How to host Easter bingo
Easter bingo fills the slow part of a spring gathering: after the egg hunt, when baskets are full and the grown-ups want to finish brunch. Children sit down, sort their candy, and use it as markers.
- Choose the grid by age. Toddlers and preschoolers do best with 3×3; school-age children enjoy the full 5×5 card.
- Use jelly beans as markers. Each child plays with the candy from their own basket. Ask them to wait until the round ends to eat it.
- Call with a basket. Fold the slips from the call sheet into plastic eggs and put them in a basket. The caller cracks an egg for each word.
- Give spring prizes. Seed packets, sidewalk chalk or a small potted flower last longer than more candy.
At school before spring break, play one round as a vocabulary review: say a clue (“it grows in a garden and is orange”) instead of the word itself.
Ways to play it
- Egg hunt bingo. Hide eggs with words inside; the first child to complete a line wins the golden egg.
- Outdoor spotting. Take cards on a walk and mark what you see, such as a butterfly, a puddle or a blossom tree.
- Spring and Valentine’s. For an earlier party in the year, try the Valentine’s Day bingo list.
- Pictures for pre-readers. Picture bingo has animal and food images for children who cannot read yet.