Parent Pundit

How to Put On an Easter Egg Hunt

I regularly put on an Easter Egg hunt at my church for 60 kids. We actually go overboard and fill about 1,200 eggs. The trick is to make this fun for the least amount of money (we are a small church.) Even if you do a small Easter Egg hunt at your house, you can benefit from some of the advice in this post.

Anyhow, the first thing to do is to purchase the plastic eggs. I purchased them in bulk a long time ago through Oriental Trading Everything Easter. I try to get some 2" and some 4" sizes for larger items. You can regularly buy eggs anywhere for 12 for $1, but I noticed that Big Lots has them 12 for 33 cents, which is a good price that is usually only found after Easter. I have the kids give back most of the plastic eggs every year so this doesn't become a big reoccuring cost.

The next thing to do is fill them. I use a variety of methods. First, I try to buy valentine candy on clearance -- 75 % to 90 % off for the bulk of the candy. Of course, I look for candy that would also work for Easter in terms of color, etc. I then fill in the candy with specific Easter themed items like these candy cross bracelets.

I then fill a lot of eggs with novelty items that I usually gather throughout the year when Oriental Trading Company, Inc. has sales or you can use another bulk novelty retailer. But it certainly helps if you have a year to fill them to get the best prices. I find that the kids love light up items (which are pretty expensive) and sticky items (which are comparitively cheap.) I usually set aside some eggs with larger toys for preschoolers. We have the preschoolers go to a separate room from the older kids.

Right now there are two specials for Easter at Oriental Trading:

Enjoy 5% discount on your order of $60+ with coupon code OTCSP051 at check out.Valid from 02/21/05 to 03/07/05

Pay only $2.95 for standard shipping on your order of $60+ with coupon code OTCSP052. Valid only within the contiguous U.S. from 02/21/05 to 03/07/05

You can figure out which one gets you the best discount.

We usually have an egg stuffing party on a Sunday afternoon at my house where a bunch of adults and older kids come to help.

We then put up sign up sheets, which you can download here if you would like. Just click and it should open. Download parentpundit_easter_egg.pdf

As you can see by the signup sheets, we usually combine the Easter Egg hunt with a craft, lunch (hot dogs and peanut butter and jelly), and an Easter cake. We also give out the recipe for Forgotten Cookies, which is a "must do" annual tradition at our house. The instructions are here Download parentpundit_forgotten_cookies.pdf

If there is "downtime" where some kids get to the Easter Egg hunt before others, we have some readymade coloring sheets to keep the kids busy between events. You can download the sheets here Download parentpundit_easter_coloring.pdf

We ask the kids to bring a basket, but we always have extra baskets on hand for those who forget. (I try to get them on clearance at Walmart or something and just store them at the church every year. I also store the empty eggs at the church in huge plastic containers.)

If you have some traditions at your church or home that you would like to share, please email me or write in the comment section!

Christian Book Warehouse Sale

Folks, if you have never been to the Christian Book Warehouse Sale , scheduled for February 26 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., you really have missed a display of great organization and some great deals! Having been to the sale numerous times, I would like to give you some hints for first timers.

1. If you know what you want to purchase, then they have made it much easier for you. You can preorder online and put in the catalog code of 200100 and they will have your order ready for you when you arrive. (You can also purchase by phone and mention this catalog code as well.)

2. They have since set up storage bins so you can "hold" your items while you shop for more items. This is good for really big things.

Here are my tips to make your shopping easier:

1. Bring a suitcase on wheels. I bring a business size overnight bag to haul around. It makes it much easier to move around and you can change your mind at the bargain tables without having to schlep to the storage bins.

2. Don't do all of your ordering online! They have tables and tables of books, school books, Christian music and videos, bibles, and knick knacks everywhere. Many of these are returns and the prices are much cheaper than buying items new. (So what if it has a few dings?)

3. When you leave, they usually have some overstock piles where you can pick one item as a parting gift.

4. Make sure you are hydrated and have eaten before you go in. There are bathrooms and water, but this is hard work! (grin)

5. If you want to check something out before you buy it, then you can get the warehouse location from the Internet. Make sure you print the locations in landscape (the wide way) versus portrait (the short way) because the printer will cut off the row and item locations -- exactly what you need to navigate the warehouse!

6. There is an area for children to watch videos, but if you can, leave the kids home with a sitter. As I have said previously, this is hard work, and you don't want to worry about them while you are doing it. Otherwise, you will have to sit there while they watch videos, especially if the kids are young.

7. When you come in the door, they always have some great specials, so do check them out!

Good luck, and I hope to see you there! Click here for directions to the warehouse sale and to start shopping! And if you can't make it to the warehouse sale in Massachusetts, then just check out some of their stuff to have it delivered to your door.

What I Am Listening to Now

Coming from a "blue" state, we don't have a Christian Rock radio station. We are relegated to listening through the Internet or through our TV set with digital cable radio.  Surprisingly, we have the largest Christian distributor in the US in our state. It has taken my husband and I a lot of searching to discover the genre and what we like.

Casting Crowns is a relatively new Christian Rock band. Both my husband and I love it.

My favorite song is We Are The Body. It challenges all of us to reach out. I tend to reach out using influence. In other words, if I discover something that works for me, then I'll tell other people in any way I can so they might also find that it works for them. I try to show using actions and not confrontation.

My husband's favorite song is The Voice of Truth. It challenges him to listen to God and to overcome that voice in his head that says he can't do something, to not listen to fear.

You can purchase this album at MusiChristian or ChristianBook.

(Full disclosure, if you click on one of the links above, then a portion of the sale will go to supporting this site.)

Religion

I will post from time to time about religion. I grew up in a "blue" state, went to a "blue" school, and held a lot of "blue" beliefs. Of course, I'm now in my early 40's, and many of these "blue" beliefs have gone by the wayside -- my previous thoughts on religion representing a large portion.

I go to church. My whole family goes to church regularly. Religion is a part of my life. If you prefer to read other material, just skip over these posts, but I think some of you may want to explore a bit, and some of you are way ahead of where I am now and might have wisdom you want to share. So ignore, explore, or help me along! All actions are welcome!