These Egg Hunt Participation Trophies Are the Cutest Way to Celebrate

Easter egg hunts are like pasta dinners: The basics are simple, but, by adding a couple new ingredients, you can come up with endless variations. Similarly, with a dash of creativity, you can take the traditional egg hunt — eggs are hidden, players find them — and come up with new rules to make it easier for the littles, more challenging for the big kids, more competitive, harder with higher stakes for the winners or even just prettier. When you're looking to switch up your family's traditions, try one of these Easter egg hunt ideas.

If your family is doing things differently this year because the COVID-19 pandemic still looms, we also have ideas for virtual egg hunts or indoor egg hunts (which are good to keep in your pocket for rainy weather, too). But if you can get the family together and get outside, these crafty hunts, physical challenges, mental puzzles, ways to up the prize-factor for the hunt winner are sure to delight everyone from the littlest hunter to the too-cool-for-it teens. Then, with everyone exhausted from looking for eggs, they're going to wolf down that Easter brunch. (And let us know your favorite egg-hunt twist in the comments!)

If your kids are Lego fans, split up a new Lego set — maybe the Easter-themed one? — into different plastic eggs. Once they're done finding all the eggs, they can spend the rest of the morning putting the set together!

Get the tutorial at All for the Boys »

If you have a kiddie pool, rice table or sandbox, bury some eggs and give kids shovels and scoopers and tell them to dig in! (And if you don't, it's easy to whip up a bin of rainbow rice or bubbly water.) It'll be a sensory experience for them, exposing them to different textures.

Get the tutorial at The Best Ideas for Kids »

RELATED: The Best DIY Sensory Bin Ideas to Get Kids Used to New Textures

Think of these confetti-filled eggs as mini piñatas that kids can easily crack open before the party begins. They'll love seeing all the color confetti!

Get the tutorial at My Name Is Snickerdoodle »

In addition to hiding little candy and prizes with the eggs, you can also slip a raffle ticket into each one. Then, after all of the eggs have been found, you can hold a raffle for some bigger Easter gifts for kids.

Get the tutorial at Research Parent »

Cut bunny, egg, and carrot shapes out of sturdy card stock. Then glue to wooden craft sticks and scatter throughout the yard to guide everyone to their hidden treats.

RELATED: Easter Crafts You Can Totally DIY

Create a mini "minefield" by tying a plastic egg onto the free end of a balloon string. Even the tiniest eyes won't miss 'em.

Get the tutorial at Celebrations at Home »

Since you're ditching plastic this year, that means plastic eggs are also a no-go. Keep your kids entertained with this scavenger hunt inspired by the trees, animals, and plants outside.

Get the tutorial at Five Little Chefs »

RELATED: 22 Fun Scavenger Hunt Ideas to Keep Your Kids Guessing

These fun printables, with directions like "hop like a bunny" or "do a somersault," will get everyone up and moving on Easter Sunday.

Get the tutorial at Alice and Lois »

While the chocolates, trinkets, and coins may be the main draw, everyone will feel like a winner when they're given one of these small (but mighty) trophies that read "Good Egg," "Most Eggs," and more.

Get the tutorial at Lovely Indeed »

RELATED: The Best Easter Egg Hunts Near You

It looks like the Easter Bunny has turned into Willy Wonka this year: Fill one of the plastic eggs with a golden ticket and let kids trade it in for a special prize.

Get the tutorial from Play Party Plan. »

Stick these "plantable" eggs in your garden and encourage little ones to uproot them. It makes egg hunts a little bit easier for the littlest searchers.

Get the tutorial at Make and Takes »

Have kids find a pattern or specific order for finding the eggs. Once they nail it, they get the "big" prize (you can pick exactly what's inside).

Get the tutorial from Play Party Plan »

After the main hunt is over, send the kids out on a "reverse hunt" — instead of looking for eggs that are filled, get them to find bits of nature that can fill the eggs up again. It's great for getting them to run around outside and explore nature.

Get the tutorial at Crystal & Co. »

If you have a water table or kiddie pool, you can also fill it with ball pit balls and hide in eggs in there. It's hard to tell the plastic eggs from the ball pit balls, so you might want to use different colors to distinguish them, like pairing pastel balls with metallic eggs.

Instead of putting treats in the eggs, you can sneak in slips of paper that kids can redeem for fun prizes of your choice.

Get the tutorial from Life as a Mom »

Split the kids into teams and have a member from each team search for an egg. Once they've found an egg, they tag the next teammate — just like a traditional relay race!

Get the tutorial from Play Party Plan »

This hunt leads your significant other on a scavenger hunt around the house until they finds their special Easter basket ... and you!

Get the tutorial from The Dating Divas »

There's so much more to the search than simply collecting eggs. With this checklist, ask participants to locate flowers, backyard creatures, and eggs in a variety of colors.

Get the tutorial at A Mom's Take »

Turn your Easter egg hunt into a pull-and-pop party. Hang these candy-filled, candy-shaped poppers from a tree, give each child a color, and let them to go to town.

Get the tutorial at Studio DIY »

Opt for "privilege" notes instead of candy, which offers children special time with mom and dad, an extra fifteen minutes before bedtime, more screen time or even the last slice of pie.

See more at Over the Big Moon »

Add an Easter message or a cute design to a blank puzzle before hiding individual puzzle pieces in eggs. After all eggs have been collected, ask the kids to put together their "prize."

SHOP PUZZLE PIECES

Get the tutorial at Make the Best of Everything »

Send your little chicks following in the Easter Bunny's footsteps with this simple and adorable DIY project.

Get the tutorial at Smart School House »

If your teens are at the stage where they think they're too cool for Easter egg hunts, this high-tech hunt will change their tune.

Get the tutorial from Bits of Everything »

This nighttime hunt will have the older kids — and hey, some adults — feeling the holiday spirit long after the sun goes down.

SHOP GLOW STICKS

Get the tutorial at Lil Luna »

Make exercise fun by giving kids fun tasks like touching their toes, hopping like a bunny or doing ten jumping jacks —as long as they're moving!

See more at No Time for Flash Cards »