Easter egg hunt and brunch ideas with Jennifer Shields

Easter is just around the corner and getting prepared for the holiday is essential.  Event stylist Jennifer Shields, from Simple Details Design stops by Good Day Atlanta with several ideas to celebrate Easter with an Egg Hunt Brunch. 

She includes tips for an egg hunt for kids and then offers ideas for a brunch drink stations, including a coffee bar and mimosa bar.  When it comes to food she says to make it easy and fun and set up a bagel bar with sweet and savory options.

As for the Easter egg hunt, she reccomends to count your eggs before you hide them,  fill the eggs with alternatives to candy and she also encurages to make sure your pets are inside or the eggs may broken and eaten before the actual hunt.   

For a complete list of tips from Jennifer Shields see below.   For more information on Jennifer Shields and Simple Details Design click here.

 

1. Gather Your Eggs and Baskets
In addition to any real hard boiled and dyed eggs you want to use, mix in the colorful plastic eggs from the Dollar Store, Target, Walmart, even the local grocery store. It's always better to have more eggs than less. Plan on about 20-30 per person for the hunt. You can pick up inexpensive baskets or buckets at the Dollar Store as well and add name tags so everyone has the same sized container. You can ask your guests to bring their own baskets, but always have a few on hand in case someone forgets. All of these items can be saved and used again year after year.

2. Count Your Eggs Before You Hide Them!
Trust me on this one. I have found plastic eggs well into September from previous hunts and had kids searching unsuccessfully long after the last egg was found.  If you know how many you have hidden, you will know when the hunt is truly over. 
 
3. Make Sure Pets are Inside....
...or hide your eggs in an area that is not accessible to them. Last year after hiding all of my eggs, I went inside to enjoy my coffee before the children began the hunt. A few minutes later I looked outside to see my dog had found, broken open and eaten the contents of about a dozen eggs! 
3. Fill Some Eggs with Alternatives to Candy.
Experiences or coupons for things such as a family movie night, a Daddy Daughter Date or 30 extra minutes of screen time are popular options to mix up the surprises inside. Make them laugh with a few funny surprises by making some of the eggs super-glued shut, fill them with fake money, dirt or even broccoli. 
 
4. Make it a Scavenger Hunt
Create a check list for specific colored eggs to find or see and check off things they see outside like butterflies, flowers or ants. Have several "Golden Eggs" with money inside. 
 
5. Set up Drink Stations
Keep everyone hydrated and the parents happy with a Cold Drink Station, a Coffee and Tea Station and a Mimosa or Bloody Mary Bar. 

6. Make an "Egg Hunt Themed Centerpiece
Wheatgrass is a fun and easy way to create a natural and beautiful centerpiece for your food table. You can grow your own wheatgrass in about a week and a half or you can pick some up at the garden store. Craft stores also sell artificial wheat grass that can be re-used year after year. 
 
7. Make it Easy and Fun with a DIY Bagel Bar
Make the food easy and self serve so you can enjoy the day without spending all your time in the kitchen. A Bagel Bar is an easy solution to what to serve. In addition to the classic cream cheese toppings, let your guests mix it up a variety of sweet options from fresh berries, nut butters, jams, and honey to savory toppings like smoked salmon and capers, sprouts, bacon bits, chicken salad, sliced radishes, and fresh tomatoes. There are endless options! Use large baskets for the bagels and separate the sweet from the savory. Make sure you have plenty of napkins, small plates and spreaders available on your buffet table. Putting out a toaster is a nice touch for guests who want to toast their bagels.