The following is my March Edwardsburg Voice article. I was tasked with writing about Easter egg hunts, which I found to be challenging in terms of originality and interest. Let me know what you think of it 
Every year our church hosts an Easter Egg Hunt for the younger children. Hundreds of eggs are “hidden” in a grassy field which is marked off so that the kids don’t start grabbing them too soon. They stand around like dogs on the wrong side of an invisible fence until the word is given. That moment they are allowed into the restricted area is complete chaos as the field is rushed and the eggs are all picked up within about two minutes. Then each child gets to take inventory of what treasure they have claimed.
Easter is March 31st this year. Easter eggs and the hunts for them have been around since the 13th century, so how do you make yours fun and interesting?
Try making your egg hunt a scavenger hunt for your kids to find their baskets. This method has a few advantages. First, the eggs have clues inside them instead of even more candy. Second, there is a certain number of eggs for everyone and you don’t have to worry about the oldest finding everything. (Just color code the scavenger hunt so everyone takes their own eggs.) Finally, you can add meaningful Easter messages or scripture to each clue to help them remember why we are celebrating.
To create the scavenger hunt, you first need a series of clues. Get creative and come up with your own or print some from a site like http://happyhomefairy.com. Either way, the next step is easy because you already determined the hiding places with your clues. Place each child’s first egg somewhere obvious like next to their toothbrush or in their slipper. Have the last clue send them to where their Easter basket is hiding. This can be as simple or complex as you would like to make it and can be customized for different ages.
Another type of egg hunt you can try is one with a list of how many eggs of each color need to be found. This may be simpler than using clues if you have little ones.
Need more ideas for egg-fillers besides candy? How about coins, coupons (for hugs, get-out-of-a-chore, a bigger gift, etc.), movie tickets, gift certificates, stickers, coloring pages, jokes, or temporary tattoos?
Whether you are having an egg hunt, egg race, or other Easter activity, I hope that you all have a very blessed Easter.
