May no egg be left behind! Photo by Dolan Halbrook, via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Easter Scavenger Hunts

Whether you've got a small apartment, a sprawling suburban backyard, or a neighborhood full of egg hunters, one of these Easter scavenger hunts will work for you.

1. Name Scavenger Egg Hunt

Spell your children's names out by writing one letter on each egg. Challenge each kid to find all of the eggs that spell their name.

2. Cell Phone Scavenger Egg Hunt

If your big kids think they're too cool for an Easter egg hunt, involve their tech. Hide an egg and take an up-close picture with your cell phone, revealing only a bit of background. Text it to them as a clue and then send them searching. As they find each egg, text a close-up of the next egg.

3. Blindfold Scavenger Egg Hunt

Slap blindfolds on your kids and let them hunt by clue, as you tell them whether they're ice cold, cold, cool, warm, hot, or burning hot. Don't be surprised if they ask you to put on the blindfold next!

4. LEGO Scavenger Egg Hunt 

Comb through the LEGO bin and use loose pieces and mini-figures as Easter egg stuffers. Once the kids find all the eggs, challenge them to build something fun out of all the pieces.

5. Spa Day Scavenger Egg Hunt

Tweens and teens love hair ties, earrings, lip balm, nail polish, and other beauty items. Stuff their eggs with their favorite beauty supplies. Once they've found all the eggs and have everything they need, reward them with a spa day.

6. Treasure Map Egg Hunt

Craft a treasure map of your backyard and have the kids use it to navigate their way toward hidden Easter eggs. Or, get the whole neighborhood involved by making a map of the entire block and having kids follow clues to find their eggs.

7. Puzzle Scavenger Egg Hunt

Forget candy: Pop a puzzle piece in each egg. First, your child has to find all the eggs. Then, they have a fun puzzle to put together.

RELATED: 20 Kid-Pleasing Easter Desserts, Easter Recipes, and Easter Brunch Ideas

Have kids hunt for eggs in different patterns. Photo by Skitterphoto/Pexels

8. Pattern Scavenger Egg Hunt

Decorate your eggs with a Sharpie, putting simple patterns like polka-dots, stripes, and zig-zags, etc. Provide kids with a checklist and challenge them to find one egg of each design.

9. Nature Easter Scavenger Hunt

Start with empty eggs. Have the kids go on a scavenger hunt for different flowers, leaves, rocks, and other items from nature to fill their eggs. They can then turn their eggs in for a prize or treat.

10. Color Egg Hunt

If you've got kids of multiple ages, assign each one a color and hide the eggs accordingly. Eggs for little ones go at their eye level in easy spots, while older kids' eggs can be more tricky to find.

11. Traditional Scavenger Egg Hunt

Start by printing out a clue to help your kiddos find the first hidden egg. Then, each egg will contain a clue to where the next egg is. When the kids get to the last egg, they'll find their Easter baskets or fun prizes. If you need some inspiration, check out this list of 40 printable Easter egg hunt clues.

12. Movement Egg Hunt

Help kids get their wiggles out by putting fun action clues in each egg. The clues can instruct them to do fun things like hopping like a bunny, waddling like a duck, and chirping like a chicken. Tell the kids they have to do each action before they can find their next egg. You can even give them a checklist to ensure they perform every action at least once.

13. Leave a Trail

Whether you use yarn, jelly beans, or go over the top and draw bunny prints on the sidewalk with chalk, direct kids to the loot by leaving clues for them to follow.

RELATED: Indoor and Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Kids - Plus Cute Printables!

There's nothing like the thrill of finding a hidden Easter egg. Photo by Personal Creations

More Fun At-Home Easter Egg Hunt Ideas

14. Kids Hide The Eggs!

Turn the tables: Once kids have found the eggs (and probably taken all the candy and prizes), let them do the hiding while the adults are the seekers. Battle it out for Easter egg-hunt supremacy.

