Utterly Ingenious Egg Hunts
Our readers have dreamed up plenty of imaginative twists on the traditional egg hunt. Here are some of our favorites.
Yard-to-yard Hunt A few weeks before Easter, a colorful flyer is delivered to all the homes in Autumn Spitzke's neighborhood in Anthem, Arizona, detailing the time and date of the multifamily egg hunt. On the big day, those who want to participate hide eggs in their yards, then hang the flyer in clear view so the kids know where treasure awaits. The hunters begin at the street's end and move from yard to yard.
Flashlight Hunt In Janet Gray's Lexington, South Carolina, neighborhood, kids ages seven and up love their Saturday-night version of the typical Sunday egg hunt. The evening before Easter, they head for the grounds of a local clubhouse, where, armed with flashlights, they scan the dark lawns for eggs.
Color-coded Hunt To level the playing field a bit, Melissa Archer of Chesterfield, Michigan, assigns a single egg color to each age group. This way, younger kids' eggs can be more easily spotted and won't be scooped up by the older children.
Golden Eggs and Plastic Bunnies To really spice up any Easter egg hunt, hide some surprises along with the usual pastel plastic eggs, advises Christine Ciccarino of Scotch Plains, New Jersey. In her neighborhood hunt, kids hope to find the golden egg that contains a $10 gift card or a plastic bunny that can be traded for a special prize (usually a toy).
Bunny Shop Instead of using candy, Kathryn Harwick-Foley of Hopedale, Massachusetts, fills plastic eggs with fun coupons and "bunny money" created on her computer. At the end of the hunt, kids exchange the coupons for items that wouldn't fit inside an egg, such as pencils or notebooks. Any bunny money the kids collect is spent on goodies at the "bunny store" (which is really just a table displaying a variety of inexpensive toys and treats). The children love the idea, reports Kathryn, "and if you can get some cute items at sales and closeouts, you'll wind up spending less than you would on ordinary egg fillers."
