The 12 Best Easter Egg Hunts For All Ages Gallery

There are a lot of amazing things about Easter: The first signs that spring has sprung, eating a delicious feast of ham or lamb, and spending time with your loved ones. However, the absolute best thing about Easter is candy and the hunt for plastic Easter eggs. But throwing a single Easter egg hunt for children of varying ages poses a major question: How do you keep the egg hunt fair, engaging, and exciting?

While younger kids may struggle just walking through the grass or up the stairs, older kids will run wild and scoop up every egg in sight, with no regard for the little ones who have only a single, lonely egg in their basket.

Luckily, if you get a little creative with your Easter egg hunt, then things will be fair and fun for children of all ages and abilities. Thus, we have come up with 12 creative ways to make finding those chocolate-filled eggs a bit more fun this year for kids of all ages.

Turn your Easter egg hunt into an educational (and fun) activity. Use a permanent marker to write on plastic eggs or purchase alphabet stickers. Hide the lettered eggs as you would for a classic egg hunt. After all 26 letters are found, the kids must line up the letters in the order of the alphabet to redeem their Easter baskets.

Tip: To make this game more challenging for older kids, make them use the eggs to spell out "Easter" and other spring-centric words, such as "candy," "April," and "flower."

Part egg hunt, part pirate treasure hunt — in this twist, the Easter bunny has left a map of where the Easter eggs are hidden, but it's all mixed up in a puzzle. Using a blank puzzle template, draw a map of your yard or home and mark where your Easter eggs are hidden. After your children work to put the puzzle together, they can follow the map to find the hidden egg treasure!

Tip: Use different maps for different children to keep their final egg count even. For younger kids, make the eggs' hiding spots obvious from the map. For older children, make a more detailed map and hide the eggs well, giving them a little more work.

If spring has sprung in your area, hosting a good, old-fashioned Easter egg hunt outside keeps all the mess out of your home and will allow your kids to burn off extra energy by running around outdoors. Keep it simple and fun by hiding eggs and packaged treats in bushes, fences, trees, and small holes.

Tip: Don't hide the eggs too far in advance — that only gives critters a chance to get into your candy. Instead, while someone hides the eggs right before the hunt, distract the kids with a game of bingo, Easter charades, or holiday Pictionary.

This one channels a classic cobweb party. Use yarn, twine, or string to create a huge web throughout the house or in a specific room. Kids must follow the string from the starting point all the way to the end as it wraps around furniture, through doorways, and ultimately to their Easter basket.

Tip: Hide Easter eggs along the cobweb path for your kids to find as they unravel the yarn and bump into one another.

Older kids often grab all the treats because they are faster, taller, and more energized. In this hunt, each person has to look for a specific color of egg. Allow your children to pick their favorite color of egg ahead of time to minimize tantrums on Easter itself.

Tip: Not only does this Easter egg hunt equal out the distribution of candy and gifts, it allows you to give specific treats to kids based on their interests.

If your kids are in the midst of a dress-up phase, this can be a fun way to expand their costume wardrobe. Hide plastic bracelets, bunny ears, tutus, and animal masks along with a few wearable, edible treats like Ring Pops and candy necklaces around the house and in Easter eggs. As kids find the items, they must put on the clothes and accessories. Photograph the silly outfits on each family member to keep as collateral for their teenage years.

Tip: For your photoshoot, make your own Easter-themed photo booth.

Give each family member a list of several different types of items to hunt down: three pink eggs, a white chocolate bunny, a box of purple Peeps, an egg filled with coins, and so on. When the list is completed, give them a riddle to solve that leads them to the location of their Easter baskets.

Tip: Be sure to make your hiding spots age-appropriate for their targeted finder, and don't have too much overlap between the scavenger hunt lists.

That silly Easter Bunny! His mission to hide eggs and baskets wasn't so covert. Create a bunny trail that leads kids on a path from their bedroom door to their eggs and, finally, their basket. You can use a trail of jelly beans, cut-out bunny footprints, or "bunny droppings" (aka chocolate kisses).

Tip: This game works best for younger children, since it leads them directly to their eggs.

Keep your Easter egg hunt classic, but hide a few shiny, golden eggs with extra-special Easter candy or treats inside. These eggs can hold anything from a more coveted, larger candy bar to a small toy.

Tip: Be sure to hide enough golden eggs for each child at your Easter egg hunt. To avoid confusion, label each golden egg with a child's name.

The easiest way to coordinate one Easter egg hunt for all age groups is to hide eggs at different eye levels. Have the youngest kids look low to the ground for eggs while somewhat older children look at hip-height and older kids look upward.

Tip: Combine the high or low hunt with the color-coordinated hunt or label each egg as "high," "medium," or "low" to keep older kids from scooping up younger kids' eggs.

Turn your Easter egg hunt into a tag team challenge. First, fill your plastic eggs with slips of paper including a fun task, such as "make up an Easter song" or "do five jumping jacks." Then, sort your children into groups and have them rush off one at a time to find an egg. Once they've found said egg, they have to rush back to you, perform the task, and tag their next teammate. When the game is all said and done, every participant gets their Easter basket, making everyone a winner.

Tip: Mix your relay groups by ages. Pair older children with some younger kids in order to make the game as fair as possible.

Kids love trying to trick their parents, so why not let them hide the eggs this holiday? Give them a dozen or so plastic eggs to hide around the house and yard for you to find. Of course, you don't want to give children full reign of the house, so let them know that they'll get to eat the candy as you find it. That way, their hiding spots aren't too difficult.

Tip: Give your children a time limit for hiding the eggs, say, seven minutes. This is a fun Easter egg hunt for kids and for adults.

More From The Daily Meal:

The Ultimate Guide to Creating World-Class Easter Eggs

Easter Egg Decorating for Grown-Ups

How Many Calories Are In Your Easter Basket?

8 Interesting Easter Food Traditions From Around the World

20 Heavenly Twists on the Deviled Egg