You know what’s tonnes of fun? Easter egg hunts! Do you know what is not a tonne of fun? Hiding dozens of PERFECTLY sized choking hazards that, when eaten in bulk, send your little one into a sugar crazed overload. Don’t even get me started on trying “ok let’s save some of these for later”…
This twist on an egg hunt was made for our playgroup which is packed with littles under the age of 5. It is still loads of fun, there’s still a sweet treat at the end PLUS there’s a bonus ready made craft activity.
Here’s what to do:
- cut out egg shapes from coloured paper, about the size of a toddlers whole hand (don’t forget to recycle the off cuts!)
- use glue or sticky tape to attach them to paddle pop sticks, leave half the stick poking out the bottom
- choose a large area with an obvious border, like a tree line or fence
- stick a bunch of your creations into the ground close enough to the start line for little ones to recognise. Make sure they all face forward.
- fan out the rest of your creations, the trick is to space them wider apart the further away you get (this makes it less likely for any tug of wars, as the children will have plenty of options and not grab multiple eggs at once)
- use a reasonably large area! This is much more exciting for exploration and means that the hunt will last long enough to be fun.
- “RELEASE” the baby and toddler crowd with a head start! Make sure the bubs have a chance to grab one for themselves before calling in the second wave (for us that was a general “under two’s” then “two to five’s” vibe. This is a great practice in patience and considering the needs of others)
- Once all eggs have been collected, children can return to the ‘start’ for their prize. We did white chocolate covered strawberries in oreo crumble… a “carrot patch!” (see below for tutorial)
- Head back to some craft supplies and decorate your paper eggs!
‘Carrot Patch’ prize
The short video below demonstrates how we made our easy carrot patch, with a FRACTION of the sugar contained in a bucketful of eggs… You get a mouthful of fruit while still being an exciting prize for the little ones.
Happy exploring, little seekers!
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