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Original poster

Did you do Easter hunts growing up?

165 replies

Stomachfullofchocolate · 09/04/2023 18:31

I was a child of the 80’s, teen of the 90’s…I remember going to one Easter hunt as a child at a neighbours across the road, I had no idea what to do.
My parents would get me an egg for Easter for the morning and my grandparents would get me one…I was happy with that as I knew no different. We don’t go over the top in our house but I do plan a lovely egg hunt for Dd, get her some bunny ears/t-shirt etc and we do Easter activities -paint eggs, make Easter nests etc.
I’m not trying to sound like I’m perfect, I just enjoy doing it and it isn’t a massive hassle…I didn’t do any of it..we painted eggs at school and did nests so I suppose my mum didn’t think we needed to do anything else. But when I think about it, it’s like that with so many things…I do so much more with Dd and I work, whereas my mum was a Sahm for years. She wasn’t an awful mum, I’m not saying that at all, but things seem so different these days…even dinners were easy and things you just bunged in the oven (fishfingers, Findus crispy pancakes, chips etc) then she’d maybe cook from scratch on a Sunday. Breakfast was cereal in a bowl, no fruits, avocado on toast, eggs etc really like a lot of people nowadays. I think of all the things I bust my ass over and wondered why it wasn’t like that then or why just she wasn’t (not sure if that was the case or all motherhood was similar back then)
The thing she did do differently to me was a lot more daily cleaning…I’m rubbish and hire a cleaner as a treat as I prefer to put effort into spending time with Dd when I’m home and make better meals in general than in the 80’s.
Why didn’t my mum or maybe it was lots of other mums? Do these things?

OP posts:
1offnamechange · 09/04/2023 20:29

me and my siblings were born late 80s - mid 90s and definitely did easter egg hunts, oads of crafts and home, weekly trips to library with parents, days out at theme parks etc (not so much soft play, although I remember mini versions e.g. a slide and ball pool in birthday parties) trick or treating and halloween discos, and went to clubs - brownies, swimming, gymnastics, ballet, cadets etc. From a pretty working class background in a non urban area too so it wasn't like we were at the fore front of anything!

wellhi · 09/04/2023 20:31

Stomachfullofchocolate · 09/04/2023 18:58

@Morningcoffeeview Yes, trick or treating too! None of that…although my mum got sweets in for the ones that came around to knock on, but we never did it or dressed up etc

I did trick or treating, but was left to sort my own costume from a very young age. Maybe around 7 or 8?

I can remember one night having my tea after school, dark outside, and suddenly realising it was 31st. Can't remember how I found out, somebody must have mentioned it.

I panicked as I didn't have a costume, eventually pestered my dad for an old shirt, ripped it and added some fake blood (tomato sauce, I think) and went round a few houses as a zombie.

Pretty heartbreaking when I think of it now Sad

Fizbosshoes · 09/04/2023 20:34

I was a kid in the 1980s. My parents gave us an Easter egg (or sometimes dome money instead of an Easter egg) and my godmother gave me an Easter egg, possibly some neighbours did.

I don't ever remember going on an Easter egg hunt.
I can't think what did as a family at weekends. My dad had a side hustle doing gardening so we wouldn't have gone anywhere when he was working.
We never went swimming because my parents couldn't swim, and I don't remember going to museums etc. Sometimes we went for a walk in the woods.
I didn't know softplay existed til I had kids of my own.

happytoobehere · 09/04/2023 20:34

80s child here, we never did an Easter egg hunt but got lots of eggs. We decorated an egg took it to our local bill and rolled it down. My mum made us Halloween costumes, we went trick or treating. The difference then I feel we had to work for our treat with a joke, dance etc weren't just given a sweet. Bonfire night was a big thing in our neighbourhood. We used to make a guy put him in a trolley and go round the neighbour for donations then my dad would go buy fire works. My brothers along with other older local kids would go round collect old furniture etc build a bonfire and all our neighbours would come out to watch fireworks.

Carsarelife · 09/04/2023 20:35

Born in 70's no egg hunt, or Easter bunny, no Xmas stocking - just presents, no trick or treat either. Got 1 egg from grandparents, 1 from Nan and a small tube of Suchard eggs from parents

happytoobehere · 09/04/2023 20:37

*hill not bill

GenderCriticalTrumpets · 09/04/2023 20:44

I'm a child of the 80s and didn't do a single Easter egg hunt and nobody ever said anything about the Easter bunny. I've never done an Easter egg hunt for my kids either. Easter for us is for getting together with family and having a lovely meal.

