50 Fun Easter Egg Hunt Ideas That Put a New Spin on Finding Eggs
Shake things up this year!
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It's Easter morning. The eggs are hidden. The kids are waking. And then—it's all over in a flash, with all the eggs found and the kids cracking into their baskets before your first cup of coffee has been brewed.
If this sounds familiar, it might be time to up your Easter egg-hunt came. These are the best Easter egg hunt ideas for families looking to put a twist on a traditional egg hunt. Some add clues, rules, or other obstacles that make it more of a challenge to find the eggs. Others offer innovative prizes beyond the regular jelly beans and Reese's eggs. Some are DIY activities that can be done during Easter prep, or are games that kids can play once the hunt is over. Scope out the best hiding spots and get ready for the best hunt ever!
Confetti Egg Hunt
Hollowed out, confetti-filled eggs—called cascarones—can be as vibrant and fun to hunt for as any Easter eggs. But the real fun comes after they've been found, when they can be cracked or thrown around to release the burst of confetti!
Riddle Egg Hunt
For more of a challenge, in this hunt, kids have to decipher a series of riddles to figure out where the eggs are. It'll get their brains working before they get too hyped up on Easter excitement.
Get the tutorial at Crafts by Amanda »
RELATED: Clever Riddles for Smart Kids
Easter Egg Exchange Hunt
Is it always "finders keepers" when it comes to egg hunts? Not necessarily. This game adds another layer of excitement after the haul is over. Players have to roll dice and distribute their eggs depending on what number they've landed on. They can do it with their regular eggs, or there can be a separate set of plastic eggs with prizes inside set aside just for this game
Color-Matching Egg Hunt
This works best with plastic eggs. Mix up the tops and bottoms, then create a "key" of the color combos of each of the eggs. Every time they find a new egg, they have to place it in the proper spot on the key. Not only does it help keep track of how many eggs have been found, it lets kids work on their color-matching skills.
Indoor Scavenger Hunt
This hunt is good for rainy days or cold weather, because all of the clues are keyed to things that are usually inside the house. The last one leads to a garage/car port, though, so if you don't have one of those you might need to improvise your own final clue.
Puzzle Prize Egg Hunt
In this hunt, a different jigsaw puzzle piece is hidden in each egg. When the puzzle is completed, the hunters win an extra-special prize! (In this case, it's a day out at the movies, but you can fill in your own.)
Scratch-Off Egg Hunt
Usually when a hunter finds and egg and opens it, there's only one option for prize inside, be it candy, money, or some kind of reward. In this one, there's an extra element of surprise: Kids can scratch off one of three eggs and see which prize they've won.
Reward Hunt
This is a great one for families who want to steer clear of giving out too much candy: Instead of treats inside, these are loaded up with slips of paper that can be traded in for rewards like bubbles, a new book, or coloring pages. Even though a new book can't fit inside an egg, it can still be a hunt treat!
Sight Word Matching Hunt
Turn the egg hunt into a learning activity with this simple trick: First, write out different Easter-related sight words, like "spring" or "egg," on large pieces of paper. Then fill the eggs with different foam letters. Each time the hunters find one, they can match the letters to their sight-word list, and hopefully fill out the whole thing.
Chain of Clues Hunt
For this one, each clue leads to the next, so they have to find them all in sequence in order to get the big prize at the end. (Presumably, their Easter baskets.)
Token Hunt
Instead of printing out prizes and rewards on bits of paper every Easter, this one has re-usable wooden tokens—pack them away with the decorations, and use them year after year. The tokens are made from laser-cut wood.
Glow-in-the-Dark Hunt
This nighttime hunt will have the older kids—and hey, some adults—feeling the holiday spirit long after the sun goes down. It's a fun Easter-themed twist on the classic man hunt game.
Stamped Eggs
Stamp eggs with letters and have your family find them all! Whether each child has to find the letters to spell their own name or the whole family has to work together to figure out a word jumble, this egg hunt idea is a great way to get everyone thinking about more than just candy.
Experience Egg Hunt
Those looking for something a little less stuff-based will dig these coupons, which can be redeemed for more experience-based goodies like a dance party or a pajama day.
Photo Hunt
If a traditional egg hunt is no longer as exciting as it once was for your tweens and teens, send them on an Easter-themed photo scavenger hunt. They'll snap pictures along the way so they can savor all the memories made.
Hanging Egg Hunt
One hint about kids: They never look up! Hook an assortment of eggs onto the trees outside your home or on your coat hangers in the mudroom, and laugh as they dash right under them.
Blown-Out Egg Hunt
Another take on the Easter egg scavenger hunt, this blogger used blown-out eggs and numbered them so that each clue leads to the next. Simply crack them open and hunt away!
Slime Egg Hunt
If you're over sending your family on a candy hunt, slime can be just as fun for kids. Fill plastic eggs with homemade slime and help them find all the colors in the rainbow hidden throughout the house!
Alphabet Egg Hunt
Send your little ones who are just learning the alphabet on a letter hunt this year! Once they find all 26, help them order the eggs.
Egg Hunt Checklist
Up the challenge of an egg hunt by adding elements of a scavenger hunt into the mix! This one asks kids to find eggs in five different colors, three backyard flowers, different kinds of outdoor creatures and more in addition to finding their eggs and basket. You can make your own, or go to the A Mom's Take blog and print out this checklist.
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
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