by Amy Weekley

Created on: April 14, 2009

For young children, the Easter egg hunt is the highlight of Easter. It's fun, it's outdoors, there are prizes and candy to be had to a young child, what could be better? As parents, it's our job to make sure that the Easter egg hunt meets or exceeds our children's expectations.

* The supplies

The first and most important step in planning an Easter egg hunt is to gather your supplies. You'll need to decide whether you want to hide real eggs or plastic ones, or a combination of the two. If you choose to hide real eggs, will the children color the eggs, or will you do it? If you choose plastic eggs, what will go in them? Small toys, candy, and even spare change all make great fillers for Easter eggs.

Plastic eggs, toys, and candy can all be purchased inexpensively at the local dollar store.

You will also need baskets or some other carrying containers for the children to carry their Easter eggs.
If this is a small family egg hunt, the kids can use their Easter baskets, but if you are organizing a larger neighborhood egg hunt, you will need to provide baskets for all of the children. These can also be purchased at the dollar store, or at a craft store.

* The venue

Location is very important when planning an Easter egg hunt. The hunt will be more fun outdoors, but what happens if it rains?
Have a backup plan in case of bad weather. If you're having your egg hunt at home in your yard, it's easy enough to move the hunt indoors in case of rain. For a larger egg hunt, try to find a location that has covered shelters, or be prepared to set a rain date.

Wide open spaces are not good for an egg hunt. If there are bicycles and toys in your yard, leave them there! They'll make good hiding places. Bushes, flowers, trees, and even tall grass are all excellent hiding places for eggs. Keep the children in mind when hiding eggs though if you have a lot of small children at the hunt, make sure that the eggs are hidden, but not too well. If you have a large group with a mix of older children and younger children, you may want to have a separate hunt for the little ones so that the bigger kids don't get all the eggs before the little ones have a chance.

Be sure to set a boundary for hiding eggs, and let the children know where the boundary is.
Make sure that the boundary is a safe distance from street traffic, and that no part of the "hunting ground" is out of sight of the adults.

* The timing

If you're hiding candy in those eggs, the kids will probably eat it as they find it, so plan your egg hunt for after a meal. Early afternoon is probably the best time, as the sun will be at its warmest then, and lunch will be over.

Easter is such a fun time for kids, and the egg hunt is the pinnacle of the fun. It's not difficult to put on a successful egg hunt with a little planning and a fun-loving spirit.

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