Easter Egg Hunts - Adult Easter Eggs

Can Easter eggs hunts be fun for adults? They can if you use the right kind of Easter eggs! Once my children were grown and married, and before the grandkids began arriving, I had a spell of “empty nest syndrome.” Holidays like Christmas, Halloween, and Easter just weren’t the same without kids to join in the fun. After all, what’s Easter without Easter eggs and Easter egg hunts?

The first Easter that all the kids had moved out of the house and gotten married, I really wanted to host an Easter egg hunt after our traditional Easter Sunday dinner. I mentioned the idea to my daughters and their husbands, but they weren’t the least bit interested. Easter egg hunts were just for kids, they all proclaimed. Even so, I was determined to have a successful Easter egg hunt…but how?

I decided to offer the “kids” something they couldn’t refuse – cold hard cash. They always needed money, so I used it as an incentive. No, I didn’t exactly pay them to hunt Easter eggs. Instead, I filled the eggs with goodies that would provide an incentive to make my young adult guests eager to join in the hunt.

I bought several dozen plastic Easter eggs – the kind that come apart. I filled several of them with money. Some held one-dollar bills, some held two-dollar bills, some held five-dollar bills, and the prize egg held a twenty. Some of the Easter eggs were filled with the kids’ favorite candies.

I also placed small gift certificates in some of the Easter eggs. These came from local restaurants, fast food places, music stores, and video game stores. The certificates ranged from $5 to $10 each. Other items you might use include small fishing lures, costume jewelry, memory cards, phone cards, guitar strings, lipstick, bath beads, eye shadow, and lotions. You know your family better than I do, so you can customize the contents of the Easter eggs to match your children’s interests and hobbies.

My jaded egg hunters turned into excited children as soon as they learned what the Easter eggs held! Hubby and I had a blast watching them scurrying around the yard, leaving no proverbial stone unturned in their quest. We had hidden the eggs really well, so the hunters had to look hard for the treasures.

In previous years, I had always made large Easter baskets for my daughters, even after they had emerged from childhood. I usually placed cosmetics, perfumes, clothing, jewelry, and bath products in their Easter baskets. These kinds of items can get pretty expensive, especially when you have to buy three of everything – for three daughters. My adult Easter egg hunt was actually less expensive than the Easter baskets, and I didn’t have to do nearly as much shopping.

Of course, after the grands were born and grew old enough to hunt Easter eggs, we did away with the adult Easter egg hunt. We’ll never forget the fun we had, though, the year I coerced the big kids into an adult Easter egg hunt! Give it a try!