Easter Party Ideas

Prizes for the games and the jellybean game itself can serve as table centerpieces. You can group toys together in the middle then scatter the rest of the table with jellybeans, foil wrapped chocolate eggs, and marshmallow peeps.
Inexpensive spring flowers (potted or in cheap vases) can serve as table décor and take-home gifts for parents. Easter-colored bottles of bubbles can also decorate the table and be taken home as party favors.

Balloons are a party staple. Make them more festive by taping on construction paper bunny ears and drawing a simple bunny face with markers or draw on Easter egg stripes.

Food

Serve baby carrots (rabbit food) and dip, (egg-shaped) olives, deviled eggs, and a tray of sandwich fixings. You can also make PB&J or egg salad sandwiches and use cookie cutters to cut them into Easter shapes like bunnies, chicks, and eggs. Pretzels, chips and assorted nuts and snacks can fill Easter baskets.

A yummy and easy sherbet punch has a nice Easter pastel color to it. About an hour before serving, just place a half gallon of sherbet in a large bowl and pour a 2 liter bottle of soda such as 7-Up on top.

For dessert (in addition to all the candy) make an adorable Easter Bunny Cake.
1 box favorite variety of cake mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
Tray or cardboard, covered with foil
1 tub white frosting
1 cup shredded coconut (for bunny fur)
Construction paper
Jelly beans or small gumdrops
1 cup shredded coconut (for grass)
Green food color

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make and cool cake as directed on box for two 8-inch or 9-inch round pans.
2. Reserve 1 layer for another use or to make a second bunny. Cut 1 layer in half. Layer halves together with frosting to form body. Place cake upright on cut edge on tray forming a standing half moon.
3. Cut out a notch about one-third of the way up one end of body to form head (small end). Attach half of cutout piece from tail with toothpicks. Frost with remaining frosting, rounding body on sides. Sprinkle with 1 cup coconut. Cut ears from construction paper; press into notch on top. Use jelly beans for eyes and nose.
4. Shake 1 cup coconut and 3 drops food color in tightly covered jar until evenly tinted. Surround bunny with tinted coconut. Add additional jelly beans if desired. Store loosely covered.

For a lighter and easier dessert make jiggling eggs. Prepare any flavor gelatin with boiling apple juice instead of water. Do not add cold water. Spray egg molds with cooking spray and snap together. Fill each mold with gelatin mixture and refrigerate until set (about 3 hours). Serve among green tinted coconut.

Games and Activities

Make or buy an Easter egg piñata. Fill it with candy and little party favor treats. Let the children take turns (from smallest to largest/youngest to oldest child) hitting the piñata with a stick while blindfolded. Let each child hit the piñata a couple of times before moving on to the next child.

Another activity is the old standby Easter egg hunt. You can hide real hard boiled eggs or plastic eggs. The plastic eggs can be filled with candy and coins and that is the prize in itself. If hiding hard boiled eggs, the child who finds the most can win a small prize such as a toy.

Let the plastic or hard boiled eggs do double duty and after the hunt use them in an egg race. Have children try to balance an egg on a spoon while trying to be the first across the finish line.

An easy and inexpensive game to prepare is the "guess how many jelly eggs are in the jar". Just fill a clear jar with jelly beans (making sure you know how many are inside). Let children guess and the one who comes closest wins the jar of candy.

Let the kids get creative! Have a large supply of construction paper in a variety of colors along with washable markers. If you don't trust the children with scissors, cut egg shapes out of the paper ahead of time. Tell the kids they're decorating Easter eggs and let them go wild. You could also supply glitter and glue sticks if you don't mind cleaning up the mess.