Ah, Easter! A time for colorful eggs, fluffy bunnies, and of course, the thrilling hunt for hidden treasures. But let’s face it, planning an Easter egg hunt can sometimes feel a bit…well, egg-streme!
Whether you’re hosting a backyard bash for the neighborhood kids or simply looking for some creative ways to entertain your own little ones, you’ve come to the right place.
This guide is packed with fun and unique Easter egg hunt ideas that will make this year’s celebration truly unforgettable. Get ready to ditch the ordinary and embrace some egg-citing adventures!
Easter Egg Hunt For All Age
01. Easter Egg Hunt Checklist
A Mom’s Take
Up the challenge of an Egg Hunt by adding elements of a scavenger hunt into the mix! This one asks kids to find eggs in five different colors, three backyard flowers, different kinds of outdoor creatures and more in addition to finding their eggs and basket. You can make your own, or go to A Mom’s Take and print out this checklist.
Get the tutorial at A Mom’s Take »
02. Egg Hunt Champion Shirt
Artsy Fartsy Mama
After the hunt is over, make sure to bestow the Finder of the Most Eggs with garments fit for a champion. They can wear this shirt to next year’s hunt before (possibly) passing it on to the next winner. (You can also do the nice thing and make one for every kid.)
Get the tutorial at Artsy Fartsy Mama »
03. Piñata Eggs
Lovely Indeed
For this, the rules of the typical egg hunt don’t change, but it feels a little more festive if the eggs are decorated to look like little piñatas. Kids will love cracking them open and watching the candy spill out.
Get the tutorial at Lovely Indeed »
04. Carrot Treat Cones
Mike Garten
They’re so focused on finding their eggs, imagine how surprised and delighted they’ll be if they find a few of these adorable carrot treat cones along with them. They’re easy to make with just coffee filters, orange paper, double-stick tape, green craft paint, twine and a few other household items, and you can fill them with a child’s favorite candies.
05. Hoppin’ Easter Egg Hunt
Alice and Lois
Part-egg hunt, part-party game, this hunting variation will have everyone laughing. Instead of candy, this activity fills plastic eggs with funny little instructions like “moo like a cow” or “jump on one leg.” Kids have to complete the activity before moving on to the next egg and finding the next challenge. You can print out these instructions at Alice and Lois.
Get the tutorial at Alice and Lois »
06. Balloon Landmarks
Celebrations at Home
If there are toddlers or other very-little hunters in the mix, you can give them a not-so-subtle “hint” about the location of their eggs by tying helium balloons to them. According to Chris from Celebrations at Home, this method also means that parents don’t have to work too hard to coax toddlers into looking for the eggs — they’re naturally drawn to the balloons and will head right for them!
Get the tutorial at Celebrations at Home »
07. Lego Eggs
All For The Boys
This idea is for all the LEGO builders out there: Take a new LEGO set and divide all the pieces between different eggs. Afer they’re done finding all the pieces, they can put their new set together (while you sit and drink coffee). You can choose any LEGO set you’d think they’d like, but the LEGO Creator 3-in-1 White Rabbit really fits the theme of the day.
Get the tutorial at All for the Boys »
08. Golden Ticket Egg
Play Party Plan
Coming on the heels of Wonka, who wouldn’t be excited to fiind a little extra magic in one of the eggs? This year, make a special “golden ticket” and hide it in one of the eggs, and then let the lucky kid who finds it trade it in for a bigger Easter prize.
Get the tutorial from Play Party Plan »
09. Ball Pit Challenge
Peter Risley-Settle/EyeEm//Getty Images
If you don’t want to set kids loose around the house or backyard, you can always give them a needle-in-a-haystack type of hunt if you have a ball pit or kiddie pool. They’ll have a heck of a time trying to separate the regular ball-pit balls from the plastic easter eggs. Too much of a challenge? You can find ways to differentiate them by color, for example pairing pastel balls with metallic eggs.
