Guru Goddess

An Easter Scavenger Hunt:

A scavenger hunt is another fun variation and it can be modified to suit any age. For older children, a written list of items to collect will work. For younger children, a sheet with pictures of the different treats they need to find may be a better choice. A very simple version would have children look for specific colors: 1 red egg, 3 blue eggs, etc.

For those who, like us, add other items besides chocolate eggs, your list might include a chocolate Easter bunny, a skipping rope, a chocolate bar, a crème egg, a small toy, etc. Items are hidden at random throughout the specified area and make sure children understand not to remove items that are not on their own list.

The Easter Challenge:

The Easter challenge is a fun party game version of an Easter egg hunt that older children and adults will love. Instead of hiding candy eggs, you would hide small plastic eggs. Inside each egg would be a task that has to be completed. Sing a song, recite a verse from memory, jump on one foot for 10 seconds, draw a picture, etc. After each task is completed, the child receives another treat for their basket. Make sure to keep a camera on hand to capture all of the fun.

So, as you’re dyeing your Easter eggs and planning your egg hunt, take one of these suggestions – use as is or improve upon it – and make it a wonderful Easter egg hunt.

Do you know there are many different ways to conduct an Easter Egg hunt? As a young child growing up, my parents used to add fun new twists to our Easter Egg hunt each year and some of them have become fond memories. Today, we often do the same with our children as well. If you’re looking for a fun twist for your Easter Egg hunt this year, here are a four great versions we have tried in the past.

The Easter Bible Verse Hunt:

This version works best with older children and teens who can read and decipher clues well. The year that we did this, the older teens were paired up with one of the smaller children. Then, each “team” was given an envelope with a Bible verse in it. The verse was a clue to the location of the first treat and the next clue. After 4-5 clues, the last clue took us to the biggest treat: a large Easter basket for each of us.

Putting together the clues may seem like a lot of work at first, but it’s actually fairly simple. A verse about rocks told us to look in the rock garden. A verse about sleeping would mean to look in your bedroom. If your children are a little younger, you could help by highlighting the portions of the verse that are most important to finding the location.

An Easter Treasure Trail:

This version is perfect for very small children/toddlers. When our eldest was 18 months old, we greeted her on Easter morning at her crib with a basket. Leading from her crib was a trail of mini Easter eggs. She took the basket and followed the trail, putting the eggs in her basket as she went. The trail led through the house and ended behind the couch where a bigger treat was waiting.

When laying out your treasure trail, keep your child’s attention span in mind. Some children will follow the trail for quite a while before getting bored, others may need something shorter or more broken up. Perhaps a series of smaller prizes along the path where they can stop and enjoy if they wish?

Easter Bookmarks - Cut cardstock into 6×2” strips and use a hole punch to put a hole at the top of each bookmark. Your child can decorate their bookmarks using items from the kit and a ribbon or yarn scrap can be added through the hole at the top to finish it off. Help your child pick an appropriate verse to include on their bookmark in keeping with the Easter theme. These bookmarks can be for their own use, or given as gifts to friends or grandparents.

Easter Cards - Cards are another simple craft idea that can also be used to create gifts for grandparents or other family members. Younger children may need help cutting and folding the cardstock which can then be decorated using the items in the kit. For an extra touch, try other shapes: egg shaped cards, cross shaped cards, etc.

If your child is going to be giving their cards to friends and family, envelopes offer additional craft options. You may want to provide basic envelopes for younger children to decorate, or print out templates for older children to make their own envelopes. You can find envelope templates from many online scrapbook and craft sites.

Easter Journals - An Easter journal is really a craft within a craft. Children will enjoy creating their journals, and can later use them for entertainment as well. To start off, create a cover using folded cardstock and inside pages using regular white paper. Help your child staples the pages together. Your child can then decorate the cover of their journal using the items in the kit.

These journals can be used as coloring pages to keep your child busy during family gatherings or on long drives between gatherings. They can also serve as a place for your child to write about their Easter celebrations, making a great keepsake to look back at in years to come. Older teens may want to use their journals as a special place to journal during their devotional time over the Easter holiday.

In many households, crafts are part of holiday celebrations. They are a great way to teach children about the holiday and keep them occupied as well. Putting together an Easter themed craft kit will keep you prepared for those moments where something is needed to keep small hands busy.

Here are some items your craft kit should include:

Crayons or Markers

Easter stickers

Glue sticks

Cardstock and construction paper

Regular white paper

Craft scissors

Easter stencils

Easter stamps and ink

Foam shapes, small pompoms, googly eyes, etc.

Ribbon or yarn scraps

The craft kit is generally fairly easy to put together and can be done very affordably using times from your local dollar store and discount outlets. It helps to have a good idea of the age group that will be using the kit. Younger children will prefer crayons and stickers while older children may prefer glitter glue, markers and fancy edge scissors. Older children will be able to come up with dozens of craft ideas from this selection of craft times, but here are a few ideas to get you started.

Ham

Ham is a traditional part of the Easter feast in many American homes, and it’s origin is more practical rather then symbolic. In early years, before refrigeration, fresh pork slaughtered in the fall that hadn’t been consumed before Lent had to be cured for preservation. Curing was a slow process and the first hams were generally ready around Easter time, making it a common choice for Easter feasting. Today, many American families still serve ham as part of their Easter celebrations.

Lamb

Another meat commonly served at Easter time is Lamb. This tradition is actually a combination of two symbolisms. The original use of lamb dates back before Easter as part of the Jewish Passover where a sacrificial lamb is roasted and eaten as a reminder of the angel of God passing over their homes in Egypt.

Later, Jesus was often referred to by Christians as The Lamb of God. As Christianity grew, Hebrews converting to Christianity brought their traditions with and the combination resulted in the use of lamb as part of many Easter dinners.

As you plan your Easter meal think about incorporating some of these traditional foods. When you gather around your table this Easter season you’ll be able to share good food and interesting information. Your guests will be impressed by your cooking skills and your smarts.