Easter egg hunt ideas for kids

4 November 2026

A great Easter egg hunt is planned by age: easy, visible eggs for toddlers, hidden eggs for school-age children, and a clue trail or treasure map for older ones. Give each child a colour so the hunt stays fair, count the eggs before you hide them, and have an indoor backup if it rains. In 2027, Easter Sunday is 28 March.

Planning the hunt: the basics

1. Count every egg. Write the number down. A forgotten chocolate egg behind a radiator or in a flower bed will be found by the dog, or by you in June.
2. Give each child a colour. Wrap, tag or dot eggs in one colour per child, so a fast older sibling can't sweep the lot.
3. Set boundaries. Tell everyone which rooms or which part of the garden are in play, and which are off limits.
4. Have a basket ready. Bowls, buckets or bags with names on save arguments.
5. Plan for the weather. Chocolate melts in sun and gets soggy in rain. Use foil-wrapped eggs outside, or plastic eggs with a treat inside.
6. Check the time. On Easter Sunday 2027 (28 March) the clocks also go forward an hour, so a 7am hunt will feel like 6am. See Easter Bunny traditions in the UK for the full 2027 dates.

Easter egg hunt ideas by age

Toddlers (1 to 3)

• Leave eggs in plain sight at floor level: on cushions, under chairs, next to toys.
• Use large eggs they can grab easily, and collect the foil wrappers as you go so they don't end up in little mouths.
• Keep it to one room or a small patch of garden, and hunt alongside them.

Young children (4 to 7)

• Hide eggs partly out of sight: in shoes, plant pots, under a coat, in a welly.
• Use a picture map of the garden with a cross where the "golden egg" is.
• Bunny footprints made with flour through a card stencil make a trail to follow.
• Picture clues work well for children who are just starting to read.

Older children (8 and up)

• Rhyming clue trails where each egg holds the clue to the next.
• Puzzles to unlock the last egg: a code, a word search or a simple maths problem.
• A timed hunt, or a points system where different coloured eggs are worth different points.
• Let them help hide eggs for younger siblings; many older children love being the Easter Bunny's helper.

Easter egg hunt clues you can copy

Write each clue on a small card and hide it with an egg. The last clue leads to the big egg.

• "Where you go to brush your teeth, look on top and underneath." (Bathroom)
• "I keep the milk and cheese cold. Open my door, if you're bold." (Fridge)
• "You sit on me to watch TV. Look under my cushions and you'll see." (Sofa)
• "Rub-a-dub-dub, look in the tub." (Bath)
• "I go round and round to make clothes clean. Look inside me, if you're keen." (Washing machine; leave the door open)
• "You wear me on your feet when it rains. Look inside for your Easter gains." (Wellies)
• "Where you rest your sleepy head, look under your pillow, on your bed." (Bed)
• "I'm full of soil and flowers too. A little egg is hiding for you." (Plant pot)
• "Pages and stories line my shelves. Look between them for something from the elves... or the Bunny!" (Bookcase)
• "Wheels and a seat, I take you to the park. Look in my basket before it gets dark." (Bike)

Indoor Easter egg hunt ideas for a rainy day

Easter in late March can be wet and cold. An indoor hunt can be just as good:

• Room by room. Give each room a theme or a different egg colour.
• Hide and swap. Hide paper eggs with numbers on them; each number swaps for a real egg at the end. No melted chocolate on the carpet.
• Glow-in-the-dark hunt. Close the curtains and use glow sticks inside plastic eggs, or give children a torch.
• Treasure in the toy box. Hide eggs inside things children use every day: a lunchbox, a pencil case, a shoe.

Ideas that aren't all chocolate

If you'd like to cut down on sugar, fill plastic eggs with:

• Stickers, temporary tattoos or hair clips
• Small toy figures, bouncy balls or marbles (not for under-threes)
• Puzzle pieces that make a picture at the end
• Coins or tokens to swap for a treat, a trip or a later bedtime
• Seeds to plant together after the hunt
• A note from the Easter Bunny with a clue or a compliment

Making the Easter Bunny's visit feel real

The hunt is more magical if the Easter Bunny has clearly been. Leave a half-eaten carrot, a few flour footprints, and a short letter with your child's name that sends them to the first egg. Our guide to Easter Bunny traditions has more, and the same ideas work for the Tooth Fairy and birthday traditions too.