Saturday, April 7, 2012

A Candy Free Egg Hunt

Just had a sudden brainstorm and thought I'd share it in case anyone is making last minute Easter bunny preparations. :)

We went to an egg hunt today and it was a total bust (some meanie big kids swooped in and grabbed all the eggs before the little kids could get to them), so I decided at the last minute to have an egg hunt of our own tomorrow.

Now, Bermuda ants have super sensory powers and come from miles away at the mere whiff of candy, so I needed to find an egg filler that could withstand such an invasion. As I've mentioned before, we are a Lego loving family and it occurred to me they might be just the thing for our eggs...

Here's what I did:
I ran down to the local toy store and bought a basic Lego kit, then I separated out the pieces from the kit and put 4-5 pieces inside of each egg.

After I filled the eggs I numbered them with a permanent marker. The reason for this is two part - first, James loves anything to do with numbers so finding numbered eggs will definitely be half the fun for him, second - they'll help us to keep track of which eggs we collect, thus ensuring we find them ALL.

After the hunt the second bit of fun comes into play: cracking open each egg, gathering all the of the Lego pieces, and putting them together to see what they make!

Of course this would work with other small sets of things - puzzles, cars, stickers, pennies (especially if your child is saving up for something), little erasers - anything really and much of this can be purchased very inexpensively at your local dollar store or thrift shop.

~Thank you for your comments!~

20 comments:

Unknown said...

Cute idea! I really like this one. So simple, so fun and even a bit educational. I'm pinning right now.

Michelle said...

I love this idea! We're trying to get candy out of our house completely (It's difficult!), and Easter is one potential booby trap.

I'm saving it for a few years from now, when my son is old enough to play with Legos.

Kim said...

I had the same idea! Decided on puzzles though, the empty box goes in his basket and the 50 pieces hidden in eggs. We may do Legos next year. :-)

Heidi said...

Fantastic idea! I LOVE it!

Heather @ Camp Slop said...

What a great idea! I'll have to pin this for next year. We're a Lego loving family too and always looking for ways to cut back on candy. :) Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE! Definintely using next year (but I might need a LOT of eggs - my boys are 11, 11, and 9 - they like the BIG kits)! :)

Learning with Mrs. Parker said...

I am doing something similar. My son is into rock collecting, so I purchased a few special ones to put into his eggs. I really don't like candy filled eggs. I thought of Legos as well.

kewkew said...

Love this idea

Nichole said...

Love this idea! My son has awful dental problems, so we don't do candy at all.

Dawn said...

That is such a cute idea. My son would love that. He has tons of food allerigies. We are having a nickel easter egg hunt today. We went to an Easter egg hunt where there were not enough eggs for everyone. Thankfully, many of the kids shared there eggs so everyone got some.
Blessings,
Dawn

Jo said...

Never thought about Legos or puzzle pieces. Will def have to do that next year. The first year I filled them with animal crackers, but ever since I just don't fill them with anything. My oldest just likes the thrill of the hunt. Haha. Thanks for the idea!

Jennie and Adam said...

What a great idea--thanks for thinking to share it with us!

Ashley said...

We did one of those Toobs of plastic animals and my two-year-old got animals in his eggs and some bigger eggs had snack bags of Cheerios and Goldfish crackers in them!

Diana said...

My Lego obsessed boys would love this! Thanks for such a simple and creative non-candy idea! Pinning this so I'll remember it for next year.

Sarah McDonald said...

I almost did the same thing with one of my daughter's sets this year - but I was too tired. Next year - or for christmas advent calendar.

Vanda said...

What a great idea! We decided to have food fillers (it was our snack time), but candy-free as well - small fruits (grapes), dried fruits and nuts .. our kids love it :-)
Next year we'll try with Lego and puzzle.

Mom of 12 said...

Love this idea! My kids love legos too.
Sandy

Gabrielle said...

LOVE this idea! I also tried to stick with non candy Easter egg items this year. I used flower seeds, chap-stick, small figurines and a variety of other items. I can't wait to use your idea though, my boys both love Legos.

Laurie said...

This is an amazing idea! I love it.

MamaBearx10 said...

Super idea! Thanks for sharing! This is something that can be done for a birthday, too. They make the eggs in so many other shapes and themes now, like sports themed eggs, etc.

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