. Simply pop the balloon once the paste is dry and decorate to your heart’s content.

Tin Pails

You can usually find all sizes of inexpensive tin pails at hardware and home improvement stores. Use paint, glue on different materials such as lace or ribbons or simply draw with magic markers to decorate. Try personalizing one for each child for a special touch.

Store Bought

Go ahead and purchase traditional Easter baskets, but put your own touch on them by embellished them with thrift store finds: ribbons, jewelry, fabric odds and ends, pieces of feather boas, cloth flowers from old purses and hats, strings of beads and more.

Hosting an Easter Egg Hunt

Set Up an Easter Egg Extravaganza for Young and Old

A good Easter Egg Hunt is as much a craft party as it is anything else, so get prepared. Have your supplies on hand, get in a creative frame of mind, and know your guest list. If there is a wide range of ages among the children you invited, know that you’ll have a major meltdown on your hands if the older children rush out and find all of the eggs within seconds leaving the younger ones in their dust. Come up with a system to make things fair (and stretch out the festivities). Try a color coding system, telling the children for instance that blue and yellow eggs are for children under six and hide those in easy to spot places. Reserve pink and purple eggs for children over six and hide those in harder-to-find locations. Or pair up a young child with an older sibling or friend and set a “goal” or a “limit” on eggs to find. Each team must find 10 eggs, for example, before the hunt ends.

If you’re using real eggs, paint a number or a symbol on each egg which will correspond to a treat “basket” the bearer of the egg will win. If you’re using plastic eggs, which you can purchase at most grocery or discount stores this time of year, fill each egg with an equal number of small treats such as stickers, individual pieces of bulk candy or small toys. You can provide baskets for children to stash their finds, ask children to bring their own baskets or have them create baskets before the hunt as part of the party. Check out our sidebar on basket ideas for some thoughts on creative ways to carry your eggs. You can set up a table ahead of time with all of the materials your little guests will need to make their baskets and print out instructions to give to the adults so they can get involved and help the projects go smoothly and quickly.

Keep the event casual and kid-focused by serving food buffet style. Try the Crunchy Honey Glazed Spiral Ham, it is an Easter tradition, excellent at a buffet, and feeds a crowd with ease. You could also try a tray of tea sandwiches, like the delicious Ham Salad Sandwich or Mini Lemon Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches.

Decorate with spring flowers, such as tulips, daffodils, Easter lilies or hyacinths. Focus on bright colors such as, rich purple, hot pink, lime green and bright yellow or the pastels of the season such as, pale pink, lavender, baby blue and pale green.

Once everyone has a chance to go through the buffet, then it’s time for the hunt to begin. You don’t need to serve dessert for the children, since they will have candy galore to indulge in. However, you may want to have a dessert buffet for adults along with some coffee and tea at the end of the lunch/dinner buffet so they can serve themselves while you orchestrate the start of the hunt. Try the Luscious Lemon Angel Food Cake with Citrus Glaze or the Best Ever Carrot Cake Cupcakesfor your dessert buffet. They are easy to make for a group, and are sure to be a crowd pleaser. Adult guests can then sit back and relax after their meal while they watch the children run like mad after hidden treats.