When spring comes along, we have a celebration of renewal (we’re also happy to get out of the house and shake the winter blues!). Part of this celebration for many of us is the Easter holiday. Children, especially, anticipate it as a time of fun with lots of goodies! Here are some activities that kids of all ages can enjoy!

Easter Egg Treasure Hunt – A traditional holiday game for the kids is the Easter egg hunt, but sometimes having big age differences amongst the kids can be a challenge. How do you hide eggs which will be both fair to the younger kids and challenging for their older siblings? The solution? Two egg hunts! The young ones can enjoy the traditional Easter egg hunt using small eggs (real or plastic), while you send the older kids on an Easter treasure hunt!

To begin the game, divide the older kids into two or three teams, (being careful to keep the ages within each team very diverse), and give each team a clue as to where they can find the first egg. Each egg they find will contain a clue for the location of the next egg. The last egg should contain a map which will lead the team to the room where the “treasure” is located.

Tips for a Successful Hunt

To manage the game better, each team can be given the color that matches their eggs. For instance, the blue team’s clues will all be in blue eggs. In addition, make sure to use the large plastic eggs to distinguish them from those in the egg hunt for the younger kids.

For extra fun, include instructions to go back to the “game master” to do a “feats of fun” challenge to get the next clue. The “game master” (who can be a different adult for each challenge), will have the team do things such as: hop like a bunny for one minute, play the hokey pokey game or dare them to eat a plate full of (candy) worms.

To organize a successful game, make sure each team follows a different path to their treasure and that the eggs are well hidden. Decide what the treasure will be at the end of the hunt so that each child participating gets an adequate share. Filling little treasure chests (available at craft or party stores) with candy and real coins is a fun idea. To keep costs down, parents can donate candy, coins and toy prizes, and the treasure chest can be a decorated box or bag.

Bunny Bingo – Make bingo cards out of construction paper and holiday stickers for a fun game of bunny bingo.

Instructions

Using a marker, divide the paper into sixteen even squares (four across and four down), then place a sticker in each square.

With a second set of the same stickers, cut out squares from index cards, place a sticker inside each one and place squares inside of a hat.

Pull out squares one at a time from the hat and call out to the group. Rather than a letter and number, like in traditional bingo, you call out the picture (“pink bunny!”).

The children who have matches can use jelly beans as the marker, and the first one to cover four squares in a row wins! This game can be fun for all ages and using bright pictures allows the little ones to play too! There are sure to be lots of winners!

Easter Bonnet Decorating Contest – This is a relay race to decorate the bonnet being worn by mom, grandma, dad or grandpa! You’ll need a few straw hats, lots of adhesive Velcro and lots of lightweight decorations such as plastic eggs and plastic flowers. Here’s what you do:

First tape the Velcro to the bonnet (adhesive side down) and cover as much of the hat as possible. To make sure it is secure, you can use paper clips on the straw hat. (If you decided to use a bonnet made of other material including cloth, you can sew on the Velcro.)

Next, use the adhesive side to tape small Velcro sections to the decorations which will go on the bonnet. (You can use almost anything as long as the Velcro can sustain its weight.)

Put an even number of items for decoration into two boxes or Easter baskets and place at the relay starting line. The person wearing the bonnet sits at the finish line.

Each team lines up behind their basket of decorations and at the start of the race, picks up one decoration, races to their bonnet and sticks the item on it. They then race back to the starting line where they tag the next person who is waiting for their turn to go. The team that is able to decorate the bonnet first, with all items from basket, is the winner. Of course, pictures of the bonnet wearer are a must!

“Hot Egg” – This is the Easter version of Hot Potato. Place the kids in a circle and use a plastic egg to toss around while the music plays. When the music stops, the one holding the egg is out.

Cookies and a Story – Have the kids gather around for an Easter bunny story and give each child a large cookie shaped like a bunny (or just a couple of smaller cookies). The kids must listen carefully since they are only allowed to take a bite when they hear the word “bunny” in the story!

Have a happy and safe holiday!