We hold our event the Saturday morning before Easter and then send families home with an invitation to return for church the next morning. Every little detail is included below!
Adults/Teens needed: 1 to lead the toddlers-2nd grade game
1 to lead the craft
1 to lead the 3rd-6th grade game
Several to set up, decorate, and clean up
Several to hide eggs and monitor outdoor hunt
Before the event (in no particular order):
*Put an announcement in the bulletin & newsletter asking people to donate prize-filled eggs. Put out a basket and sign to collect the eggs in. (Prepare for the eggs to take up a lot of room—I cover a laundry basket or large box with spring-colored wrapping paper.)
*Purchase enough plastic eggs and prizes to supply ½ of the toddlers—2nd grade eggs. Stuff the eggs (a good job for volunteers).
*Purchase enough plastic eggs for the 3rd—6th grades (50 eggs for each team—each team needs a different color of egg—5 or 6 teams total.)
*Purchase enough candy and prizes to fill 5 large baskets for the 3rd—6th grades.
*Fill baskets fore the 3-6th graders with equal amounts of candy and prizes. Have one basket contain a few more prizes than the others, designate with a ribbon, or use a larger basket.
*Have several extra Easter baskets or bags available for those in both age groups who may have forgotten to bring them.
*Determine how to advertise to community. Consider the radio, newspaper, and flyers in places like local businesses, grocery store community boards, public health, etc.
*A good advertising option: hang a banner announcing the event outside your church several weeks ahead. Customized banners are available at outreach.com. A much less expensive option is to create your own.
*Tip: Oriental Trading (oriental.com) has inexpensive eggs, prizes, baskets, plastic Easter bags, decorations, and even large outdoor banners that you paint yourself.
*If your budget is small, consider having the church donate all supplies.
Be sure to have enough eggs and prizes!
Toddlers—2nd Grade
1. Create a large rectangle on the ground using colored masking tape, string, or yarn. Make sure string or yarn is close enough to the ground that children won’t trip over it. Fill the rectangle with plastic eggs that are filled with small prizes (Just lay them out on the floor evenly across the rectangle, although it’s a good idea to leave a border of a foot or two that contains no eggs around the edge. Otherwise children who stand outside the rectangle will grab eggs before it’s time!)
2. If your area is large and/or crowded, set up a sound system with at least one mic.
3. When it’s time to begin have children (with their parents) gather on the outside of the Egg Hunt rectangle—be sure they stay on the outside of the line.
4. Have the leader announce an animal and demonstrate how that animal walks (sounds are also encouraged!) and then allow the children to walk like that animal into the rectangle, pick up an egg and then walk like the animal back out. Repeat the process with a different animal, this time allowing children to pick up 2 eggs. Continue until most of the eggs are gone. I like to use springtime animals, like bunnies, chicks, ducklings, butterflies, etc.
Leader tip: have a bunch of animals in mind before you begin—it’s amazing how difficult they are to think of on the spot, once you’ve used up the “obvious” ones!
Leader tip: Save the “leftover” eggs for the one or two children who will inevitably show up too late for the game. It’s also a good idea to have some extra eggs set aside for this purpose.
5. The younger group usually finishes before the older group, so I usually have a simple Easter craft planned. This is a good job for a volunteer who is “crafty” and likes to help, but doesn’t want to teach.
6. While the children are doing their crafts, have the leader (or the pastor) go around to each family, meet them, and give them invitations to your Easter service the next day. Be sure the invitations have all the necessary info on them.
Toddlers—2nd Grade
1. Create a large rectangle on the ground using colored masking tape, string, or yarn. Make sure string or yarn is close enough to the ground that children won’t trip over it. Fill the rectangle with plastic eggs that are filled with small prizes (Just lay them out on the floor evenly across the rectangle, although it’s a good idea to leave a border of a foot or two that contains no eggs around the edge. Otherwise children who stand outside the rectangle will grab eggs before it’s time!)
2. If your area is large and/or crowded, set up a sound system with at least one mic.
3. When it’s time to begin have children (with their parents) gather on the outside of the Egg Hunt rectangle—be sure they stay on the outside of the line.
4. Have the leader announce an animal and demonstrate how that animal walks (sounds are also encouraged!) and then allow the children to walk like that animal into the rectangle, pick up an egg and then walk like the animal back out. Repeat the process with a different animal, this time allowing children to pick up 2 eggs. Continue until most of the eggs are gone. I like to use springtime animals, like bunnies, chicks, ducklings, butterflies, etc.
Leader tip: have a bunch of animals in mind before you begin—it’s amazing how difficult they are to think of on the spot, once you’ve used up the “obvious” ones!
Leader tip: Save the “leftover” eggs for the one or two children who will inevitably show up too late for the game. It’s also a good idea to have some extra eggs set aside for this purpose.
5. The younger group usually finishes before the older group, so I usually have a simple Easter craft planned. This is a good job for a volunteer who is “crafty” and likes to help, but doesn’t want to teach.
6. While the children are doing their crafts, have the leader (or the pastor) go around to each family, meet them, and give them invitations to your Easter service the next day. Be sure the invitations have all the necessary info on them.
3rd—6th Grades
1. Be sure that prize baskets are ready. Have one basket for each team, filled with equal amounts of candy and prizes. The exception: have one basket slightly larger and filled with a few more “goodies”.
2. Hide all the eggs (50 of each color, one color for each team). I hide eggs outside because of space issues, although children often end up hunting in the slush of an Alaskan spring.
3. Divide kids into 5 equal color teams (i.e. the green team, the purple team, the orange team, the yellow team, and the blue team. Team colors should match the colors of eggs that are hidden.) Explain clearly the boundaries that children are allowed to look in; be sure that boundaries are set sufficiently back from streets, lakes, etc.
4. Have kids search for their team’s color of eggs.
5. It is against the rules to throw, hide, or otherwise disturb another team’s eggs—kids found doing so are disqualified from the hunt!
6. Baskets: The first team back with all 50 eggs wins the basket with the ribbon on it—this basket has more prizes than the others. As teams come in with their eggs, allow them to pick from the other baskets (they all have exactly the same things in them w/ the exception of the ribboned basket). Give teams time to divide the prizes.
7. Encourage kids to work with their teams to find eggs and to divide their prize baskets! (Teams allowed to work on their own, without an adult or teen assigned to their team, will experience more teamwork, practice more leadership skills, and feel greater investment in the outcome—including the success of finding all the eggs and earning their basket.)
8. Hand out invitations to the Easter service for tomorrow. Meet and personally invite as many parents/families as you can!
Tip: save baskets for re-use next year. Only save eggs if you have extra storage space—they are cheap and take up a lot of room.
Note: If you would like the simple documents that I use (signs, invitations, etc.) contact me at vjeanthomas at hotmail dot com. (I have this spelled out to avoid phishers/spammers.) I would be happy to share.
Have a fun and successful event!
