There was a time my children would be dragging me out of bed Easter morning to start the egg hunt. How quickly the tables turn. Now that they are in the tween and teen years, it’s me dragging them out of bed to get going.
As much as many of us mommas wish otherwise, kids grow and mature and so must the Easter Hunt. What was once easy must now be hard and what once made them happy is now considered juvenile. That’s when you know it’s time to shake it up a bit. Here are some fun ways to make Easter fun for tweens and teens:
Five Ways to Make the Hunt More Challenging
- Build excitement. Why hold back for just one day? Start an Easter countdown by hiding their favourite candy in places they’d never suspect, like that pile of dirty laundry they never pick up. Hide mini-eggs in their pencil case. Tuck a couple in their winter boots or in their mittens. Easter is a sure sign of spring, so why not build the anticipation now, just as everyone is getting a little sick of winter.
- Make it a scavenger hunt. Leave clues and riddles that will lead your teen to an egg, which will have another clue to take them to the next. Start your clues now so you’re not scrambling to be creative the night before.
- Hold the hunt in the dark. Why have your hunt Easter morning? They want to sleep in anyway, so turn all the lights out the night before and have your hunt by flashlight.
- GPS Hunt. Kids these days—they’re so technologically advanced. Create co-ordinates where eggs are hiding and let them use their GPS to find them.
- The Golden Egg. Every year we hide ONE golden egg and it has a $20 bill in it. We hide it anywhere on our property (one year it was hidden on top of the back tire of our car). Make this one hard to find and you won’t see your kids all day. Ahhh, the sweet sound of silence.
26 Easter Basket Items Your Tweens and Teens Will Love
- Cadbury Mini-Eggs are perfect for all ages. Hide these throughout the house, but along the way, remember one for them, two for you. What? You’re doing all the work.
- Cash is king. Paper bills and coins tucked inside plastic eggs rule the roost among this age group.
- Books – You can find a great selection of top young adult books here.
- Magazines – My girls are hooked on J14 and Tiger Beat.
- Comic Books – Archie is the definitive tween classic.
- Lip Balm
- Gift Cards
- Art supplies
- Movie Passes
- Nail Polish
- New Toothbrush
- Hair accessories
- Bath products. For girls, this a must.
- Sunglasses (psst, Clout goggles are hot right now)
- Flip-flops – a gentle reminder that summer is around the corner
- Stuffed animal – only if you can handle another one in the house, I can not.
- Re-useable water bottle
- Basketball, soccer ball, football
- Cell phone cover. Seriously these kids change them like they change underwear.
- Swim goggles
- Perfume/Cologne. This comes with a warning because teens can’t smell apparently, so be sure you like the scent, they’ll be drowning in it.
- Wallet – For all the cash they just found.
- Keychain – For the young drivers a cool key chain.
- Earrings
- Chocolate Easter Bunny because you never get too old for milk chocolatey goodness.
- Pop Sockets
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These are really excellent ideas.
I kind of just hope mine just keep humouring me and my overcompensating ways forever.
That could happen, right? Right?!?
Last year mine received fedoras and sunglasses – big (practical) hits!
Love the fedora and sunglass idea!
Great ideas.i find so many things are geared to younger kids but the older ones still like to have some fun too.
I love the one big golden egg idea especially. Thanks again for sharing 🙂
Thanks so much Sabrina
I’ve created QR codes for my teenage boys. Each one has a clue that they need to scan using their iPad and cellphone. A fun way to use technology!
I love this list! Now that we have a puppy, the number of stuffed animals is decreasing by natural selection… 😉
Haha! That’s so funny. Our dog killed a few stuffies as well. I may have been secretly cheering her on 😉