12 Ideas for an Indoor Easter Egg Hunt
12 Ideas for an Indoor Easter Egg Hunt
Who said an Easter egg hunt has to take place outdoors? Bring the fun into your home with an indoor Easter egg hunt that can happen rain or shine. For those who don't have a backyard or wake up to less than stellar weather, hosting your hunt indoors might be the ideal solution. For an exciting room-to-room hunt inside your home, hide your eggs in clever spots: tucked inside coat pockets, tissue boxes, behind books on the shelf, in napkins on the kitchen table, and shoes by the door.
With younger kids, limit your hunt to one or two rooms. With older children, turn them loose on the entire house, giving them the opportunity to search from room to room, upstairs and downstairs for eggs and more sophisticated prizes. You can even turn the classic Easter activity into a learning game (of colors and shapes) for toddlers and preschoolers, or make it more puzzling challenge (math problems and spelling bees) for older kids.
The entire hunt can be for the eggs themselves, but the added benefit to hosting the egg hunt in your home is that it can lead to the biggest prize of all: the Easter basket. Add to the anticipation on Sunday morning! For younger children, a simple trail (of candy, string, or other clues) will gently guide them to their basket. For older boys and girls, make it a full-on obstacle course by assembling a track of folding chairs or toys for hiding eggs that clue them in on where their basket can be found. After all, eggs can be opened to reveal candy, toys, fun surprises, or a clue to your next big discovery.
Egg Scramble
Mark each Easter egg with a letter of the alphabet—dyed, stenciled, or drawn with a marker. Then, tuck lettered eggs into corresponding hiding spots as they are spelled (like "K" for kitchen or "L" for laundry room). On the refrigerator, leave a list of words for them to find. In this game, the children need to solve the word scramble puzzle by finding all of the letters to spell words on their list. The lucky child with the most completed words will win an extra-special surprise.
The Bunny Hop, Skip, and Jump
Turn the indoor Easter egg hunt into an activity race set in the hallway. Easter eggs open to include a must-do activity—like "hop like a bunny" or "chirp like a baby chick"—that they have to do as they search for the next egg. It's fun, silly, and helps to burn off excess energy.
The Matching Game
"ROYGBIV," anyone? Dye eggs with different colors from the rainbow then break everyone up in teams to search. The red team needs to find red eggs while orange team needs to find orange eggs, and so on. Color-coordinate the eggs to hiding spots such as red eggs behind a red book in the study or orange eggs in a bowl of oranges in the kitchen. The goal is to find all of the eggs for their team. You can even add a "wild card" egg that has all of the colors of the rainbow for some extra fun.
Hunt for the Golden Egg
One of these eggs is not like the others. The hunt is on for a special Easter egg that shines like gold. Hide it in an inconspicuous place that requires unraveling a series of clues to find, such as under a lampshade, in their dollhouse, or behind a book on the shelf. Can your little Easter bunnies find the golden egg before the timer runs out?
Follow the Jelly Bean Trail
If you're not outdoors, why not bring the outdoors in? This Easter egg hunt uses a blooming path of adorable daffodil candy cups filled with jelly beans to lead the way to a set of Easter baskets. Your children can nibble up the trail, leading down hallways and up the stairs, scoring Easter eggs and yummy treats along the way.
Add Up the Numbers
Why not add an educational twist to the Easter egg hunt? In this game, children solve math puzzles that tell them how many steps they need to walk to find the next egg. Get some arithmetic practice in as they hunt around the house for Easter eggs and sweet goodies.
Which Egg Are You?
The spring awakening of trees aren't relegated to the outdoors. On the kitchen table, assemble your own family tree with a bundle of flowering branches in a vase and a dozen of eggs—each one is decoupaged with the visage of a different member of the family. Encourage the children to find theirs, and it may open to reveal a secret clue for where their baskets are waiting.
Edible Eggs
Bake these egg-style puzzle pieces and hide them in food-safe spots around the kitchen. Once all are found, the children can build their puzzle eggs, which will collectively create a map on the back that leads them to their Easter baskets.
Get the Glow
Turn out the lights! Children will love hunting for eggs that glow in the dark. This game works better in the evening hours when the light is dim, but you can still do it during the day if you have a large room with dark drapes. (As a word of caution, clear out your designated egg hunt room of any furniture or tripping hazards before playing.)
Reverse Search
Let the kids hide the eggs this time. They will think it's hilarious as their parents try to find all the eggs. Once the game is over, settle in for some Easter breakfast with a sweet treat, like
.
By planning an indoor Easter egg hunt, you can have the traditional scavenging fun in the comfort of your own home, rain or shine. Kids and adults alike will enjoy these unique games, puzzles, and creative ideas to finding those eggs and the treats hidden inside.