A couple of years ago, I was so over the rain and missed my neighbors after months of being cooped up in the house (those of you from the Seattle area will understand). I decided to host a glow-in-the-dark Easter egg hunt to get our neighborhood friends out and mingling. This was the perfect way to bring everyone together and celebrate spring. It has become our neighborhood tradition to have the annual “Glow And Find ‘Em” party. I’ve heard from my neighborhood mommas that this is their kids’ favorite event we do all year.

I personally think the best part of the hunt is the prep-party where all of us moms get together around 4pm on the day of the hunt to stuff lit glow sticks, lights, and treats into the eggs. Last year, several of the older kids came to help too, which added to the fun. Each family is responsible for bringing some small treats to stuff into the eggs - a true team effort!

Once the eggs are lit and stuffed, every family takes away a box full of 40-50 eggs to hide in their own front yards. Our community is fairly small with 15 homes and about 30 kids so you can imagine there are plenty of glowing eggs to be found. The kids LOVE getting to play Easter bunny and take great pride in egg placement in their yards for their friends to find.

I supplied all of the eggs and lights the first year. Now we have plenty of eggs to reuse. Within a few days of the hunt, the families return the eggs to me to store for the next year. I now only supply the lights (glow sticks and LED balloon lights) each year. Each family brings a few bags of candy or small trinkets to stuff into the eggs.

This hunt is judgment free and kids of all ages are welcome to participate. We have 9th graders to toddlers on the hunt together. No age discrimination here! I love it when the older kids want to continue to participate in activities where in other circumstances, they may feel they have out grown them.

Around 7pm, after we all have had time to eat dinners at home with our families, we all come back together for a little egg hunt “tail-gating.” Everyone comes to this - entire families and even the few couples in the neighborhood without young kids. We have light refreshments and drinks and spend some time gabbing. The kids get pumped up on sugar and anxiously await it becoming dark enough to start the hunt! Pro tip - although it is hard, wait till it’s actually dark. The kids will want to get going as soon as it’s dusky and can be pretty convincing in their pleas to get started. Don’t give in! It is so rewarding to see all of the eggs glowing and the fun it provides everyone. Make them anxiously wait - it’s worth it!

On the Easter table I usually serve cupcakes and various Easter candies. I also provide glow sticks the kids can make into necklaces and glasses. I found the adorable neon bunny this year to add to the mix. I ordered glow in the dark cups and cut out the black vinyl bunnies (svg file) with my cutting machine and stuck them on each cup. Vitamin Water with vitamin B in it glows for kids drinks. Tonic water is the go-to glow liquid to mix with adult beverages.

This year I will also have some glow-in-the-dark bubbles to help occupy the kids before the hunt. These are simple to make. Buy some empty slime making containers, bubble wands, bubble solution, and a fluorescent yellow highlighter. Buy the cheapest highlighter you can find (easier to open) and pull it apart with pliers. Pull the ink sponge out and squeeze the “juice” into the bubble solution. One highlighter per gallon is plenty for a good glow. I quickly made the “bubble” label stickers using Microsoft PowerPoint, selecting a black slide backdrop, and writing “Bubbles” in white font. Canva is another option to create fun and easy labels too. I then printed lables out on shipping labels and stuck them on the clear jars. Easy peasy! You may want to also cover the stickers with packing tape to help minimize smudging if they get wet from the bubbles.

As for the neon backdrop, I used fluorescent cloth tape placed directly on the wall (it didn’t pull off my paint) and cut out “Glow And Find ‘Em” in neon card stock with my Brother Scan and Cut cutting machine in a neon font I found on Etsy. We used a black light to help the whole tablescape pop and glow!

I made the bunny balloon mosaic and was surprised how easy it was to do with the supply list, design, and instructions from “The Creative Heart Studio.” It took a few hours to make, but it was well worth it for the visual effect. I will certainly make more balloon mosaics in different shapes again in the future.

I like to keep egg stuffers simple and use items kids will actually enjoy. Of course, candy always tops this list. Keep the candy size small so they fit in the eggs and don’t block the glow too much. I recommend Hershey Kisses, candy bracelets, and small peanut butter cups. A huge hit last year were the mochi squishie toys. These little guys were the true prizes to be found on the hunt.

To light the eggs, I have found the best lights are LED balloon lights and small green glow sticks. You can find glow in the dark egg kits that come with multi-colored glow sticks that are not as bright. These definitely glow - just be sure its dark enough to start the hunt so they can really stand out. The same goes for “glow-in-the-dark” eggs. You don’t need to light these up with anything special, but give them a nice light charge before the hunt and maybe don’t place them outside until closer to the start. I also like to have some larger sized eggs for bigger treats and prizes.

There you have it! A super fun, community gathering, unique party!

For more Easter inspirations, check out these posts: Carrot Craze Kids’ Easter Party and Easter Brunch Table.

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