10. Fabric-Wrapped Eggs
Mike Garten
Using fabric to cover the eggs makes for some beautiful-looking eggs, to be sure. But it also gives them a layer of camouflage. Put the gingham egg on a gingham table runner, for instance, or the floral against a floral pillow, and even the sharpest of egg-hunters will need to look twice before they find it.
11. Easter Egg Hunt Riddles
Happiness Is Homemade
Take their hunt to the next level by making them follow a series of clues to find their Easter basket. The Easter bunny can deliver the first clue, and then they have to decipher it to find the next one — and so on until they get their big prize.
Get the tutorial at Happiness Is Homemade »
12. Egg Carton Bunnies
The Best Ideas for Kids
This is a make-ahead craft they can do if they need an activity in the run-up to Easter that can then be put to use during the big hunt. Kids can transform egg cartons into adorable bunnies, which can be filled with treats and either hidden like an egg or included in the Easter basket.
Get the tutorial at The Best Ideas for Kids »
13. Easter Egg Counting Hunt
Typically Simple
Reinforce those early-math skills with this Easter-themed counting activity. When they’re done finding all the eggs, kids can match the colors to this worksheet and count them to make sure they’ve gotten them all.
Get the tutorial at Typically Simple »
14. Puzzle Piece Egg Hunt
Makes the Best of Everything
If you take a puzzle and hide the pieces in different eggs, you’ll have a ready-made activity for when the hunt is over. You can give them a puzzle featuring their favorite characters, or buy a blank puzzle and write a fun Easter message — or a clue to where their basket is hidden.
Get the tutorial at Make the Best of Everything »
15. Character Egg Hunt
One Little Project
Printable tattoo paper makes it easy to transfer over their favorite characters onto Easter eggs. Challenge kids to find a complete set of characters — all the Sing performers, or all the pups in the PAW Patrol for example — or you can even transfer over words and make a clue to where their basket can be found.
Get the tutorial at One Little Project »
16. Egg Hunt Bunny Markers
Mike Garten
Sometimes, they need a little hint. These trail markers not only lead the way, they make for adorable decorations. You can make them by cutting egg, bunny and carrot shapes out of pastel card stock, writing the instructions on them, then attaching them to wooden dowels.
17. Paint Pen Eggs
Mike Garten
For this simple yet creative idea, use paint pens to decorate your eggs. We share how to design flowers, leaves and swirls on the eggs below. Or, consider writing clues or drawing out hints to help players find the others.
Steps:
FLOWERS: Create flower patterns on the eggs, starting with dots. Expand on them to make more of a petal shape.
LEAVES: Make a vine pattern by drawing lines vertically from the top to the bottom of the egg. Add a leaf shape to the ‘vine.’ Let everything dry completely.
SWIRLS: For the abstract swirl pattern, create a swirl and add dots in between and around it. Make sure everything is dry before displaying!
18. Bunny Garden Doors
Dream a Little Bigger
These DIY bunny doors are the coolest hiding spots for a few eggs. Plus, imagine how amazed kids will be when they stumble upon the oval doors, made of wooden plaques, when hunting for eggs in the backyard.
Get the tutorial at Dream a Little Bigger »
19. ’90s Easter Egg Hunt
Club Crafted
Get ready to have a ’90s-themed Easter party. DIY your own throwback Easter eggs for a scavenger hunt to remember using acrylic paint.
Get the tutorial at Club Crafted »
20. Colorful Easter Treat Advent Calendar Hunt
Sarah Hearts
Count down to Easter with these vibrant advent calendar Easter bags. Place your colorful eggs and candy in each bag and have your family search for their treats per day.
Get the tutorial at Sarah Hearts »
21. Perfect Patterns Egg Hunt
Play Party Plan
Have kids find a pattern or specific order for finding the eggs — for example, they have to go in the order of the colors in the rainbow. Once they nail it, they get the “big” prize (you can pick exactly what’s inside).
Get the tutorial from Play Party Plan »
22. Gingham Eggs
Mike Garten
For this gingham egg design, you’ll need hard-boiled eggs (you can also use blown-out or wooden craft eggs), acrylic paint and a 10 mm flat paintbrush. They’re a cooler way to decorate your Easter eggs for the scavenger hunt.
