Inspired to Play

I’m sure most of you would agree, the fondest childhood memories usually come from waking up on Holidays to see what surprises were waiting.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas, and it will always be my favorite family holiday…but I also remember Easter mornings being So. Much. Fun!  As a kid, the idea of going on a “treasure hunt” all around the house and finding little chocolate gems in the silliest places is so magical!

Whether you grew up with a tradition of big presents like a new bike waiting, or a smaller basket of treats and treasures, the excitement of an Easter Egg hunt is something that I look forward to recreating for my kids each year. 

One thing I realize now as an adult is that no matter how much we wished the supply of chocolate and candies would never end…we probably NEVER finished all the treats we got from holiday’s like Easter.  The thrill of chasing little treasures is really the exciting part, so here I am sharing some ideas for sugar-free Easter Egg fillers that will be fun to find and actually get used! 

***You know your children best, please always keep in mind their interests and age when it comes to choosing items that are appropriate and use caution with small parts that could pose a choking hazard.***

EASTER EGG FILLERS

1. Stamps: This year I am putting a cute little set of stamps I found with smiley faces and flowers and other cheery pictures that came with 3 mini stamp pads that all fit perfectly in the larger sized standard eggs.  These letter stamps would also be perfect too! I plan to give the kids a notebook/sketchpad in their basket as well because it is something they use almost every day, and it will make the perfect place to test out their new stamps!

2. Puzzle Pieces:  I did this one year by placing the empty puzzle box in the Easter Basket with a note to hunt for all the missing pieces.  She had so much fun finding the hidden eggs and was so proud when the puzzle was complete!  This probably works best for School Age children as they can generally do puzzles with smaller pieces that are able to fit inside a plastic egg!

3. Stickers:  I haven’t met a kid who doesn’t love stickers, whether they use them to decorate pictures or themselves, kids go crazy for stickers! *Bonus: Stickers are a great tool to help with fine motor development!Just like above, including a sketchbook/colouring book in their Easter baskets makes a great place to collect their new stickers!

4. Specialty Crayons:  So many cute possibilities, from little Easter Bunny shapes to the letters in each child’s name to make a set!  My kids love the idea of colouring with Crayons that are special shapes!

5. Coins:  Another thing kids love getting is money, and finding 20 loonies in an Egg Hunt can be so much more exciting than getting a $20 bill in a card!  This can double as a learning activity for children learning about the values of coins.  Leave a note stating the total value and then your little one can practice adding up their findings to make sure they rounded up all the coins!

6. Beads: Have a little one who loves to make their own jewlery? Hide some cool beads in their Eggs and they can make their very own special Easter Necklace to keep! If you have letter beads you can hide all the letters of their name to find!

7. Pompoms: Turn the hunt into a fun game by hiding pompoms in the eggs and setting out jars for each colour. Pre-measure the pompoms in each jar so you know there is enough of each colour and then have your children race around to find the pompoms and fill each jar!  Bonus: this can encourage more of a team effort for siblings rather than a competition to see who can find the most chocolate!

8. Small Toys (think Hot Wheels cars or small animal figures for small world play) that can be added to your child’s existing well-loved collections will definitely not go to waste!  To take it one step further, set out a sensory bin with just a base like coloured rice or lentils and then hide small dinosaurs, rocks, gems, flowers, letters etc and let them set up their own sensory bin as they find each piece!

9. “Easter Bunny Says”: Make the egg hunt a full out gross motor activity by writing different actions and exercises to do in each egg, like “Hop like a bunny to the next egg” or “Do 6 jumping jacks”.  I have done this in my kindergarten class before and the kids had so much fun that they asked to do it again every day for the whole week!!

There are so many possibilities when it comes to Easter Egg Hunts. I hope these ideas help to inspire you to add a little egg-stra excitement to your Easter morning!

Be inspired to play always!

XO Hannah