Fun Easter Games for Churches

Easter is a fun time of the year. Springtime following a long period of winter makes outdoor activities especially fun for the holiday. Sometimes weather does not allow for the traditional Easter activities and adaptations or other games need to be scheduled. It is best to have both outside and indoor activities planned for church Easter games.

Easter egg hunts are probably the most common Easter activity. The rules are simple and well known by most. The adults hide the eggs and the children search for them. At our church we have two different areas-one for the younger children and one for the older children. The different areas are needed to keep the younger children from being left out of finding any eggs. We use plastic eggs exclusively. Usually, there are several prize eggs, that are marked and the child who finds them wins various prizes. Leftover prizes from Vacation Bible School the previous year are often given away with the winning eggs.

The most famous Easter game outside of the egg hunt is the Easter egg roll. An Easter egg roll has been held for more than 130 years in Washington, D.C. This event is held on the South lawn of the White House every year. This activity can be adapted to be done at church particularly if you have a sloped surface, such as a hill, available. The purpose involves rolling a (usually) hard boiled colored egg with a large serving spoon as far as you can as quickly as you can down a hill. Whoever finds their egg at the target first is the winner. If the eggs are not hard boiled, obviously whoever breaks theirs is "out."

Another fun Easter game that can be done at church involves carrying a spoon with an egg on it, handing it back to your partner to do the same, and seeing who can arrive at the goal first. However many times the egg is passed back and forth is stated in your specific rules. Those who drop their spoon or egg are out. Again, boiling the eggs helps prevent a mess but if you play in an outside area where it can be cleaned more easily this isn't as much of an issue.

Because weather is sometimes an issue, it would be a good idea to have a backup list of Easter activities prepared to do at church in case it rains. The egg hunt can be done inside the church, especially if only plastic eggs are used, but the other two I have mentioned demand to be done outside. The final two are indoor activities in the case of bad weather.

Depending on the size of your group, the next activity may be a good one. Fill a jar with jelly beans. Have each child take a guess at how many jelly beans are in the jar (do not forget the number yourself). The child who comes closest to the number of jelly beans in the jar wins the jar full of jelly beans and some type of small prize-such as $2 or $3, a chocolate bunny rabbit or cross, or a stuffed animal in the form of a bunny rabbit. Again, Vacation Bible School prizes from the church's previous VBS are a viable option as well.

Another fun indoor Easter activity is a variation of "pin the tail on the donkey." Instead, play "pin the chick on the egg." Create the egg by drawing and decorating it on a piece of poster board or cardboard. Our church has indoor walls often with staples on them from items in lesson plans so this is not an issue for us. The staples do not leave the same gaping holes thumbtacks do. Create the chicks using this template. Be sure the egg is quite a bit larger than the chicks. Experiment on changing the size of the chick from normal to 50 percent, 25 percent, or 10 percent before printing them. Use tape on the back of the chicks so when the child makes it to the egg the chick will stick where he or she places it. Be sure to treat it like "pin the tail on the donkey." Use a piece of cloth for a blindfold, spin the child around (but not too quickly) and off in the direction of the egg. The chick pinned (or taped) closest to the top of the egg wins. The winner receives some type of small prize such as $1 or $2, a VBS prize from previous church VBS, a chocolate bunny or cross, or a stuffed bunny rabbit.