With Easter just around the corner I am on a search to find things to put in Easter Eggs besides chocolate. Easter Egg hunts are always fun and something we do in my home for WEEKS around this time of year. Having my kid hopped up on chocolate first thing in the morning is not ideal though. Read more to see what things to put in Easter Eggs the weeks leading up to Easter.
I don’t know about you guys, but my kid has been hopped up on candy since Halloween! The time from October to April is always full of holiday fun and candy in my home.
By about February I’m tired of it and considering a sugar detox for the whole family!
Leading up to Easter I like to hide Easter Eggs around our home every morning for my daughter to find when she wakes up. As the youngest grandbaby (so far), I always found it important to refresh her on what an Easter Egg hunt is before doing the big family Easter Egg hunt with my in-laws.
The first year or two we used chocolate to help motivate my daughter to actually FIND the eggs. Once she knew what was in the Easter Eggs she was all about finding one and breaking them open.
Now that my daughter is older (a whole 3 years old now), it is easier to motivate her to find the eggs without resorting to a candy bribe.
I have found these morning Easter Egg hunts are a fun (and sometimes educational) way to start off the day. It gives my daughter a chance to run around and find something exciting while I relax and take a moment to mentally sort out our day. I would strongly recommend a morning Easter Egg hunt to anyone that is looking for 5 minutes to drink their coffee mostly kid free.
When I do these morning Easter Egg hunts I usually hide 6 – 10 eggs. This is mostly because of how young my daughter is. After 6 – 8 eggs she starts to lose interest. As your kid gets older, or if you have multiple kids, you might want to try hiding more eggs, just be sure to keep a mental note of how many are out there.
Alright, on to the list!
Alphabet Pieces
Do you have some magnet alphabet pieces laying around? Give them new life with an Easter Egg hunt!
When I do this one I usually write all the letters I hide on a piece of paper. To “set the scene” I’ll put that paper on the couch with one or two Easter Eggs nearby. This helps me and my daughter know when all of the eggs have been found.
I really like this one because you can adapt it to your child’s level!
Have a kid still learning the alphabet? Write down upper or lowercase letters for them to match.
Have a kid learning letter sounds? Get a little creative and draw pictures that each of the letters start with. If you don’t want to draw you can use these CVC pictures instead!
Have a kid learning to read and spell? Lay out these CVC pictures on the couch and hide 3 letters in bigger eggs! Alternatively, you could lay out the roots of each CVC word you use and have your child match up the first letters.
Right now we are working on matching uppercase and lowercase letters together.
This Easter Egg hunt is probably a family favorite! My daughter loves matching the letters and I love the educational aspects of it.
Puzzle Pieces
Have you ever thought about hiding puzzle pieces in an Easter Egg?
My daughter is all about puzzles right now. Some days she will sit and do the same 3 or 4 puzzles over and over again.
This is another one that is easy to adapt to your child’s age.
If you have an older kid you can get a 12 or 20 piece puzzle and hide them in normal sized Easter Eggs.
For younger kids, I would recommend getting the bigger Easter Eggs and hiding 6 or 8 piece puzzles.
I really like this Easter Egg hunt because it requires kids to find all (or most) of the Easter Eggs before they can actually put the puzzle together.
Busy Book Pieces
Do you have a couple busy books laying around the house? Put those pieces in an Easter Egg!
When I do this one I will put the page on the couch with one or two eggs nearby like with the alphabet pieces.
This one is great because you can use it to bring new excitement to something your kids might have grown bored with. Turning a busy book page into a scavenger hunt is sure to make it a little more exciting for that 5 – 10 minutes!
This is another one that is easy to adapt to your child’s interest and skill level. Here are a few busy book pages we like in our home if you don’t already have some or are looking for new ones!
Monster numbers and shapes busy book pages
Dinosaur numbers and shapes busy book pages
Princess numbers and shapes busy book pages
American Sign Language (ASL) colors and emotions busy book pages
American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet busy book pages
American Sign Language (ASL) number busy book pages
CVC word puzzles busy book pages
Small Toys
Does your kid have some toys they have grown bored with?
I find hiding toys in Easter Eggs is a great way to make them exciting again for the morning!
With this one you may need to get the bigger Easter Eggs, depending on the size of the toys.
If you are looking to take the fun further, once your kid finds the toys you can put them in one of these sensory bins!
Frozen Shaving Cream Sensory Bin
Sponge Shapes
My daughter LOVES painting. If I know I’m going to have her painting later in the day I’ll hide some sponge shapes in the Easter Eggs!
This is not only a great way to review shapes with your child, but also a great way to transition to another activity!
The best part is most sponges can be squished into the smaller Easter Eggs!
Stickers
Another thing my daughter loves is stickers!
If you have some stickers laying around, put them in Easter Eggs!
With this one I will put a piece of paper or notebook on the couch and an egg nearby. I find doing this helps decide where the stickers should be put after she finds them.
Hair Clips or Hair Ties
Do you have a little hair dresser on your hands? Hide some hair clips and hair ties in the Easter Eggs!
With this one I will have one of my daughter’s dolls nearby with some of her toy brushes and toy hair dryer. This way, when she’s done finding all of the eggs we can transition to some independent imaginative play while I make breakfast.
Magnets
Do you have some fridge magnets your child loves? Hide them in Easter Eggs!
If you do this one, expect your kid to want to play near the fridge for a bit.
If you don’t want your child playing by your fridge you can try getting out a white board. That doesn’t always work for me though.
Something you can try hiding in the eggs is these nursery rhymes. Once you print and laminate you can put magnets on the back. Hiding these pieces always leads to a few minutes of song/story time with my daughter!
That’s it folks! 8 things you can hide in Easter Eggs BESIDES chocolate. Each of these activities is sure to keep your child entertained and candy free for a morning.
What are your thoughts? What things do you like putting in Easter Eggs?
One response to “Things to Put In Easter Eggs BESIDES Chocolate ”
[…] that month we do quite a few Easter Egg scavenger hunts to refresh my toddler on the whole Easter Egg hunt […]