It’s a little crazy to think Easter is right around the corner but if you’ve strolled the aisles at Target, you’ve no doubt seen the switch in holiday seasons (I mostly notice it in the candy section, but that’s just me). Growing up I LOVED (the caps are that necessary) Easter Egg Hunts. LOVED them. Competition for candy is right up my alley.

Now that my kid (well, at least Drew and Reese) are old enough to do a legit Easter Egg Hunt – I say legit because I mean actually hiding the eggs, not just sitting them randomly right in front of them – it’s made Easter morning even more fun. But still, I end up getting everything together last minute.

This year when Target asked me to put together a fun Easter idea inspired by their greeting cards, I knew this was my chance to get my act together way in advance.

Here’s what I put together in Five Easy Steps:

 1. Pick a card:

The card selection at Target is huge which is amazing when you’re trying to find the perfect card but tougher when you’re trying to narrow down your favorites.

I originally thought I would paint eggs inspired by one of the cards and since this is a project for my kiddos, I wanted to find something fun and whimsical. This little bunny + egg combo ended up being the obvious winner since I was sure I could come up with something cute for the kids. Also, it came in a pack of six which allowed enough for crafts and one for each kid.

2. Pick up your basket necessities:

Once I settled on a winner,  I hit up the Easter basket section, where I once again had a crazy hard time settling on a route to take.

But then I saw these egg carton style baskets which were too cute not to use.  I also found these blank eggs that have a paper-like surface which makes them really easy to decorate without having to do any hard boiling. You can use liquid dye to color them or you can just draw on them with markers or oil pastel crayons (which is what I ended up using for my eggs).

Add a little grass (I went with this colorful paper option), grab a few goodies and you’re set.

3. Grab your art gear:

If you have kids, you probably have enough art gear – crayons, markers, paint – to paint the Sistine Chapel. But if you’re running short on supplies, I would choose thin tip markers or oil pastel crayons. Just choose something with enough color to make an impact.

You can also use paint but that will mean things could get a little messy.

4. Get Crafty:

When I saw that the card had twelve little figures, I knew my plan. Both Drew & Reese will be getting one of these sweet cards with a note leading them on a scavenger hunt to find all the eggs on their card.

I figure this could eliminate some of the in-fighting that can occur when both kids think that egg is theirs, basically, I’m hoping to limit the amount of times I hear “That one’s MINE!”

I decorated some of the eggs like their card counterpart with oil pastel crayons – which was super easy and WAY less messy than dye. And when it came to the bunnies, I cut them out and attached them to each egg with a little bit of double-sided tape. Super easy and so cute.

Then I just used a permanent marker to write their names on the baskets. Done and done.

5. Set the Stage:

I loaded up the eggs with candy and now they are all ready to go for the big scavenger hunt. Each kiddo will get a card with their empty basket with a note telling them to find one egg to match each face on the card. Once they find them all, they’ll get their big chocolate Easter bunny and some other surprises.

I love giving the card with it so they have something special to keep once all the candy and stuffed animals are gone. I still have Easter cards from my grandparents and I always smile when I find them in an old box or random collection of pictures.

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This entire project was so easy, took just about an hour to put it all together, and so affordable. I picked up the cards and all the basket stuff for less than $50. My tip, next time you’re at Target for one random thing (you know, like mascara), take a quick spin in the card section and pick out something special for your favorite Easter bunnies. You can use this link to see all the deals on Cartwheel (which you should totally download now if you haven’t already).

Definitely let me know if you come up with something crafty – I am ALWAYS in need of inspiration. Oh and save this for later with the image below.