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We all love to hunt down the ever-elusive Easter Egg. Kids and adults alike can join in this celebration of Easter that spans not only generations but also faiths and religions. Sometimes, though, the hunt can go astray. Perhaps it's April showers that promise May flowers that interfere with Easter Egg hunting plans or maybe it's too few kids or too few eggs. Either way, a short list of suggestions follows on how you can plan a successful, fruitful, and fun Easter Egg hunt.

Know your audience Are you inviting kids or adults? Is it better to have the eggs well hidden up in trees or low and relatively obvious? For older kids, select better hiding places but keep in mind they might not be able to reach the higher places that adults would be able to. Also remember that a two or three year old isn't going to go searching with all the verve that an eight year old might have.

Check the weather This may be obvious but it's always good to keep in mind. Plan your Easter Egg hunt on a day when showers aren't forecasted. No one is going to be particularly happy if they're wet, cold, and miserable while trying to find Easter Eggs no matter how good the eggs are.

Location, location, location Easter Egg hunts work best outdoors. If you have to hide Easter Eggs indoors, either keep a list of everywhere you've hidden them or else hide plastic Easter Eggs filled with treasure that doesn't spoil. Months down the road when you spot some elusive unfound Easter Egg in the back of the closet you'll be glad you followed this suggestion.

Delegate! Many hands make light work. Get some people to help. Maybe someone will pick up the eggs (this is especially helpful if you plan to need many eggs), and perhaps someone else is up for holding an egg-dyeing party. Taking on an Easter Egg hunt can be an overwhelming task if you're planning one for more than just your immediate family and a little help goes a long way.

Be sure the hard boiled eggs are really hard boiled It's not a safe idea to have eggs lying around for people to eat if they aren't thoroughly cooked. Also, if the weather is particularly warm, consider staying away from eggs and resorting to plastic eggs filled with prizes (prizes that don't melt in warm weather is also a good idea).

To hard boil eggs, first get water to a rolling boil, then gently lower eggs into the water. If they crack you can leave them in to boil but set them aside for egg salad rather than continue putting the cracked eggs through the dyeing process. After 12 to 15 minutes of boiling, remove the eggs and blanch them in cold water. This causes moisture to form on the inside of the shell and makes the shell peel off easier when it's finally time to peel and eat the eggs.

Variety is the spice of Easter Aside from hard boiled dyed eggs, have some chocolate eggs (Cadbury Easter Eggs work great) and some plastic ones with prizes in them. These prizes can be small vending-machine plastic goodies for twenty five cents or they can be little sheets of paper promising a bigger prize later on. If you really get into it you can even include riddles in the eggs which might lead to more treasures.

Bring accessories People are going to want to eat some eggs so grab some napkins and hand wipes on your way out the door. Also plan to have a few spare baskets, even if you've asked everyone to bring their own. Some baskets might break and some people might come at the last minute unprepared. A first aid kit is also a good idea to bring along, just in case someone gets hurt looking for eggs around a thorny bush or a bee hive.

Learn more about this author, Sarah Parrish.
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