[Anonymous]

For all of you parents out there–I always do a scavenger hunt for my girls to find their Easter baskets. I don’t have any readers yet so I basically read the clues and have them follow a path of toys, shoes, etc to the next clue. Last year they were led to our brand new sandbox (without sand yet) outside to find their Easter baskets. Trying to come up with something creative geared towards my 4 year old (can read letters, but not a lot of full words yet). I’ve been up and down pinterest so I thought I would check the wonderful minds of Another71 for some good clue ideas to lead these girls around the house since it’s too wet to do anything outside this year. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Sounds like fun! 🙂 My mom used to do a series of mini-scavenger hunts in the days leading up to Christmas and it was a highlight of the season…

If you're still working on it and if you have access to a printer, maybe you could try something with more pictures and letters or super-based words to lead them to some of the clues? Like “[picture of food] 4 u” (if you think she'd say the letter names and figure out by the sound) to be a hint that they should look around the dinner table or something like that…or even a card with an actual picture of the toy or shoe or whatever that is their next “destination”.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like fun! 🙂 My mom used to do a series of mini-scavenger hunts in the days leading up to Christmas and it was a highlight of the season…

If you're still working on it and if you have access to a printer, maybe you could try something with more pictures and letters or super-based words to lead them to some of the clues? Like “[picture of food] 4 u” (if you think she'd say the letter names and figure out by the sound) to be a hint that they should look around the dinner table or something like that…or even a card with an actual picture of the toy or shoe or whatever that is their next “destination”.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Lilla! We always do these at Easter. I should try it at Christmas too. Great idea! I actually went with putting three eggs at each destination and one egg had the next clue in it. My 1 and 2 year olds loved the eggs, but didn't care for the clues so my 4 year old just claimed every clue egg and did the whole hunt by herself, which is what I figured would happen. I tried to do some things that they covered in preK this year. She added 2+2 and did some rhyme games since she can't really read yet. She LOVED it!! So much fun.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Lilla! We always do these at Easter. I should try it at Christmas too. Great idea! I actually went with putting three eggs at each destination and one egg had the next clue in it. My 1 and 2 year olds loved the eggs, but didn't care for the clues so my 4 year old just claimed every clue egg and did the whole hunt by herself, which is what I figured would happen. I tried to do some things that they covered in preK this year. She added 2+2 and did some rhyme games since she can't really read yet. She LOVED it!! So much fun.

[Anonymous]

Aww that sounds great! 🙂 In a couple more years, you'll be leaving full clues for all 3 kiddos! Glad they enjoyed it though. My niece is 3 and I could see her enjoying rhyme games and things like that next year.

For Christmas my mom did an advent calendar with little cards for each day that she'd put some sort of activity on and we'd pull it out in the morning to see what the day's card said…some days it'd be something like “Make Christmas cookies” or “Put up Christmas tree”; other days it'd say something like “Look under the couch pillow” and have a new Christmas CD or a package of Christmas lights (recycled from last year of course 😉 ) as an indication that we were going to put up Christmas lights that day. It wasn't as complicated and in-depth as a full scavenger hunt, but still fun. 🙂 My mom didn't work, though, which gave her a bit more time for doing things like baking Christmas cookies in the middle of the week…! Us working ladies have to be a bit more practical sometimes. 😛

[Anonymous]

Aww that sounds great! 🙂 In a couple more years, you'll be leaving full clues for all 3 kiddos! Glad they enjoyed it though. My niece is 3 and I could see her enjoying rhyme games and things like that next year.

For Christmas my mom did an advent calendar with little cards for each day that she'd put some sort of activity on and we'd pull it out in the morning to see what the day's card said…some days it'd be something like “Make Christmas cookies” or “Put up Christmas tree”; other days it'd say something like “Look under the couch pillow” and have a new Christmas CD or a package of Christmas lights (recycled from last year of course 😉 ) as an indication that we were going to put up Christmas lights that day. It wasn't as complicated and in-depth as a full scavenger hunt, but still fun. 🙂 My mom didn't work, though, which gave her a bit more time for doing things like baking Christmas cookies in the middle of the week…! Us working ladies have to be a bit more practical sometimes. 😛

[Anonymous]

Your mom sounds great! I keep telling myself that once I'm done with the CPA exam I'll be an awesome mom and do things like the advent calendar. Basically all I can manage right now is coming up with a few clues at 1:00 a.m. the night before. 🙂 I would have to strategically place everything time consuming on the weekend days leading up to Christmas. I could manage baking cookies on a weekday as long as it wasn't during close out, but no way could I decorate a tree during the week.