Getmoveon14 · 09/04/2023 20:45

I was born in the 70's. The only time my mum did an Easter egg hunt for us was when we were living in the US for a year. It was the same with trick or treating - did it in the US but however much I begged, I wasn't allowed to go trick or treating in the UK. So maybe the American influence is partly responsible for the new traditions.

thaegumathteth · 09/04/2023 20:50

Sounds like I'm same age as you. No egg hunts, no fancy meals, no real Christmassy things, wasnt allowed to celebrate Halloween. Survived though.

Climbingthelaundrymountain · 09/04/2023 20:50

I was born in 88 and we definitely did egg hunts and got given Easter eggs. I remember colouring in Easter egg pictures and decorating eggs too.

Oncetheystartschool · 09/04/2023 20:51

I was born early 80s and we did Easter egg hunts every year at either my grandparents or great uncles house, which was the highlight of the Easter weekend. Also went trick or treating with homemade costumes. Nothing was especially commercial, it was just those miniature foil wrapped solid chocolate eggs and we probably got max 8 each as there were 6 cousins all hunting and you had to be quick to find them! My great uncle used to sit in the garden smoking his pipe while we all ran madly round egg hunting. Great memories!

MammaTill2Pojkar · 09/04/2023 20:59

FabFitFifties · 09/04/2023 19:36

70's child. No easter bunny, but we all got an egg, with our name iced on, from Mam and Dad. We got it in advance, saw the name being iced on in the shop, but weren't allowed to eat it until Easter Sunday. We got eggs of other relatives too, but not loads. We got an Easter outfit and sandals. Had never heard of an Easter Egg hunt. We dec orated eggs to take for school competition. No Easter decorations either at home, it just wasn't done. Mam made a lovely lunch, and one of our aunties did a lovely buffet tea.

I'd forgotten about the primary school hard boiled egg competition, where you decorated an egg (without parents help), I think I made Haleys Comet one year!

Also forgot about going to church for Easter, but now I've seen others mention it I remember getting those straw? crucifixes during Mass. My Mum was/is fairly religious so we used to go to church most Sundays as well as Mass for Christmas too of course and me and my sisters were even part of the church choir.

Plantpot75 · 09/04/2023 21:10

I was born in 75 and would say that I had a lovely childhood but certainly never did an egg hunt. I don’t know anyone who did then either. I would always get an egg with a mug and maybe 2 or 3 other eggs. I knew they were from family and I’d never heard of the Easter Bunny.

I think the differences in time are really interesting. I did do clubs - Brownies, dance and swimming. I don’t remember doing crafts with my Mum but we did do baking and all play board games. Halloween wasn’t a thing. Nobody would come knocking to us and we would never go trick and treating. Again I didn’t know anyone who did. We did have a Halloween type party at Brownies though. This was a large village in the north. We did used to go and see Father Christmas and did go to a Bonfire which was definitely a bigger deal than Halloween.

It is different with my nearly 10 year old. He only does one club although has tired others. We always do several Christmas activities and Halloween is much more of an event although Bonfire Night isn’t. I do an egg hunt for him (as do my parents!) I don’t think he is any happier than I was as a child though. He certainly has less freedom. I think my parents did the norm at the time and I probably do too. My parents both worked full time and I work part time.

I hadn’t heard of play centres until we went to Blackpool Illuminations and I went to one in the tower called Mr Peabodys. I loved it!

CheeseMcKnees · 09/04/2023 21:20

Yes, we did great ones, hand drawn clues for the non-readers and riddles for the older ones.

mondaytosunday · 09/04/2023 21:22

I grew up in 60s (too young to remember) but 70s yes we did a hunt. In fact one year it was very rainy out so my mum hid them around the house, and months later a strange burnt chocolate smell as we found a forgotten one in a wall sconce.
Things like créame al were a bit nivel and we had that for breakfast throughout childhood. But my mother did cook from scratch every night.

SwedishEdith · 09/04/2023 21:24

Also forgot about going to church for Easter, but now I've seen others mention it I remember getting those straw? crucifixes during Mass.

