Organizing an Easter Egg Hunt?

[BeachBum]

I think I want to organize an Easter Egg Hunt for some friends and neighbors. I plan to only invite kids 3 and under (my son will be about 18 mo) I will host it in our neighborhood park.

I'm on the look out for cute invites (I will buy, not make them most likely), toys/treats, and other cute decor.

Does anyone have BTDT advice to offer? Or been to a hunt that was particularly fun? (I haven't been to one since I was a kid).

thanks!

[alienhost]

What a cute idea! I know you mentioned buying invites but maybe you could tuck the invite (even just printed on pastel card stock and rolled up) in one of those plastic eggs that open. It depends on who you are inviting (if you have to mail or can deliver the invites) since it might cost a bit to mail them as opposed to regular invites.

Check Target's Dollar Spot closer to Easter, you probably will find lots of cute things there.

I look forward to see what you end up doing!

[Chimichanga]

Are you wanting something big - more of a party - or a simple egg hunt and leave?

A group I used to advise would do a very large community egg hunt for charity. They had performers and lunch in addition to the egg hunt. It could be done on a much smaller scale of course.

[alienhost]

I found these at www.paper-source.com which are pretty cute.

Easter Eggs (http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/holiday/easteregg.html)

Also I posted this question in the birthday thread for you but will put it here.
Are you doing plastic eggs or hard boiled eggs? I'm going to have an egg hunt for DD and her cousins on Easter and was wondering what to put in the plastic eggs. In the past I did candy and money for her older cousins but I don't really want to do candy in hers this year and I don't like her handling money either (it just seems so dirty). I was thinking animal crackers, raisin boxes etc. but would love some other ideas.

[BeachBum]

Eggs
We are going to do plastic eggs, but the "jumbo" ones. My mom saw a kid get 1/2 an egg stuck in their mouth and the thought of that scares me! The regular ones seem just the right size for that.
I don't want to go to the effort of coloring all the eggs I'll need for my hunt either. I'm planning to get the kids to turn in their eggs for treat bags and I can reuse the same plastic ones next year.
I'm pretty sure I am going to not put treats in the eggs at all. I will just do a favor bag with goodies instead.
I'm also not totally sure how many eggs to figure for each kid. 6 doesn't seem like enough, but 12 seems like too many?
I think you could also do stickers in the eggs.

[BeachBum]

Thanks for the link for the invites. Those were cute!

I had found a few others http://store.invitationbox.com/ic-1-710.html

http://www.paperbuzz.com/paper_inhouse_prod_detail.asp?Cat_ID=paper_Holiday&Sub_Cat_ID=easter_paper&Product_ID=ic_1_1027

[BeachBum]

I found some cute easter decor at Garden Ridge last week. They had wooden stakes with painted easter eggs on them. The egg part was 8 inches or so, and they were $2 each.
I also bought plates, napkins and a table cloth. I'm not totally sure what I am going to do for food, but I want to have something. Maybe just cupcakes and punch.
I also got a flag banner that said "egg hunt" and a few paper (lantern type) eggs and bunnies that I thought I could hang on low trees.
I was thinking I would like to make my own banner using felt and glue (I'm all about not sewing), so I could have something nice to re-use each year.

Oriental Trading has some cute "favor" type stuff. Some of it would fit in your eggs as treats, alienhost. They have finger puppets, "tatoos" ,and gummy bunny teeth which I thought were too cute! I plan to do some things like that, fun straws if I can find them and some sort of "carrot" treat using cello and goldfish to make it look like a carrot shape. I've done it with orange and green jelly bellies--but no one wants their kid eating that many jelly beans!

[BeachBum]

Are you wanting something big - more of a party - or a simple egg hunt and leave?

A group I used to advise would do a very large community egg hunt for charity. They had performers and lunch in addition to the egg hunt. It could be done on a much smaller scale of course.

Something in between? I want it to be more than a 10 min egg hunt, but I'm not sure what else will keep toddler's attention. I do want this to be an annual event, so I'm not opposed to buying things that we can grow into (like a wooden cut out for a bean bag toss). Obviously they are too young for sack races but that would be fun for later.
I would like to hear what type of stuff they do--it might help spark my imagination.

[alienhost]

I really like those invtes you posted, so cute!

That's actually a great idea to have the empty eggs and have them turn them in for a treat bag, that way if someone finds more eggs, there isn't a big issue.

When I did a small hunt for our niece and nephew, I used to assign each colors and they would have to look for those colors to make sure the eggs were shared appropriately. They were 11 and 7 years old at the time.

Stickers - great idea!

I think 8-10 eggs per person is probaby a good number. How many kids are you planning on having?

I really would love to do a hunt for her playgroup friends but Easter is always so close to DD's b'day.

Also I don't know where you live but if you have a Christmas Tree Shops by you they probably will have cute stuff too.

[BeachBum]

I think 8-10 eggs per person is probaby a good number. How many kids are you planning on having?

I really would love to do a hunt for her playgroup friends but Easter is always so close to DD's b'day.

Also I don't know where you live but if you have a Christmas Tree Shops by you they probably will have cute stuff too.

For the older kids, you can also write their name on the eggs. It helps keep them from finding all the eggs.

We are inviting about 15, but who knows what turn out will be. We are debating between Saturday morning and late sunday afternoon of Easter weekend.

If you wanted to do an egg hunt for play group, just keep it casual. Maybe provide snacks to make it special but don't do other games etc.

I haven't heard of "christmas tree shops" I'll have to look and see if we have any around.