[Anonymous]

Your mom sounds great! I keep telling myself that once I'm done with the CPA exam I'll be an awesome mom and do things like the advent calendar. Basically all I can manage right now is coming up with a few clues at 1:00 a.m. the night before. 🙂 I would have to strategically place everything time consuming on the weekend days leading up to Christmas. I could manage baking cookies on a weekday as long as it wasn't during close out, but no way could I decorate a tree during the week.

[Anonymous]

I totally understand! You're braver than me if you'd attempt baking cookies on a weekday. 😉 I think the key is just to figure out what you can do, and realize that just because some aspects of what some other mom does might sound great, it doesn't mean they're as fantastic as you think. From what I've seen of you here, you sound like you're a great mom who really and truly does the best you can for your kids, not just to make sure their basic needs are met but also to make sure they have a happy childhood…which is great. I thought something along those lines when I opened up this thread and saw that in the midst of studying and work and everything else in life, you were still working hard to make sure they had a great Easter. I know a lot of moms who don't work who still don't do that much for their kids! 🙂

Oh, and even with a stay-at-home mom, we still usually did the tree on the weekends, cause Mom wouldn't attempt it without Dad. 😛

[Anonymous]

I totally understand! You're braver than me if you'd attempt baking cookies on a weekday. 😉 I think the key is just to figure out what you can do, and realize that just because some aspects of what some other mom does might sound great, it doesn't mean they're as fantastic as you think. From what I've seen of you here, you sound like you're a great mom who really and truly does the best you can for your kids, not just to make sure their basic needs are met but also to make sure they have a happy childhood…which is great. I thought something along those lines when I opened up this thread and saw that in the midst of studying and work and everything else in life, you were still working hard to make sure they had a great Easter. I know a lot of moms who don't work who still don't do that much for their kids! 🙂

Oh, and even with a stay-at-home mom, we still usually did the tree on the weekends, cause Mom wouldn't attempt it without Dad. 😛

[Anonymous]

Thanks Lilla! I try. Of course, by making cookies during the week I mean taking the precut squares out of the package and putting in on a baking sheet. 15 minutes and presto–homemade cookies. 🙂

[Anonymous]

Thanks Lilla! I try. Of course, by making cookies during the week I mean taking the precut squares out of the package and putting in on a baking sheet. 15 minutes and presto–homemade cookies. 🙂

[Anonymous]

I love the scavenger hunt! I thought I was the only one who did that! My “baby” is 16 and 6'3″, so he's pretty much over the whole Easter Basket thing. There is one kind of candy that he absolutely loves, so I bought a big bag of it and hid them all over the house. There were 30 in the bag and at his last count there were still 3 missing. I swear I didn't eat them!

I have the perfect homemade sugar cookie recipe. It is too easy and your kids will love it. When you pass your last test, I'll send it to you. My niece's husband is a directional driller on a land rig in west Texas, and from what I've been told, he takes my cookies to work with him and gets $2 each! I told him I was going to have to cut him off until he replenished my butter supply! But they really are that good! Or at least the guys on his rig think so!

[Anonymous]

I love the scavenger hunt! I thought I was the only one who did that! My “baby” is 16 and 6'3″, so he's pretty much over the whole Easter Basket thing. There is one kind of candy that he absolutely loves, so I bought a big bag of it and hid them all over the house. There were 30 in the bag and at his last count there were still 3 missing. I swear I didn't eat them!

I have the perfect homemade sugar cookie recipe. It is too easy and your kids will love it. When you pass your last test, I'll send it to you. My niece's husband is a directional driller on a land rig in west Texas, and from what I've been told, he takes my cookies to work with him and gets $2 each! I told him I was going to have to cut him off until he replenished my butter supply! But they really are that good! Or at least the guys on his rig think so!

[Anonymous]

I forgot to post his “clue” for this year!

By now you know the story of Santa and the Easter Bunny

There’s no need to lie about it any more, honey.

It was always me from beginning to end

Trying to make memories that will not tarnish, break or bend.

It’s hard for me to accept, you are not a baby any longer

But I’ve watched you every day get bigger, taller and stronger.

This is the first Easter without your little basket

So now go find your treats and try not to blow a gasket.

Inside the house I’ve hidden thirty treats, so find them if you can

Even though you are almost grown, forever know you that will always be my little man!

Happy Easter!

Love Mom

aka The Easter Bunny

He would KILL me if he found out that I posted this!

[Author]

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