Make your kids' lunch into an Easter Egg Lunch Hunt! They'll have a blast opening each egg to see what surprise awaits them! Lunchtime has never been so fun! You can also place them inside a lunchbox for an elementary school option!
You might also like our mini bundt carrot cake recipe, our Easter Basket sugar cookies or our toasted coconut cupcakes---such a fun Easter dessert and the coconut taste really shines through!
8 years ago, Kaylee and I decided to do something a little different with lunch! We filled hollow plastic Easter eggs with all sorts of lunch items. Bite-sized lunch items for a fun Easter egg hunt. Even little peanut butter & honey sandwiches. It has become one of our favorite activities and we also go on Easter egg lunch hunts (or snack hunts!) when friends come over.
This is the most popular Easter post on Gluesticks and for good reason. Easter eggs aren't just candy in Easter baskets! It's SO EASY and SO FUN and honestly, the quickest way to skyrocket yourself to "best mom ever" status for the 5 and under crowd, ha!
Easter egg Lunch Idea
Step 1: Collect plastic eggs.
Step 2: Fill with lunch foods.
Step 3: Place eggs in a lunchbox to take to school OR hide eggs around the yard for a Easer egg lunch hunt!
What food items can you use for this Easter themed lunch hunt?
There are so many foods that would make a yummy and festive alternative to candy: grapes, raisins, nuts, goldfish crackers, cheese cubes, berries, mini sandwiches, cubed turkey or ham, or dry cereal!
How do you split the Easter eggs evenly amongst groups of kids?
I like marking the eggs when multiple children are going to be hunting for lunch, that way everyone has a well-rounded collection at the end. The unmarked eggs were Aaron's and the marked eggs were Kaylee's. At the end of the egg hunt, they exchanged eggs.
Where do you hide the Easter eggs?
We've had just as many Easter egg lunch hunts indoors as we have outdoors. It just depends on the weather. Make sure to find all of those eggs so that the food doesn't go bad!
For our first hunt 8 years ago, Kaylee ran right up to the bus when Aaron got home from kindergarten, handed him a basket, and they hit the grass running looking for their lunch. He was totally game for having to search for his lunch!
After the Easter eggs were found, the sorting began.
Easter egg Lunchbox IDea
I filled Dallin's lunch box with Easter eggs as a fun "last day before Spring Break" celebration lunch. He loved it and was very surprised when he opened his lunch box. He said that when he saw them he said, "What the heck?!?!?!?" and all of the kids in his 2nd-grade class came over to see. They thought it was "SO FUNNY!!" and liked watching him open each and every egg to see what lunch item was inside. Score! It's been 7 years since we started this tradition and the kids think it is hilarious---my boys not as much now that they are in middle and high school, but they are good sports, haha!
Here are a couple more Easter ideas for kids!
Easter Bunny Luncheon for Kids.
We've also got a great Make an Easter Bunny Cake you can make as well!
Try some of these spring activities for even more fun!
Tisha says
Such a fun mom! I have to do this! Love it. Linking back to my blog. Darling.
Brandy says
Thank you so much, Tisha!
glenda crane says
This one caught my eye right away. Love it.
Brandy says
Thanks Glenda! It was so much fun!
Carrie at Rhubarbsky says
Love this idea. . . . i clicked through a pin on pinterest, but it came up as a suspicious link and I had to bypass that to get here. Just FYI.
Can't wait to surprise my girl with this in her lunchbox on Friday!
Maniks Read says
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Randy Arton says
Hi, good idea thanks for sharing.lunch warwick qld.
Emilee says
Thanks for the fun idea! My daughter's birthday is in April so last spring I filled up the eggs for their lunch. It was fun to see how they all ate them differently. Some ate one egg at a time, some emptied them all out at once.
I didn't hide them, but maybe next time I will...
wilderlamb says
Saw this on Pinterest earlier this year and did it for my kids' lunch at school. They loved it! Thanks for the great idea.
Brandy says
You are welcome! I can't wait to do it again!
Cheryl says
Just a thought. You might want to check and see if the plastic eggs are food safe. Sometimes you never really know what is being put in the plastics that might leach into food.
dassith wanasinghe says
ok I am going to try it on easter weekend
richardwilkins says
A moment that every kids will cherished.
National Labor Relation Act
kirsty says
So I did end up doing this, and my kids had a blast! They thought it was so much fun and enjoyed all the surprises in the eggs (we had cheese sandwiches, grapes, banana, tiny teddies, savoury crackers and ham).
Thanks for the inspiration!
Ami Allison says
I'm doing this today for my sweet girl! Thanks for sharing this adorable idea! 🙂
~~Evelyn~~ says
We usually have lunch/dinner around 3 with the in-laws on Easter Sunday. That's tough for a 7 year old. If I feed him lunch, he isn't hungry at 3. But it is too long for him to wait to eat.
I am going to use this idea (found you on Pinterest, btw) and put mostly fruits with a couple of small protein items so that it will tide him over until we have our main meal.
EXCELLENT idea.
Melissa says
This is simply brilliant! Thank you for the idea! It's nice to fill easter eggs with something besides candy.
Brandy says
So awesome to heaar KDodson!! How fun! And kuddos to you for preparing that 3x!
kDodson says
Thanks so much for the idea!! Did this for my 1st grader and Kindergardener's lunches today and sent them to school with the egg carton as their lunch box. they LOVED it!! So much that I had to do a half-carton for my preschooler to take for her snack. Yay!! Super-mom!!