Easter is upon us, and chances are your little ones are hopping with anticipation for the big egg hunt.

If you’re feeling like your hunts have been stuck in a rut and are looking for some fresh ideas that will make their feet thump and whiskers twitch with excitement, we’ve got some ideas to help.

Sarah on ‘The Basics’

For a hunt to be fun for all age groups, you’ll need to consider breaking it down into a few, smaller ones. That way the young children won’t be run over by their larger, more experienced siblings. Color code the eggs by age group: one for kids three and under, one for kids aged four to six and another for those over seven. For the toddlers, place eggs on the grass so that they’re easy to find. For the next age group, hide the eggs in slightly more difficult to find places, like under bushes and on windowsills. To challenge the oldest group, hide the eggs in trees, on top of car tires, and other exciting and slightly harder-to-find spots. Let the younger ones start first, then progress in stages until you’re done.

Alicia on ‘The Five ‘W’s”

Everyone has different criteria for what is important to them about their hunt. To help you plan effectively, focus on the four W’s: who, what, where, and when. Who? Is it the whole family gathering or just the kids in the neighborhood? What? Do you hide hot pink peeps or real dyed eggs? Where? Inside or out? When? Easter Day or the day before?

The Hunt Is On

Here are 3 unique twists on the familiar Easter Egg Hunt to help you as you plan.

#1: Turn Off The Lights
Why not stage an egg hunt the night before Easter? Hide plastic eggs in the backyard and give each person a flashlight for the hunt. A fun thing to try is to hide glow sticks, bracelets and necklaces in some of the eggs so they are illuminated during the search. Warm up afterwards with hot chocolate with a bright yellow peep chick floating on top.

#2: Redeem Coupon Here
Most people get their fill of jelly beans, Cadbury crème eggs, and trinkets during the holiday. Put something different in those plastic eggs for the hunt — coupons. The ‘coupons’ which you can make and print off on your computer can be for all kinds of special treats that will keep on giving for weeks to come. Some favorites include: 2 Helpings of Dessert, Get Out Of Setting The Table Tonight, Stay Up One Hour Past Your Bedtime, and Your Night To Pick TV Shows. Not only are these fun and valuable, they usually save you money as well. This is also a great idea for an adult Easter Egg hunt where the coupons can be for things like Dinner Out, Backrubs, and Get Your Car Washed.

#3: What Came First The Chicken Or The Egg?
For most Easter Egg Hunts, prizes and candy are often hidden in plastic colorful eggs. A fun variation is to hide plastic chicks instead. You can find them in most big stores and they usually come in different colors too. Take the chickens and place a numbered sticker on the bottom of each one. This should then correspond to a prize or candy that can be redeemed after the hunt. It also works well to make one chick the grand prize and whoever finds that one gets an extra special gift like a complete Easter basket or a large chocolate egg.