Easter egg hunt ideas for all ages from toddler to tween.

I used to love hiding eggs around our garden when my kids were young. Here are some fun suggestions from Tesco.

Under 5 year olds

What you need:

Let the little ones join in the Easter fun with a mini trail. Not all prizes need to be chocolate, you can add a few non-edible prizes such as stickers or a fluffy rabbit toy for each child, as well as a handful of mini chocolate eggs. Make sure each child has an Easter basket or grab a bowl to collect the eggs.

How to play:
There are lots of different ways of creating a fun Easter egg hunt for little ones:
1. Call out clues to the kids such as “this egg’s hiding by the green chair” and call “hot” or “cold” as they get nearer or further away from the prize.
2. A great way to involve little ones is to take photos of where the prizes are hidden. Show the child the picture, either on your smart phone or printed up and stuck onto colourful card, then watch them zoom off to seek out the hidden prize.
3. Write the clues up on pieces of paper and leave them with each egg so they move onto the next one when they find it. This is a great option for older children to help younger children.
4. Hide eggs in all different nooks and crannies around the garden. To ensure the children get an even number of eggs, mark them with a selection of different coloured stickers and assign a colour to each child.

Over 5-year-olds

What you need:
When it comes to egg hunts a lot of preparation can go into five minutes of fun. Stretch out the time spent on the hunt by holding an egg and spoon race, a mini assault course, or even a round of ‘Simon Says’ at the start before dishing out the clues. You’ll need clue cards, chocolate eggs and a selection of prizes such as stickers, small toys, a DVD or craft kits.
How to play:
1. To create your hunt, make up your clue cards in advance. The rule of thumb is to make twice as many clues as the average age of the kids.
2. Cut coloured card into Easter-related shapes such as eggs, rabbits or flowers and write a clue on each one.
3. Again you can call “hot” and “cold” as the seekers get closer or further away from the answer. Hide the clue cards in sequence so when they find the first prize they’ll find the clue card for the second prize and so on.
4. You can add in extra Easter fun by including a forfeit at some of the clue points to win a bonus prize. These can be games such as hop like the Easter bunny 20 times, do 10 star jumps or sing a nursery rhyme. Award a bigger prize to each child at the end of the Easter egg hunt.
5. Get imaginative about where you hide the prizes and the clues. Here are a few examples to help you make a start:
This egg is fast asleep (hide an egg in a bed)
This egg likes washing-up (hide an egg in the kitchen sink)
This egg is getting ready to go outside (hide an egg in a shoe rack)
This egg likes to water the garden (hide an egg by a hosepipe)
5 to 11-year-olds

What you need:
Up the stakes with the under 11s and create a scavenger hunt. You can either play individually or break the kids into small teams. You’ll need chocolate eggs for little prizes and one bigger prize for each child at the finish of the treasure hunt such as stickers, a craft kit, a bigger Easter egg or a soft toy.
How to play:
Make a list of 10 things each team needs to find. Range these from easy to tricky objects to find and spread the list across the house and outdoors. Here are some ideas of things to find:
1. A red sock, an umbrella, a wooden spoon, something orange, a letter, a green leaf
2. Make the final three clues cryptic which will lead them to the bigger prize. Get creative with the clues but don’t make them so hard it halts the hunt. For example: “I’m red and have big pockets and I keep you warm outside” and hide the prize in a red jacket in the hall. Or “I’m always cold and light up when you open me” and hide the prize in the fridge.
3. Hide the main prizes in the final spot or hand them out to all the participants once the hunt is over.

Click here for Tween ideas

http://www.tescoliving.com/family-and-kids/family-fun/2014/april/easter-egg-hunt-ideas-for-all-ages