My version of the traditional Easter egg hunt. A hunt for for money instead of chocolate and candy.
My family still does an Easter egg hunt every year even though we're all grown up. A few years ago my Mom decided that she wouldn't hide candy and chocolates anymore because we didn't like them as much as when we were younger. Instead she now hides money, quarters to be specific. Everyone has to hunt for their own roll of quarters. We're given a set room and in that room my Mom will have hidden $10 worth of quarters. We're not allowed to stop until we get them all. We love doing this for many reasons, but mostly it's awesome to get money. We also don't find that we really need all the candy anymore.
I was thinking that this would work well for children. You don't have to have them hunt for $10 worth of quarters, they could hunt for a roll of nickels or dimes. Or even a combination of different change. Here are my reasons why this is a good idea and you should do it.
It's Healthier
Most of the chocolate we get at Easter isn't the kind that's really good for you. So why don't we skip it and be healthier for it? A 2012 Statistics Canada study found that 31.5% of Canadian children (ages 5-17) are obese or overweight. If this is the case then why do we have holidays like Halloween and Easter that give massive amounts of unnecessary sugar to children prone to weight issues? Hunting for money doesn't add any calories.
It's Cheaper
While it may seem counter-intuitive that hunting for money is cheaper, I would argue that is not the case. I found a study from 2011 looking at how much Americans spend on Easter related purchases. They found that in 2011 Americans were going to spend $131.04 each. Now I don't think most of that was candy, but you get the point that Easter is expensive. I went to my local grocery store and looked at the cost if I were to buy a bag of chocolate eggs, another bag of assorted chocolates and a bag of candy (I guessed that would be sufficient for 3 kids). The total ranged from $15-20, so about $5-7.50 a kid. If you were to hunt for money you could easily get away with having each one hunt for a roll of nickels for a cost of $2. A roll of dimes only costs $5. Even if you gave each kid both to look for, it could still be cheaper than buying the candy.
Learn To Count
Tell your kids how much money they each get, but then leave it up to them to figure out when they've reached the right amount. This will teach them a very practical skill, counting money. They're going to have to do it for the rest of their lives, so why not learn young? For the younger kids this will be more of challenge, but a good refresher for the older kids too. This is a really fun interactive way to teach your kids to count. Counting how much you're looking also means that you're not going to miss anything. Think of how nice it will be not to find Easter candy months later melted under the couch cushion because you forgot about it.
It Teaches Responsibility
Once your kids get the money they've hunted for it's up to them to figure out what to do with it. This can be a great chance to teach them about saving. They can learn they could go buy something right away with it, or they could save it for something more expensive they really want and have been bugging you for.
It's Fun
Honestly, I love hunting for money. It's a lot more fun than hunting for chocolates and candy. I love the thrill of getting the money and also the lack of a sick stomach from too much candy. If you want to maintain the egg part of the hunt, you could also always put the money into plastic eggs. That way it would still be an Easter egg hunt.
I hope I've given you guys something to think about and I really hope that you give it a try. I've explained why it's great for children, but even if you're older this can be a lot of fun. Why not surprise a loved one with a little Easter money hunt? No one says no to free money and I'm sure they'll be pleasantly surprised.
Let me know what you think and happy Easter!