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Spring has arrived which means… Easter is coming! Is your family as excited as ours is about Resurrection Sunday?
My family loves celebrating with an Easter treasure hunt! While we’ve all come to know and love the traditional Easter egg hunt, an Easter treasure hunts adds even more thrills to the holiday festivities. What’s the twist? Instead of searching only for edible Easter Eggs to eat, children also look forward to finding resurrection-themed treasures and other trinkets during the hunt!
Easter treasure hunts have grown in popularity over the years, particularly among believers who are looking for new opportunities to educate their children about Jesus and His miraculous resurrection. Participating in an Easter treasure hunt provides families with a fun, flexible way to celebrate Easter with our kids as well as the freedom and flexibility to create an Easter treasure hunt that meets our family’s specific needs!
They’re so easy to organize, too. We can host an Easter treasure hunt in our home or back yard, with other families at our school or church, for the adults in our neighborhood, or even for the families in our Adult Bible Study, which includes kids, teenagers and adults of all ages!
There are so many fun activities we can incorporate into an Easter treasure hunt. Here are a few of our favorite ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
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Start by picking the location.
If you choose an outdoor location, have a rain date or alternative location in mind in case of inclement weather. As you consider your location, look for safe and easily accessible places to hide your clues. This is especially important when young children are involved!
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Decide what items you will hide.
We like hiding colorful plastic eggs that can easily be pulled apart to hold clues, puzzles, Bible verses and other surprises!
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Incorporate educational moments into your Easter treasure hunt so that the event remains focused on Jesus.
For example, research and insert key Bible verses that tell the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection into your Easter eggs. Number the verses sequentially in story-telling order. At the end of the hunt, ask your children read the verses aloud as part of the fun! (Get our step-by-step instructions for making resurrection eggs here).
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For fun, insert a few small treats and prizes into some of the eggs!
Make sure that all items you include are safe based on the age of the participants. Don’t include anything that could be considered a choking hazard for young children. Also be aware of potential food sensitivity and allergy issues!
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Provide participants with Easter Baskets or colorful buckets.
They can use them to collect the eggs that they find along the way.
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Set a reasonable time limit based on the age of your children.
Remember, younger children have shorter attention spans!
Provide refreshments and provide special prizes for the participants!
To prepare young hearts for Easter and build their anticipation in the weeks leading up to the Easter treasure hunt, we’ve been sharing a new book with them:
Ready, Set, Find Easter is an Easter board book that invites young children to follow Jesus as He enters Jerusalem, eats the Last Supper with His friends, and walks in the Garden of Gethsemane. Along the way, this book offers children the opportunity to hunt for 48 objects that are hidden in the book’s pages. This book also gives us the opportunity to share Scriptural references that are provided throughout the book!
We’re also engaging their minds with a delightful activity book featuring the beloved Berenstain Bears:
The Berenstain Bears Easter Fun Sticker And Activity Book is bursting with fun Easter puzzles, activity pages, and more than 50 reusable stickers that your kids will enjoy. Invite them to help Papa, Mama, Brother, Sister, Honey and the rest of the Bear Country Gang find hidden Easter eggs and chocolates around the Bear family tree house and attend Easter sunrise service at Chapel in the Woods and correlate them to your real-life activities!
Finally, we’re sharing this beautiful gift book with our older kids to help them deepen their appreciation of Easter:
The Legend of The Sand Dollar shares how the promise of Easter is revealed to eight-year-old Kerry, through nature, in the symbolism of the sand dollar. This beautifully illustrated story of the timeless hope of resurrection and new life is destined to become an Easter classic in your home!
Quality books like these do a wonderful job of conveying the Easter message to our children. They also make wonderful gifts for our children’s Easter baskets and perfect prizes for the Easter treasure hunt!
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Your Turn
Has your family ever participated in an Easter treasure hunt? If so, please share your experience! What other favorite Easter traditions does your family participate in? Please encourage us by sharing your thoughts and stories in the comments!