15. Golden Egg

Hide a golden egg and let the child who finds it exchange it for a bigger prize. Or, avoid sibling rivalry by instructing them each to look for one special golden egg.

16. Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt

A nighttime egg hunt is perfect for older kids and teens. Just give them a flashlight and let them hunt for eggs in the dark. It's probably easier if you hide the eggs before the sun goes down, though!

17. Chocolate Egg Hunt

Short on space and places to hide eggs? Eschew the plastic ones and instead hide small, foil-wrapped chocolate eggs.

18. Be Creative

Hide your eggs in clever spots like coat pockets, shoes, mugs, vases, and toilet-paper rolls, making for a wild indoor Easter egg hunt even if you've only got a small space. Pop one on the deviled-egg platter and see if anyone spots it before mealtime.

19. Easter Egg Relay Race

Big family? Set up the egg hunt as a relay. Team up big siblings with little ones, and have them take turns finding an egg and running back to the starting line to tag their partner. Their partner then has to hunt for another egg before returning to the starting line to tag their next teammate. Whichever team finds a certain number of eggs first, wins!

20. Glow-in-the-Dark Egg Hunt

Pop mini glow sticks in each of the Easter eggs for a glow-in-the-dark nighttime egg hunt.

21. Balloon Egg Hunt

If you have a helium tank , use it to fill balloons and tie them to each egg. This idea is particularly great for toddlers, who might not "get" the idea of an egg hunt just yet, but will go ga-ga for balloons.

22. Egg Popper

Another big-kid approved option: Cut the hunt out and go straight for the loot, but make kids work for it  by crafting these creative egg poppers and stringing them up a tree.

23. Trampoline Egg Hunt

Got an enclosed trampoline? Spread your eggs on its surface, then cover them with a ton of balloons. Let kids crawl through the balloons in search of the eggs. It's like a DIY ball pit, only less germy—and with candy.

24. Wading-Pool Egg Hunt

No trampoline? A plastic wading pool can produce the same effect for little kids.

Creative Easter Egg Fillers

25. Cold, Hard Cash

Follow my grandma's lead: Fill the eggs with cash! Coins and dollar bills were great when we were little. By the time we were in college, this evolved into a few eggs with $20 bills inside and some wild battles for the money!

26. Sneak in some Math

Want to sneak in a little math lesson and spread out the sugar rush? Use fake money and let the kids "purchase" their Easter treats.

RELATED: Easy Easter Crafts for Kids and How to Dye Easter Eggs

 
Tickets for fun experiences are the perfect candy- and clutter-free Easter egg fillers. Photo courtesy of The No Pressure Life

27. Activity Tickets

Print out some activity tickets for kids to cash in later for things like an extra slice of dessert, a trip to a fun place like a zoo or arcade, a late bedtime, etc.

28. Toddler-Friendly Treats

For toddlers, fill eggs with safe and tasty treats like yogurt melts, Cheerios, and Goldfish.

29. Hot Wheels or Matchbox Cars

Fill jumbo eggs with Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars to entertain kids all Easter long.

30. Silly Putty

Go old-school and use Silly Putty. Bonus points for teaching your kids how to copy newsprint with it!

31. Play-Doh

Mini-tubs of Play-Doh are a crowd-pleaser with little kids. Make your own with our DIY recipe.

32. Jibbitz

If you've got a Crocs-crazed middle-schooler, fill some eggs with Jibbitz charms to decorate their footwear.

33. Mini Squishy Toys

Every kid loves a good squishy toy, and these cute animal ones fit perfectly inside smaller plastic Easter eggs.

34. Stickers

Kids love to put stickers on everything—notebooks, water bottles, laptops. Fill the Easter eggs with some fun stickers in whatever theme your child loves.

35. Marbles

Older kids would love to find colorful marbles inside their Easter eggs—especially magnetic ones!

Additional reporting by Ally Noel

Top photo by Trish N. via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0