Steps:
- Water down craft paint until it is the consistency of heavy cream.
- Paint vertical stripes down the sides of the egg. Don’t use too much paint to avoid drips. Let your painting dry.
- Next, paint horizontal stripes around the egg and let it dry. If desired, darken the overlapping squares of color with more paint to emphasize the gingham look.
23. DIY Easter Gift Box
The Melrose Family
After a successful Easter Egg hunt, gift the winner their very own Easter gift box. Fill it with candy or homemade treats, including marbled egg sugar cookies.
Get the tutorial at The Melrose Family »
24. DIY Money Bag Easter Eggs
Studio DIY
Kids will be extra motivated to find the eggs if they look like little money bags, complete with dollar signs on them. And maybe they can get a cash reward as well.
Get the tutorial at Studio DIY »
25. DIY Easter Bunny Lollipop Hunt
Studio DIY
While regular Easter egg hunts are fun, the eggs aren’t ideal treats. So, swap them with bunny lollipops. The only materials needed: tissues (or tissue paper), twine, pink or white card stock, and scissors.
Get the tutorial at Studio DIY »
26. Geometric Paper Easter Eggs
A Kailo Chic Life
If you don’t feel like dying eggs that no one will eat, DIY your own Easter eggs using geometric paper instead. Fill them with M&M’s for everyone to enjoy.
Get the tutorial at A Kailo Chic Life »
27. Roly Poly Fabric Easter Bunnies
Flamingo Toes
Your kids will love discovering these adorable bunny faces during their hunt. They’re easy to make, and they blend in with any Easter home decor.
Get the tutorial at Flamingo Toes »
28. Indigo Natural Egg Dye Eggs
Mike Garten
Using indigo dye, you can create stripe or shibori patterns on your hard-boiled white eggs. It’s a beautiful shade that’ll make your eggs stand out during the Easter hunt. Plus, who wouldn’t want to take one home as a gift?
29. Painted Wood Slice Easter Eggs
A Night Owl
Along with being cute additions to your holiday decorations, these painted wood slices (designed using chalk paint) can be placed all around your home to use as decoys during your scavenger hunt.
Get the tutorial at A Night Owl »
30. Typography Easter Eggs
Lovely Indeed
Add your own typography to decorated eggs for your family to find. The words can be hints to other eggs scattered throughout the space.
Get the tutorial at Lovely Indeed »
31. Sensory Search
The Best Ideas for Kids
If you have a water table, rice table or sandbox, bury some eggs and give kids shovels and scoopers and tell them to dig in! And if you don’t, it’s easy to whip up a bin of rainbow rice or shaving cream. It’ll be a sensory experience, since they’ll be exposed to different textures.
Get the tutorial at The Best Ideas for Kids »
32. Lemon Easter Egg Hunt
Dream a Little Bigger
They may looks like lemons, but they’re far from being the sour tasting fruits. Tuck these lemon-inspired eggs away for your little bunnies to hop around and find. Afterwards, add them to any Easter baskets for gifting.
Get the tutorial at Dream a Little Bigger »
33. Make It a Raffle
Research Parent
In addition to hiding little candy and prizes with the eggs, you can also slip a raffle ticket into each one. Then, after all of the eggs have been found, you can hold a raffle for some bigger Easter gifts for kids.
Get the tutorial at Research Parent »
34. Confetti Eggs
My Name is Snickerdoodle
Think of these confetti-filled eggs as mini piñatas that kids can easily crack open before the party begins. They’ll love seeing all the color confetti! Make sure to empty your eggs of all the goo.
Get the tutorial at My Name Is Snickerdoodle »
35. Easter Egg Hunt Trophies
Lovely Indeed
While the chocolates, trinkets and coins may be the main draw, everyone will feel like a winner when they’re given one of these small (but mighty) trophies that read “Good Egg,” “Most Eggs” and more.
Get the tutorial at Lovely Indeed »
So there you have it – a sprinkle of inspiration to make your Easter egg hunt truly special. Remember, the most important ingredient is to have fun and create lasting memories. Happy hunting, and Happy Easter!