Easter Egg Hunts
If you have children, this is a great way to spend a morning in the garden! If you don’t borrow some!
What you need
Some cardboard eggs – those pretty ones that you find in stationers and other posh paper shops
Egg boxes
Pretty paper for clues and small envelopes in which to place them
A range of chocolate eggs and treats, from really tiny ones through to the ‘prize’ eggs which have to fit inside the cardboard eggs you’ve already selected.
How to start
Decide where the ‘nest’ will be hidden: this is the treasure trove that your clues will lead to – then put your ‘prize’ eggs in their cardboard containers and working backwards from the final nest, decide where you’re going to place clues and what they are going to say
For very small children, only two or three clues are necessary, because they will find it difficult to concentrate for long, for teens you can write cryptic clues or set them small tasks (eg ‘if you’ve done your chores you’ll find the answer where you can see you face’ means the next clue will be in a shoe that should have been polished) to really stretch them
Provide little tiny treats in a couple of the clue envelopes: miniature eggs or thin chocolates will remind them what they are working towards
Hide the nest and set out the clues early on Easter Morning: ideal hiding places are bird tables, under flower pots and tucked into low branches of trees or shrubs – remember that each clue should point to the next one, so don’t mix up your envelopes!
Now make a big pot of coffee, warm up some croissants, and pull out the garden furniture – you can sit in the spring sunshine and watch the fun while you have your breakfast.