Easter isn’t far away and we want to make sure everyone can join in and have fun. Braeden has always loved an Easter Egg hunt and over the years we’ve found ways to adapt it to make it more accessible to his needs. This year we thought we’d share seven ways to make an Easter egg hunt accessible to everyone.
1. Easter egg sensory table top box
For a child who has limited movement, a table top activity might be easier for them. Hiding chocolate eggs or chocolate alternatives in a deep box is a good way of allowing them to hunt for their Easter surprises without the need to move around.
A child even with limited hand function may be able to shift rice or sand to find the hidden items.
I coloured plain rice in batches and heated it in the over to set the colouring.
I mixed the colours with a wooden spoon in a small container for the purposes of this blog.
I suggest hiding small chocolate Easter eggs, small toy cars, small bottles of bubbles, high bounce balls and anything which would be a winner with your child.
Rice alternative – I know everyone is super busy so if you don’t have time to colour rice, why not cut up some crepe paper to fill the box. Hiding the goodies under the crepe paper will still add an element of surprise.
2. Easter egg balloon pop hunt
This is Braeden’s ideal kind of activity. It’s noisy, he moves around a lot and it’s fun. Braeden doesn’t eat chocolate but he still enjoyed the concept of finding an egg hidden in a balloon and working out a way to get to them.
This is super easy to set up and is ideal for an indoor Easter egg hunt. Braeden can do this Easter egg hunt while staying in his wheelchair.
Open the neck of the balloon out wide and pop the Easter egg, or an alternative, inside. Use a balloon pump to blow up the balloon and tie the end.
Use duct tape to secure the egg to the floor. For younger children it might be fun to decorate the area by adding Easter bunny footprints amongst the balloons.
Braeden became an absolute expert at popping the balloons with his feet. He used a combination of techniques and it was interesting to see the problem solving, as well as the coordination skills he used to make it happen.
You can always add elements of difficulty to the balloon pop hunt by only putting eggs in some of the balloons and allowing each person a certain number of turns. Just remember, it’s all about a fun adaptive Easter egg hunt.
We understand that this one isn’t suitable for children or adults with a noise sensitivity.
Warning – we did have some chocolate fatalities as Braeden rolled over a couple of the eggs before we had a chance to pick them up. Of course that just added to the giggles and they still tasted good.
3. Sound Easter egg hunt
While this Easter egg hunt is aimed at a child or person who is visually impaired or blind, Braeden really had fun testing out this adapted Easter egg hunt that relies on following a sound to find the Easter eggs.
Hubby followed instructions online for a beeping Easter egg hunt and the good thing is, once you put the effort into make the sound eggs once, you can bring them out year after year. Just remember to take the batteries out before storing them.
We have instructions for making the sound Easter eggs in this blog.
4. Easter egg balloon hunt
Whether you are having an Easter hunt indoors or outdoors, attaching helium balloons to a gift bag can make it easier for a child with limited mobility to find and pick up their Easter treats.
Braeden found it easy to grab the balloon ribbon and pull up the gift bag to his lap. The gift bags also make it easier to give a chocolate alternative or you can always stick with Easter eggs in the bags.
For some children or adults, the balloons may be the joy of the hunt. Tie them to their wheelchair or chair and let them play with the balloons for the day.
5. Frozen Easter egg hunt
The weather is often still warm, or even hot, in Australia at Easter time. Why not embrace the warmer weather and have a frozen Easter egg hunt?
Time is obviously an issue with a frozen Easter egg hunt. We suggest the Frozen Easter egg hunt is done indoors and quickly! In typical Braeden fashion, he thought freeing the egg was best done in a dramatic fashion by throwing the ice cubes on the tiles in the bathroom. This is a messy Easter egg hunt if done this way. We had the mop ready and please be careful not to slip.
You could keep the tray of Easter eggs together in the ice cube tray and simply take them outside if you’re throwing them like Braeden.
It might be fun to hear other ideas from the person doing the hunt about how they think the eggs could be freed.
If you’re wondering if freezing the eggs alters the of the chocolate, I can tell you it doesn’t. I selflessly tested a couple to be sure.
6. Elevate the Easter Egg hunt
Braeden has a good range of movement when it comes too reaching down to pick things up, but it is definitely easier and more fun if the Easter egg hunt is elevated to wheelchair height.
Put Easter eggs on higher surfaces indoors or outdoors. Using Blu Tac on the plastic eggs on a wall does work if the contents is not too heavy.
7. Steady the Easter eggs
Due to the nature of an Easter egg, when Braeden touches them, they often roll away landing out of his reach. Securing them in some way makes it easier.
A $2 pool noodle from Kmart is an easy way of giving a bit of resistance to an Easter egg hunt for someone with reduced fine motor skills.
I thought the Humpty Dumpty Easter eggs were an appropriate choice for this adaptive Easter egg hunt but you could choose any chocolate, or even another gift instead. Hubby cut the pool noodle and used a knife to create a nest for the egg. It needs to be snug enough that the egg doesn’t slip out too easily but not too difficult for the person picking it up. You can secure the pool noodle to a surface with double-sided tape if you need to create extra resistance. Just make sure it isn’t a surface that will be damaged by the tape.
Easter egg hunts should be fun and tailored to those doing the hunting. It’s wonderful to see dairy-free, nut-free and non-chocolate options available. Notes or clues could lead a child or adult to a gift instead of Easter eggs. Braeden’s accessible hunt usually involves him finding the fillable plastic eggs that lead him to a larger present. He loves receiving a book, game or an item of fun clothing for Easter instead of chocolate.
We hope this list gives you some ideas on how you can adapt your Easter celebration to make an Easter egg hunt accessible to all. Easter came early this year for Braeden, he’s thoroughly enjoyed testing out all my accessible Easter egg hunt ideas.
If you’ve had a successful adaptive Easter egg hunt, I’d love you to share your ideas.
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