Are you looking for an alternative to trick or treating this Halloween? Try hosting a Halloween egg hunt instead! This fun alternative is similar to the well-known Easter Egg Hunt, but it’s for Halloween! I
A Halloween Egg Hunt is a fun family activity that you can do at home! It can also be altered to be hosted with friends, family, or even organizations!
** This website contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I may earn a commission. Please click here for more information about cookies collected and our privacy policy **.
I’ve never been a huge Halloween fan, and I don’t really like taking my kids trick-or-treating (or trunk-or-treating), and hosting a Halloween egg hunt is the perfect way to celebrate the holiday- my kids still feel like they get the Halloween experience, and I have more control over the treats!
The first Halloween Egg Hunt we held was actually orchestrated by one of my teens. He wanted to plan something fun for his younger siblings and purchased all the supplies and treats himself. Since then it has become a annual tradition at our house that we all look forward to.
My 2 oldest boys and myself fill and hide the eggs, and the younger 4 all search!
Ready to host your own Halloween Egg Hunt for your family? Here’s how!
How to Host a Halloween Egg Hunt at Home
First off, you need supplies!
Here’s what you need to have on hand to put together your own Halloween Egg Hunt:
- Plastic Eggs (and/or Plastic Pumpkins) We just reuse our Easter Eggs with a couple special pumpkins thrown in. It works best if there is one type or color for each person hunting.
- Halloween Treat bags/buckets/pumpkins
- Treats to fill the eggs
And, don’t forget the Halloween costume!
When it comes to filling the eggs you have complete control over what you put inside them. You can go traditional Halloween candy or go for more healthy alternatives. Here are a few ideas:
- Halloween candy
- Fruit snacks
- Small toys
- Stickers
- Temporary tattoos
- Coins/money
Basically anything that can be stuffed inside a plastic egg!
How to Set Up Your Halloween Egg Hunt
To get started, decide on how many eggs you want to hide per person. We go big, and do 25 each.
Assign each of the people hunting a color. For example my daughter gets the pink eggs, my youngest son gets orange eggs, etc. This way they only find and collect their color egg and everyone gets the same amount.
This is great for leveling the playing field if you have a large age range of kids. 16 year olds find egg much faster than 5 year olds!
Stuff all of the eggs with the chosen treats.
Now it’s time to hide the eggs!
It’s up to you, but we like to hide according to the age of the searcher. The older kids’ eggs get hid in harder locations, while the younger kids’ eggs are in more plain sight.
Once all the eggs are hidden, it’s time to let everyone loose to hunt!
But first- don’t forget to get in costume! Wearing a costume is a must for any Halloween Egg Hunt!
In our house we like a challenge, and inevitably lose an egg each year, but it’s a wonderful family activity that even the 4 teens love and take part in- whether they are hunting or helping other hunt.
Glow In the Dark Halloween Egg Hunt Alternative
Another option is to hold you Halloween egg hunt at night.
To hold a glow-in-the dark egg Halloween egg hunt, you will need small glowsticks that can fit inside the eggs. We purchased these mini glowsticks off amazon and they worked great!
For a nighttime hunt, we don’t fill eggs with anything but the glowsticks.
I’d also recommend not hiding the eggs so much as just scattering them around the yard.
It’s a super fun way to celebrate Halloween night though!
Can You Host the Halloween Egg Hunt Inside?
Of course! Since Halloween is at the end of October the weather can be iffy sometimes. If Halloween ends up really cold or rainy, just bring the egg hunt inside.
The mechanics are the same, just fill, hide, and find!
You could even do a night time hunt with glowsticks- just turn off all the lights first.
Looking for more Halloween activities for the whole family? Try these:
Free Printable Halloween Scavenger Hunt For Kids (3 Different Versions!)
31 Fun Countdown to Halloween Activities for Kids and Families
Easy, Edible Candy Corn Slime for Fall Sensory Play
7 Spider Web Crafts for Halloween Fun!
