How To Arrange an Easter Egg Hunt

Plan ahead. First and foremost, get an idea of the approximate number of participants so you know how many eggs, baskets, prizes, and hiding spots you need.

On the day of the hunt, hide the eggs. If you include real eggs, keep track of how many you stash and where they’re hidden, so the unmistakable stench of rotten eggs doesn’t announce their location at a later date.

Have a Golden Egg that is especially well hidden, and a special prize to go along with it.

Make sure the egg hunters have an even playing field. If there is an unequal ratio of older children to younger ones, divide everyone into teams.

Set some rules, including the boundaries and duration of the hunt. Discuss how winners will be determined—the person who finds the most eggs? The first to come back with a pre-determined number?

Hide some jelly-bean clusters, to keep the competition interesting for the older kids.

Mix things up with a scavenger hunt that includes items besides eggs, or have a color-coded hunt that directs participants to find eggs of a specific color.

Assign monitors to very little ones, so they won’t end up with empty baskets and tear-stained faces.

Have extra candy on hand—there’s always going to be one kid whose parents show up late, another child who gets knocked down the minute the race starts, and a tot who is just not gifted at finding eggs.