Were they the ones made from the palms from Palm Sunday?

CreeperBoom · 09/04/2023 21:30

I (Scotland, 80s) thought Easter egg hunts and the Easter bunny were an American tradition. I had never heard of anyone doing an egg hunt, or even half heartedly claiming the Easter bunny was real during my childhood.

I've never suggested that the Easter bunny is real to my kids, but we started making a bigger deal of Easter and introduced egg hunts during the lockdown years, and it has stuck.

Halloween was a bit deal (much more so than it is for my kids now), and also fireworks night.

I did quite a few activities, crafts, trips out. Crafts are so cheap and available now though, so we probably do more of that.

Original poster
Stomachfullofchocolate · 09/04/2023 21:32

How weird…just remembered about bonfire night and that was made more of a fuss of…fireworks and sparklers in the garden, jacket potato in the oven and toffee apples, it was always so nice.
Thinking also about clubs, I did go to Brownies for a short while after seeing all my friends go and I did swimming as part of school.
When we were a bit older, my mum used to take us swimming on a Friday afternoon and our treat was a Pot noodle for dinner 🙈😂
My dad took us to the library some Saturdays, we’d walk to the village and then we got to choose something from Greggs/bakery like an iced finger.
I remember lots of time spent on my bike for hours away from home and *Knocking on for friends..,they were simpler times…I wonder which children are happier..us back then or kids today, or is it just a different type of happy?

OP posts:
Sleeptightnightlight · 09/04/2023 21:32

Late 70s child and my parents did an egg hunt every year.

Mini eggs round the garden (I find that hugely unsanitary now!) when we were little, then treasure hunt style with clues (done by my dad) when we were older.

BetiYeti · 09/04/2023 21:36

80s child here. Chocolate egg from my parents on Easter Sunday. Church and then big lunch. No hunts or crafting. I don’t go mad for Easter stuff, but I make sure my DC have a hunt, do crafts, baking and we don’t go to church.

CrunchyCarrot · 09/04/2023 21:40

Late 50's child - had Easter Egg hunts every year where the eggs would be hidden around the garden (this was in Australia). It was really good fun. Easter eggs back then were all smallish (a bit larger than a Creme Egg) and were wrapped in patterned foil. They had different patterns and were very pretty. I remember when I came to the UK in 1979 the Easter Eggs were so boring!

VestaTilley · 09/04/2023 21:48

We didn’t do them when we were young. We went to church (still do) and got lots of eggs as we had a big extended family, but egg hunts weren’t a thing when we were small. We started doing it in my DGM’s garden when my Dnephew came along; he was born in 2009. I don’t remember doing it before then; if we did it was a few years before, certainly not in the early 90s.

This weekend we made an Easter garden at church, went to church where there was an egg hunt for DC, had roast lamb etc at home, swapped eggs and did a small egg hunt for DS and DNephew in DPs garden. I made birds nest cakes yesterday. I’d usually make simnel cake and hot cross buns but didn’t have time this year. Aside from daffodils we don’t “decorate” for Easter.

BebbanburgIsMine · 09/04/2023 21:50

I'm a 70's child and I barely knew chocolate eggs existed until I had my DC in the 90's, they just weren't a thing in my family.

Our Easter meant boiling an egg in coloured water and rolling it down the hill opposite our house.

I am Scottish though, and Easter isn't a big thing here, tomorrow not a holiday here.

I'm Pagan, and Ostara is my celebration now.

Eatentoomanyroses · 09/04/2023 21:51

Think you’re judging your mum a bit harshly. I was a child of the eighties too and never did an egg hunt. We did always decorate eggs, do the egg rolling at church and get lots of Easter eggs. We always had a birthday party with all our classmates every year. My mum had a huge amount of stress on, worked, was a carer for several elderly relatives living close by, and my dad was very physically abusive. I certainly had findus pancakes and chicken dippers. Never did craft or anything like that and we only ever went on one holiday I can remember because we had very little money. I think she was pretty fantastic.

Tessisme · 09/04/2023 21:51

I was born in the late sixties. We didn't have Easter egg hunts where I lived (Belfast) but we decorated hard boiled eggs and rolled them down a hill. It was better fun than it sounds😃 We got plenty of chocolate eggs from parents and aunties and uncles, sometimes even teachers.