Easter games

Even though Easter is a very serious Christian observance, it can be (and should be) fun as well, particularly for children. As a matter of fact, Easter can be a magical time for children. Along with Easter comes the 'Easter Bunny', who brings baskets full of candies, eggs, and all kinds of other goodies. The Easter Bunny also hides all the coloured eggs for the children to discover. (There is no need to worry if there is an egg that isn't found as it will reveal itself a couple of months later, although this obviously isn't the best way to find an egg. A good way to avoid this is to use plastic eggs filled with candies or something.) And there is much fun to be had even before Easter. You can decorate Easter eggs, you can have fun with Easter crafts and Easter recipes, you can play Easter games, etc.

Easter is a time when family and friends get together to visit and to enjoy each other's company (ideally {:-)). There are a lot of games associated with Easter (although you can play these games any time of year...) So, if you are looking for some fun things to do when company arrives, this is a good place to start!

Easter Egg Hunt
Adults fill little plastic eggs with toys and goodies They then hide them under bushes and in other obvious places. On Easter morning the children of the house join in a search to locate the eggs that the Easter Bunny had hidden while they where asleep. The kids are turned loose to find them. The searching might continue through out the house with the older children helping the youngest. The aim is to find the good stuff before anyone else does. Sometimes prizes of candy are awaiting the child finding the most eggs. Easter egg hunts can are also part of a community's celebration of holiday.

Easter Egg Roll
A group of people roll eggs down a steep incline, racing to see which egg gets to the bottom first. Since the eggs are pretty much the same, and the hill is pretty much the same, the determining factor seems to be the speed of release, making this a game that favours hyperactive kids with fast reflexes. The rules of an Easter Egg Roll are to see who can roll an egg the greatest distance or can make the roll without breaking it, usually down a grassy hillside or slope Maybe the most famous egg rolling takes place on the White House Lawn. Hundreds of children come with baskets filled with brightly decorated eggs and roll them down the famous lawn, hoping the President of the United States is watching the fun.

Egg Bowling
Colour some boiled eggs and leave one white. Roll the white one into the centre of a room and take turns to see who can roll their egg closest to the white egg.

Egg Toss
No Easter games can be complete without a round of egg toss. People pair-off and face each other at a starting line. each pair is given one egg. An official blows a whistles (or shouts some appropriate term), and each person takes a large step backwards. The person in each pair with the egg tosses it to the person without. When all couples have completed their toss, the official signals for a second round and the process repeats (large step backward, toss, pause, etc, etc). If a couple does not successfully complete its toss, and the egg has not broken, they return to the starting line. If it breaks, they're out. The couple that's left in the end (presumably far away from the starting line) wins. Use raw eggs for maximum excitement. Game is best with at least five couples.

Capture the Egg
You might have heard of "capture the flag" this is just the Easter version. Divide a group of kids into two groups. Each team has four eggs. They place the eggs on the ground in a row and then run to the other teams side and try to take there eggs back to their side without getting touched. If they do get touched they have to stand still until one of their teammates can free them by touching them on the shoulder.

Spoon Walk
Put an egg (can also use a marshmallow) on a spoon and walking across an area; make an obstacle course if you like. Can also play where you have to pass it to a partner to go back to the beginning is fun. If the egg is dropped, you have to start over. Grown ups have to put the spoon in their mouths. You can also play hide and seek: all of the people who are hiding must balance an object on a spoon as they dash for a hiding spot. If it falls, that’s where they have to hide.

Duck races
Players line up on a start line. At the signal, they must all bend over and grasp their ankles. The first one to waddle to the finish line without letting go of their ankles, wins.