[Niko&Troi]

Nikolas' play group has an egg hunt. Each parent fills 12 large eggs and we drop them off to the hosting house a day or two before. She lays them around in her yard and we all meet at a certain time. We usually do 10 a.m. and have a brunch, each family bringing something.
You can use Evite (www.evite.com) for internet invites. I like them cause you can see who viewed the invite (no one can say they never got it).
Have fun :D

[BeachBum]

I found this adorable cake http://familyfun.go.com/Resources/Specialfeature/recipes/special/0207_main_cakefinder_holiday.jpg

but I would like to make it only cupcakes. Any ideas on what I could put them on other than just a board covered with paper?

I also would like to avoid using the green icing b/c of stains. What else could I make the leaves and stems out of?

The cupcakes have jujubes on them which I obviously can't use. What about gummy lifesavers--I wonder if those are a hazard? Any other candy ideas that would work to decorate with?

Thanks for any thoughts.


I got all my goodies from oriental trading this week. I'm pleased. The eggs are so cute http://image.orientaltrading.com/otcimg/37_97.jpg?resize(250x250)
and I also got these...well I can't find them. I got wind up jumping eggs with feet, and bunnies and chicks on a stick that hide in themselves. I'm please with the quality which is always and issue with OT.
I bought invites from swoozies, the ones I posted above with the bunny feet. If only I can get my printer to work. It is always such a challenge!

[Niko&Troi]

That is a cute cake. You can use fruit chews in lieu of the jujubees. They have just the regular ones from Welch's and then they have Diego, Dora, Scooby Doo and all sorts of characters. You could also use mini m&m's, they have them in pastels for the holiday.

You can check Michael's and see if they have some sort of fake grass, sorta like astroturf to put them on. I've also seen cupcake holder trees. You can also make one yourself.

As for the leaves, not too sure on that one. For the stems you should try to get green twizzlers. You might check on some sort of green peeps and cut them into leaves.

Take plenty of pix and let us know how it turns out :)

[alienhost]

cute cake!

For the leaves how about some sort of fruit leather? I'll have to check my Family fun magazine, they used some sort of candy that was green and came in sheets. BBL if I can find it.

The green twizzler idea sounds great for stems.

ETA: it might have been Airheads candy, don't know if you are ok using that or if it might be a choking hazard or not, I've never eaten it before. They do have Green Apple flavor.

[LeighW]

The current issue of "Woman's Day" magazine has cupcakes on the cover with similar decorations (flowers, butterfly, etc.). I think the stems are cut from green fruit rollups. Some of the flowers have petals cut from mini-marshmellows.

Way cute. :)

[alienhost]

The current issue of "Woman's Day" magazine has cupcakes on the cover with similar decorations (flowers, butterfly, etc.). I think the stems are cut from green fruit rollups.

I was just coming in to say they do have Green Fruit Roll Ups, the April issue of Family Fun used it for leaves as well.

[BeachBum]

Thanks guys. I'll have to grab that Woman's Day mag.
I'll need to start looking for candy now. It seems like that stuff might be hard to find. I've never even seen green twizzlers.
I've never bought fruit chews either so I'll have start paying more attention at the grocery store.

I've got two options on where to hold my egg hunt. I thought I decided and now I am re-thinking. I'd like to hear your opinions.

The first option is our neighborhood park. There is really nice lush grass with a large wide open area. 2 sides are mostly enclosed with azelea bushes. One side is totally open, and the 3rd side has a large pavillion and an open space. This park is very pretty and inviting.
The downside is that all four sides are next too the road. Also there is no other "entertainment".

My other option is a smaller neighborhood park that has playground equipment. Most of it is wood chips instead of grass. It is fenced, and only one side is against a road. There is a covered area with 2 benches where we could set up a table. It is not nearly as pretty, but it does have the swings, slide etc. It is much smaller, but still plenty big for the toddler sized kids I'm inviting.

[Niko&Troi]

2nd all the way, you want something for the kids to do. Don't worry, they won't remember the look of it, just will talk about the swings, etc.

[BeachBum]

I printed the invites yesterday. They turned out cute--and I didn't have war with my printer. :) I did decide to go with the playground park-thanks for the support, Niko&Troi

I also did a test run with the cupcakes--very cute. I'm excited!

[BeachBum]

Well our hunt is tomorrow. I invited 15 kids and it looks like we are only going to have about 8. I'm bummed. :(
The weather has been nearly 80 for the past two weeks, and now we are having a cold front come through. The high tomorrow is in the upper 60's. I have 2 easter outfits for DS and both are shorts/short sleeves. I have no dressy coat or sweater for him either.


I decorated some iced cookies with DS this morning and he had fun. I kind of regret not doing it as an "activity" at the hunt. I thought they would be too young. But on the other hand, I don't have a kids sized table so I'm not sure how I would have done it.

I still have a lot to do to get ready and DH is working today. Plus, I'm hosting Easter dinner for my family and in-laws (just 9 total) after the hunt.

I'll try to update tomorrow night :)

[junkinmytrunk]

Wow. I'm in awe that you're taking all this on with an 18 month old. It sounds like a wonderful idea and I love all the stuff you posted (that cake is ADORABLE).

Can't wait to see pics of your day.

And FWIW, our weather has turned to crap here. In the 40's - colder than Christmas! :eek:

[alienhost]

have fun with the egg hunt tomorrow! Take lots of pictures. :)

It's chilly here too - 40s or so, not great egg hunting weather so ours (just family) might have to be quick.

Looking forward to hearing/seeing how it turns out. Don't be too disappointed about the # of kids, I'm sure it will be fun!

[firefly]

It may be to late... but my advice is have a # that the kids are striving for in the egg hunt. Like each kid get's 5 or a dozen or whatever you choose and then they work together to make sure everyone gets the same number. It teaches more about compassion, and teamwork, and leads to less trampling.