How To Throw An Easter Egg Hunt | BBC Good Food

Looking for Easter egg hunt ideas? Call us fogies but for all the flashy technology children have at their fingertips these days, we think a good old-fashioned Easter egg hunt is as good as any tablet game. A dizzying hunt for treasure? The starry-eyed anticipation of a pile of sweets to dive into? Parents wearing silly bunny ears? We can’t think of a better way to spend a springtime afternoon.

So if you have a flock of little lambs to keep entertained this Easter, follow our step-by-step guide to throwing the perfect treasure trail and use our easy printable Easter egg hunt clues.

For more seasonal goodies, discover our collection of Easter kids' recipes and also keep them entertained with our Easter baking recipes. Got leftover chocolate from your hunt? See our guide for using up Easter chocolate with kids and then throw them an Easter afternoon tea for kids.

Easter egg hunt ideas

What do you need for an Easter egg hunt?

Don’t forget to provide kids with a bucket or basket for storing their haul of treats

Ideas for Easter egg hunt treats

If you are short on time, then pick up some shop-brought treats. Our Easter chocololate product review makes life even easier – we’ve picked plenty of sweets that could be used as prizes. We particularly recommend small foil-wrapped eggs. Or if you fancy getting a bit more creative in the kitchen, then rustle up a few of our homemade goodies for kids using the following collections:

Easter egg hunt recipes:

Easter chocolate recipesEaster biscuit recipesEaster baking recipesEaster cookie recipes

If you’re choosing to lead your keen hunters to one giant haul of treasure, we’re also not short of recipe inspiration. Try making a tray of Easter chocolate bark and breaking it into shards, before packing it into bags or cellophane for each child. These cute vanilla chick pops and choc-egg lollies also make the ultimate reward to hand out at the end.

How to throw an Easter egg hunt

1. First, plan your route...

Allow us to state the obvious but houses come in all shapes and sizes, so creating a generic, one-size-fits-all hunt is tricky – but we tried. Our six-step, flexible Easter hunt has been designed to work in all kinds of houses, big and small. Follow our Easter egg hunt ideas by using these printable clues for where to hide your bounty:

Print our Easter egg hunt clues

2. Then, lay your clues and treats...

Depending on how much space you have to play with, you can either fold the clues and get your children to gather them up before reaching a giant chest of confectionary at the end, or you can leave edible clues along the way.

3. Now follow our clues and tips for where to nestle your treats:

1. Somewhere cold

This is a good opportunity to store sweets that are in danger of melting in the fridge.

2. Somewhere cosy you sleep at night

It goes without saying you don’t want smears of chocolate on the duvet, so for bedroom-based treasure, go for wrapped chocs and sweets.

Try our coconut bauble truffles in an egg box or chocolate truffle egg box

3. Where you wash up

Empty the sink and clean it well. Use the surrounding work surface to lay out a tray or plate of something chunkier, such as hot cross buns or cupcakes.

4. What do you wear to keep warm in cold weather

Children’s coat pockets are generally small and shallow, so create long, thin treats to be stood up vertically – wrap them in a little kitchen paper to stop them shedding crumbs.

5. Where you keep your toothbrush

When it comes to food in the bathroom, make sure it’s really well covered – preferably stored in an airtight container.

6. Something you use to cook

Find your biggest pan and use it to hide the largest treat of them all - an Easter egg! We have a nest-load of egg advice, from advice on making your own to a bumper buyers guide to the best Easter chocolate.

Leftover Easter egg ideas

Slightly overdone it? If your little one is in danger of bursting at the seams after all that chocolate, quietly hide the rest away and, once the sugar rush has worn off, use surplus cocoa treats in one of our leftover Easter chocolate recipes.

For everything else you need for a perfect Easter, visit our hub page and discover more seasonal sweet treats:

Homemade Easter eggsHow to decorate an Easter eggLeftover Easter egg recipesEaster dessert ideasUsing up Easter chocolate with kidsBest Easter eggs to buy