An Easter Party just for Toddlers

This is a party that is just as much fun for the parents as for the toddlers!!!!

When my son, Quinton was 20 months old I decided to throw an Easter Egg Hunt and Party for him and some of his friends. I searched and searched for party ideas for this young age group of 18 months to 3 year olds and had a very hard time finding things for them to do. It's a difficult age because you can't plan on the traditional games. They are still at the stage of parallel play. They play side by side, but not "with" each other. Having been a former childcare worker I had to use my imagination and come up with my own agenda. A lot of work went into this but the party went off with such great success that I thought I'd share it incase someone else may want to do it for their young children as well. Just because they are young, they can still enjoy a good party coordinated with a toddler specifically in mind!!!

Two weeks before your Easter Party, mail out your invitations. You can buy them or make some bunny type cards. Make sure you add a note on the card saying "don't forget to bring your Easter Basket". I always invite one or two extra children incase someone has to cancel. I'd hate to have nobody show up!!

For the Easter Egg hunt itself you can use chocolate wrapped eggs, or you can be brave like I was and hard boil and decorate them the day before. Which ever you choose, make sure there are lots for each of the children. Eggs are cheap!!

Activities:


I borrowed a bunch of little tables and chairs, enough for all the children to use. You can borrow them from other moms, from a daycare center, your church. They're not that hard to find! Set up the different tables as a different activity station.
Table 1:
Have Easter Egg shapes cut out of paper ready before hand and a pile of crayons, sparkles, and different decorations to make there own paper easter eggs.
Table 2:
With big Easter shapes cut out, Eggs, bunnies, etc, make a shimmery paint for them using sweetened condensed milk and food colouring. It's a pretty pastel shiny paint! It takes a while to dry but it's really pretty..and yummy too!!
Table 3:
Bunny Ears!!! Have all the paper cut out and ready, they are too young to handle scizzors still. They can just glue them together with the help of their parent. For each headband cut out a 2" by 24" strip of white construction paper, Two white ovals approx 9" high and 3 1/2" wide. Slightly smaller pink ovals. Glue or staple them together.







Egg Hunt
Hide the eggs in an area away from the activity center. I had the hunt itself in the backyard and when we were done with the arts and crafts we headed outside for the hunt. You can purchase some plastic easter eggs as well and put a number in it that corresponds to a little gift for the parents!!! Take your time and let them find lots of eggs. They played outside for a while after and worked up an appetite for the snacks listed below







Recipes:
For Easter recipes, you just have to think pastel!! Think pale pinks, blues, greens and yellows...and of course CHOCOLATE!!!
Sandwiches
Cut out easter and spring shapes with your bread. If you have a bread machine, just follow your white bread recipe but put food colouring in the milk and you'll have Easter coloured bread! I made a few loaves of coloured bread a few days before, cut out the shapes and froze them until the morning of the party. Just add you favorite fillings, tuna, and of course peanut butter for those kids!! A good filling is:

2 hard boiled eggs

4 oz finely chopped ham

2 tbs mayo

salt to taste

Decorate with mini marshmallows and pink, blue, yellow and green decorator icing

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat together butter and sugar.

Add egg, vanilla and salt and mix on low speed.

Place 1/2 the dough between two sheets of wax paper and roll out to approx 3/8" thick

Place on baking sheet and refrigerate 20 minutes

Repeat with remaining dough

When firm, roll out to bunny shapes using cookie cutters

bake 10-12 minutes

To make icing, stir confectioner's sugar, water and vanilla until smooth.

divide into four separate bowls and add a few drops to each to make the different colours.

When the cookies have cooled, glaze them, outline them and make eyes etc with the decorator icing and place a mini marshmallow as it's tail.

Make your favorite devilled eggs, but turn them into easter baskets! Cut them in half width wise and cut the tips of each end off just so that they can stand upright. When you've finished stuffing them, make a handle using a curved piece of celery.

These are similar to Rice Crispie Squares and very yummy!!!!

In a large bowl, microwave marshmallows, butter, sugar and cinnamon on high for two minutes. Stir until well mixed and then cook 30 seconds longer. Stir until it is smooth.
Fold in the cereal and coconut. With greased hands shape the mixture into little 3" bird nests. Fill them with the jelly beans.

Buy a regular white cake mix to make some cupcakes, but fill them 1/3 full with the batter, and then place and unwrapped chocolate egg in the center and then top with the remaining batter. Decorate them with chocolate, pastel icing, decals, jellybeans etc. They were a BIG hit!!

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