Children love Easter egg hunts and look forward to them each year. When putting together your family’s Easter activities, you might want to try something different. These creative Easter egg hunt ideas may provide you with that inspiration you’re looking for.

It’s not uncommon for parents to hide plastic and boiled Easter eggs. The problem with using boiled eggs is the stray egg which isn’t found but makes its presence known with a funky smell a couple of days to a week after Easter. For this reason, many parents choose to hide only plastic filled eggs.

* Scavenger Easter egg hunts are one option you might like to try. Instead of simply hiding the eggs and having the children look through the yard to find them, hide them in specific places throughout the house. Include a clue to start them on their egg-hunting journey. If you have more than one child, you may want to designate a specific color egg for each child. For their final clue, have them find their filled Easter basket or another special gift.

* Give coupons rather than candy. This is particularly good for teenagers as you can give them a coupon for a movie rental, special privileges, a date with Mom or Dad, or a new CD from their favorite singer. Hide the coupons in the eggs and they may actually choose to go searching. For families with children of varying ages, you may want to hide the teenager’s eggs in a specific area or in the house.

* Put money in a couple of the eggs. You can use loose change, but put a few dollars into the mix for even more fun. When a child finds the eggs with money in them, they get to keep that money.

* Prize eggs are good for those planning an Easter egg hunt for children other than family. This might be a neighborhood activity or one for a civic or religious organization. Along with candy, you may want to place coupons to redeem for prizes. Be sure to purchase one prize for each prize coupon or you might have upset children on your hands!

* Hide mainly plastic eggs filled with candy and little toys, stickers, or temporary tattoos. Then hide two or three other real eggs which have a number painted on them. When someone finds the real egg, they can exchange it for a prize which corresponds to that number.

* Wait until dark to have your egg hunt! This is particularly fun for older children who can wait a while. Hand everyone who is searching a flashlight so they can go hunting. You may also be able to find glow-in-the-dark eggs or paint the plastic eggs with glow-in-the-dark paint.

* Have a reverse egg hunt. Instead of the children doing the hunting, have each child hide up to four of their eggs in the house. After they’re hidden, the adults in the family get to see how many of the eggs they can find. You may discover how smart your children are when you can’t find them all.

It’s sometimes hard coming up with creative Easter egg hunt ideas, but these ideas may give you the spark of creativity you need. Use one of these ideas if you’re having problems thinking of something different, and then start thinking about how you can make next year’s egg hunt even better.