What makes a great Easter egg hunt? Share your tips and experiences with Cadbury and you could win a £200 Love2Shop voucher NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

With Easter falling early this year, we're already planning ahead, and Cadbury are looking to hear Mumsnetters’ experiences of Easter egg hunts.

What do you think makes a great Easter egg hunt? Does your family have any traditions - perhaps you base the event on memories from your own childhood Easters? Do you (or the Easter bunny) put together a treasure map or cryptic clues to help find the hidden eggs - and to make the hunt last more than five minutes! Will there be a star prize - or specific eggs to find, so everyone gets a fair share? How do you add to the eggsitement - and more importantly, how can you prevent any arguments or jealousy between the children?!

Whether you’re a fan of traditions or planning an all day eggstravaganza (sorry!), share your egg hunt tips - and your family's favourite Easter experiences - and you will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £200 Love2Shop voucher.

Please note your comments may be included on Cadbury's pages on MN, their social media channels, and possibly elsewhere, so please only post if you're comfortable with this.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

[ej2k3]

We mix it up a bit... some eggs can just be "found" but others have special stickers which means either extra points or an extra prize (but they're much harder to find) and the rest have clues aimed at everyone working as a team to figure out the riddle and find the eggs together. We also have a big white rabbit who helps out 😊 And it's not just for the kids!

[StickChildNumberTwo]

I've never organised one, but my then three year old daughter loved one that friends set up for her last year around their house and garden. The eggs were well enough hidden that she needed help so it kept the adults entertained too :)

[gazzalw]

Decent weather, having participants who are up for it, having a large enough area over which to run it, AND a rough map to show you where you've hidden them (just in case not all are claimed and you need to offer additional clues!).

And preferably a grown-up dressed up as a rabbit to offer a magical surprise mid-hunt!

[mumsbe]

We do two easter egg hunts one is with clues left from the easter bunny to find all the chocolate easter eggs and then one later in the garden to find the most plastic eggs with a prize at the end. We also enjoy our local community easter egg hunt

[SaltySeaBird]

Coloured plastic hollow eggs from hobbycraft, each child is given a specific colour to find. I have 8 of each colour and hide them in the garden.

Inside the eggs are things like smarties, smaller chocolate eggs, the odd creme egg, stickers, hair clips, cheap party bag style toys.

Everyone ends up with the same as they just have to find the right of their colour. When they find all eight they can sit and open them - one contains a voucher from the Easter Bunny to exchange for a big egg he has left in the cupboard.

[Terribleknitter]

We turn it into a party. More chocolate eggs and Easter themed things than is really necessary, party food, BBQ if the weather allows, plenty to drink, bunting - basically the works! It's usually the first chance we get after Christmas to all get together and relax over a long weekend and we (friends and family) make the most of it.
Our family rotate the do and this year it's our turn. The shopping starts next week.

[JoyceDivision]

Children who share the booty... makes it much easier than having the smaller children whi are rubbish at finding stuff or not very quick sobbing at theit token 1 small egg when others have a whacking great basket full!

[TelephoneIgnoringMachine]

Hollow plastic eggs each filled with a mini egg and a token. Children exchange the tokens for their own individual clue to where their main egg is (hidden inside, so no premature discovery).

[Enix]

Individual maps and colour coded slips of paper for hot/cold clues to the proper prize!

[Alidoll]

Living in Scotland, the weather plays a major factor in any Easter egg hunt as pouring rain and soggy chocolate does not mix. So instead I draw a map of the house and hide the eggs round the place. I bought a leather bunny face mask from a seller on Etsy and am the Easter bunny for the duration of the search. Daughter (now 6) must follow the map with a basket I give her to find the treats. There is usually one or two bigger items - like a Barbie doll or book. Daughter adores the bunny hunt and happily shares her finds with the bunny and her Daddy so result for all!

[HideHide]

A treasure map left behind by the Easter bunny - it gives them a focus instead of wildly pinging around the garden!

[loosechange]

DH makes a treasure map each year, he gets rather into it! Each child has a different route to follow.

