Easter Game Ideas

The object of this game is for the guests to get as many jellybeans as they can within the time limit. The challenge is that they have to use chopsticks to get the jellybeans. If you have a wide age range of party guests you can have multiple contests, one for each group.

Place a large bowl filled with jellybeans in the middle of a table(preferably a round table). Setup the players around the table making sure to allow a lot of wiggle room since the game can get pretty hectic. Usually only four player can participate each round, so you may need to take multiple turn for everyone to get a chance.

Each participant gets a set of chopsticks and a bowl to place in front of them. Set a time limit of three minutes for the players to move as many jellybeans as they can from the center bowl to their bowl in front of them only using the chopsticks. If one drops on the table before it gets to their bowl they must use the chopstick to pick it up. Count how many jellybeans are in the bowl of each player at the end of the turn and keep a running list. Repeat the game until all the guests have played once. Everyone gets to keep the jellybeans they got during their turn and the person who had the most jellybeans in their bowl is the winner and keeps all the remaining jellybeans. If you had several contests for different age ranges split the remaining jellybeans between each of the winners.

Optional: If you have some kids that just too young to use the chopsticks but still want to be included in the game, let them play with the same rules but using a small spoon.

Set a start line and a finish line. The contestants stand at the start line inside of their sacks, holding them with both hands at their waist. When the race begins the participants must hop to the finish line while staying inside of their sacks. The first person to cross the finish line wins.

If your party has guests of a variety of ages it is a good idea to run multiple races, one for each age/skill level. The course can be shorter for younger kids and increase in length as the age of participants increase. Be sure to award a prize to the winner of each group and you can crown a grand champion with one last race featuring the winners of each group.

Burlap sacks are an excellent choice to use for your Bunny Hop Sack Race. They are durable so you can keep them to use for your Easter party next year and they are large enough for adults. For young kids burlap sacks might be too large so consider using pillow cases.

Fill an Easter basket with loads of different small candies like jellybeans, foil wrapped chocolate eggs, and Hershey Kisses using lots of Easter grass to keep most of them hidden. You can also add a few larger items like a stuffed bunny or candy bars, but pay close attention to exactly how many items are in the basket.

At the start of your party place the basket on a table with slips of paper, pens and a cardboard box with an opening cut in the top. Challenge your guests to figure out exactly how many items are in the basket (no touching allowed). When they are ready to guess, they write their name and estimate of the number of items on a slip of paper and drop it in the box. The person closest to the actual number wins and gets the basket and all its contents as a prize.

On a large poster board or white board write out “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” in large letters and place it where all can see it. Pass out pens and paper to all of your guests. The challenge is to write down as many words as they can using only the letters appearing in Here Comes Peter Cottontail. The rules:

-All words must be at least four letters.
-Words that appear as is in the phrase cannot be used, so “cotton” would not count because the word cotton is in the phrase.
-The singular and plural of the same root word both count. So both “tear” and “tears” would count.
-If the letter appears once in the phrase you can only use it once in your word.
-Four letter words are one point, five letter words are two points, and so on.
-Words related to Easter count double.

Set a timer for five minutes and turn your guests loose. Once time has expired have them exchange their answers with another player to add up their scores. The person with the most points is the winner.

If you have a sharp and focused group of players this game can last a surprisingly long time. Try to keep the pace of play rapid, sometimes guests will take forever trying to get it right.

The Set Up: Have your guests sit in a circle in a large open area and select a random player to start.

The Rules: The first player will say, “Next year I hope the Easter Bunny brings me __________” filling in the blank with whatever present they choose. It can be realistic like “a chocolate bunny” or outrageous like “a diamond ring”. For purposes of example the first person said ” a chocolate bunny”. The person to the left of the starter(clockwise) goes next. They will say, ” Next year I hope the Easter Bunny brings me a chocolate bunny and __________” filling in the blank with whatever they choose. The third person would say the entire phrase including both of the previous answers(in order) and add a third.

This continues moving left around the circle with each person repeating what the previous person said and adding an additional Easter present until someone forgets a present, messes up the order or in some way makes a mistake. That person is out and leaves the circle. The person to the left of the person that is now out starts the game over again from scratch. Continue playing and eliminating players until only one person remains. That person is a very deserving winner.

If the Game is Taking Too Long: Sometimes this game can bog down with guests taking long turns. If your game starts to slow down or even from the very beginning you can add a five second rule. So if any player on their turn goes for more than 5 seconds without adding to the list they are eliminated.