Top 10 Fun Things to Do on Easter Morning

I don't know about your house, but we have already played egg hunt in my house, I would say, if I had to estimate, and if I were using round numbers, oh, about 1,000 times.  So, we are sorta over the whole hide the eggs and find them thing.  And when I say sort of, I mean really really really over it.  If you too are looking for more creative ways for some Easter Fun, try some of these ideas. 

And yes, we realize there are more than 10 . . . we are overachievers, what can we say?!?

Mix up the Egg Hunts

1.  Egg Hunt, Amazing Race Style.  Except that there will be no Phil at the end of the race saying, "I am sorry to tell you, but you have beeen eliminated from the race".  Tape a slip of paper onto the bedroom door that says something like “Do 10 jumping jacks and then search the laundry room for a pink Easter egg”.  Inside the egg hidden in the laundry room is a clue that says, “Go outside and hula hoop for 1 minute and then search the playhouse for an orange egg”.  Inside the last egg is something like, “Congratulations you have earned your Easter basket, search for it in the garage.”  #1 is going to LOVE this!

2.  Egg Hunt, ABC Style.  Buy 26 Easter eggs and label each one with the letter of the alphabet.  Hide them in the yard and tell the kids they have to pick them up in alphabetical order to get their Easter basket.

3.  Egg Hunt with lots of kids.  Doing a neighborhood hunt or just have a lot of kids?  Give each kid a sheet of paper that tells exactly how many of what color egg they have to find. If you are feeling particularly devious, make them find each color in a particular order. 

4.  Puzzle Egg Hunt:  Fill each egg with a puzzle piece.  Have the child collect all the eggs and put the puzzle together.  Here's the twist.  Have them put it together upside down, where you have written the location of the hidden Easter basket.

Fun with Food …because we all need to eat, right?

5.  Buy premade cookie dough and bake into one large cookie (or if you are an overachiever, make your own).  Using cookie cutters in Easter Shapes -  cut out your cookies.  Decorate with icing and enjoy.  We'll be doing this one next weekend with these super cute cookie cutters I found at Wal-Mart for $2.88.

6.  Make Easter eggs with a surprise inside from Rice Krispies!  Rice Krispie Website. 

Crafts

7.  Bunny Bookmark.  Child #1 is all about reading right now and I know she will love this craft. DIY Bunny Bookmark from That's What We Said!.

8.   Marshmallow decorated Easter Egg.  #2 will love this one.  That is if she doesn't eat all the marshmallows first. 

 

9.  Cottonball Bunny.  Think cotton ball snow man, but in a bunny shape.  All you need is a piece of construction paper, cotton balls, and glue! 

10.  Pin the Easter Egg in the Basket.  Just like Pin the Tail on the Donkey, but with eggs and a basket.  I don't need to explain this, right?  For added fun, have your child color the Easter Eggs and cut them out herself!

Egg Dyeing

11.  The Rubber Band Method.  Wrap rubber bands around your hard boiled eggs in random patterns.  Place egg in first color until you like the color.  Remove egg and take a few rubber bands off.  Allow a few minutes to dry.  Place in another color.  A word of warning here, don’t use too many colors as you’ll just end up with a black egg eventually! Also, the thicker rubber bands work much better, however, #1 refused to use them.  I have no idea why. 



Here is one that #1 did.  She liked the blue so much she refused to re-dip!

12.  Wax Crayons writing.  Get out that white crayon that never gets used from the box and draw designs on the eggs.  Then dip.  The dye won't adhere to the wax and you will end up with what #1 calls "ghost designs".
We'd love to hear other suggestions you have to keep us from doing any more egg hunts!

The things I do to make The Kid smile

Today I made a 4 year old smile. I mean really smile. Ok, she tends to smile quite often...and I'm responsible for a fair amount of them. But this smile wasn't planned. I didn't tell a joke or go out of my way to bring forth a grin. I caught her smiling. Just pure joy. I should have known that brownies and peeps would bring a grin or two....

A couple of days ago I remembered that Easter is closer than I'd thought. I hadn't decorated (done), bought egg dye (done) or made any fun treats (done and done). As far as the treats went, I wanted to make something cute, fun, and new. As I was pulling out Hallie's doughnut pan that I hijacked (I'll return it soon....maybe), I had a vision. A vision of a peep nest.

I started with boxed brownie mix. Don't judge! I wasn't sure if they would work in the pan and I didn't want to waste the time or ingredients....why am I defending myself??? Anyway. Brownie mix into doughnut pan sprayed with Pam. Into 350 degree oven for 13-15 minutes. I let them cool for 10 minutes and then carefully went around the edges to release the yummy crispy brownie edges. Are you still judging? I can feel it...

The Kid then "helped" me dye coconut green and add to the brownie nest, sprinkle with egg shaped sprinkles, and add a peep. Cute. And this is when I caught her . I started cleaning the mess and turned around and she was eye level with her new creation with the hugest grin. I'm not sure if she thought it was cute, was proud of what she made, or was thinking of eating the little bird and his home. But it doesn't matter...I was just happy to see that smile.

I also made these cute little brownie bites with the leftover batter ... waste not, want not, right?