We hide a succession of small eggs (multipack versions) then the prize is their main egg.

Quite like the idea of coloured plastic eggs filled with other things though.
There was once Easter chocolate here until well after Halloween.

[MrsSpa]

DC are still little so we just hide eggs around the garden. I like to get different sorts, some places sell little dark chocolate eggs etc.

[Kirstyh87]

Planning an Easter egg hunt is one of the best thingS and keeps children amused for ages. One of the best things is to give the children all a different coloured bucket and make them try to find Easter eggs that match the colour of the bucket whether it be the foil on the egg is the same colour or you wrap the egg up in a tissue paper so it matches

[cookiemonster66]

I hide them all around the garden and then its a free for all mad rush to find them!

[Xylophonejo]

Never had one as a child and so far I've never done one for my children but reading all the PPs makes me feel a bit guilty now... Better get a collection of eggs and a plan together!

[littlemouse15]

My mum always did a treasure trail, Lots of clues and Prizes along the way, ending with a large egg each. the house is 3 story's and it would be me and my two sisters running round like mad up, down and out in the garden! when my little boy is big enough i will carry on the tradition. Even when i had moved out and got my own home i still turned up for the treasure hunt for a few years until my younger sister got too old!

Tips

1. make sure there are the correct amount of prizes at each clue (enough for each child to save arguments)
   
2. Dont put a prize at every clue then its more eggciting when they do find a prize
   
3. spread the clues round well, not all in the same room
   
4. the children could take it in turns to read clues and try to figure them out or you could always make colored clues in even amounts and give each child a color, then make sure you put an age appropriate clue on that child's color.
   
5. Give each child a bag for the prizes
   
6. End with the biggest eggs.
   
7. to save arguments you could give children separate trails but its a nice group activity and good to have help with clues.
   
8. if you are putting lots of little eggs at a prize point , share them out before hand and put into sandwich bags, saves the kids arguing when sharing them out themselves.
   
9. sometimes color matters to children , if you have wrapped eggs ect try to make these the same color to save arguments

[TyrannosaurusBex]

Cryptic clues for the older children, clues with a simple map and instructions for the younger ones, baskets for everyone to collect in, a mix of chocolate and non-edible prizes (like erasers, crayons, hair bobbles) and LOADS of eggs to find. We use some chocolate eggs and some plastic ones with treats inside. Can't wait, I love Easter. And chocolate.

[Minnie43]

We do an Easter Egg Hunt religiously every year, it's a much anticipated tradition in our family. To jazz things up a bit we hide the normal chocolate eggs, but also chicken eggs decorated with food colouring and feathers to make them look like baby birds. These special eggs are worth big prizes such as extra thick chocolate eggs, 5 eggs, or even 10 choccy eggs!
Definitely makes things more egg-citing and there's a virtual stampede at kickoff, so much so that we've had to venture into the countryside and abandon the garden as it's so small they'd be found in seconds.

[foxessocks]

Lots of different sized eggs and different varieties it keeps it exciting for all the kids and the bigger ones are easier for little kids to find and the smaller ones more of a challenge. I can't wait!

[Obs2016]

Our school does a good one with clues all over and then you get a big egg.
At home we just hide mini eggs all over the house, on door handles, fridge doors, on top of books, all over. Ds2 in particular has always adored this and we do it again and again for weeks.

[KAKADU2001]

Take your kids to the nearest beach as you can have the most amazing Easter Egg Hunts. Kids love nothing better than been at the seaside on the beach digging with their buckets & spades. Put canes around a area of the beach with flags on and of course have some Red Herrings (not literally). Doing it this way it become a family day out.

[spottypjs]

clues to solve, a map sometimes for younger ones and plenty of the little eggs hidden to find.

[bridge16]

The best Easter egg hunt is in my mother-in-laws garden. They have a really interesting garden withy loads of cool hiding spots and the kids love it every year getting out there trying to find an assortment of eggs and chicks, stickers etc

[jandoc]

having lots of people involved