Easter Egg Relay
A relay race with plastic Easter eggs is fast, festive, and completely adaptable to any group size or outdoor space. Children carry eggs in various ways — on a spoon, between their knees, balanced on their head — to a basket at the finish line, then race back for another. The Easter egg relay is equally good for birthday parties, classroom celebrations, and backyard family Easters.
What You'll Need
- 20–30 plastic Easter eggs — filled with a little play sand or dried rice so they are not too light
- Two large baskets or buckets — start and finish points
- Spoons — one per team for the spoon carry variation
- Masking tape or chalk — to mark the course
- Optional: small prizes inside the eggs
How to Do It
Step 1: Set up the course. Place the full basket of eggs at the start and the empty basket at the finish, 15–20 feet apart. Mark both lines clearly.
Step 2: Choose the carrying method. Options include: balance on a large spoon, carry between the knees while walking (no running!), balance on the back of one hand, or nestle in the crook of the elbow.
Step 3: Play the relay. First player carries an egg from the start basket to the finish basket using the chosen method. If the egg drops, they stop, pick it up, and continue. They run back to tag the next player.
Step 4: Count the eggs. When all eggs are moved, count how many made it — this is the score to beat in the next round.
Step 5: Try different methods. Play three rounds with three different carrying methods and discuss which was hardest and why.
Skills Your Child Will Develop
Gross motor balance — Balancing an egg on a spoon while walking demands whole-body postural control.
Speed vs. control — Children quickly learn that moving too fast drops the egg — a lesson in strategy.
Teamwork — Waiting for a teammate and cheering them on builds cooperative skills.
Counting — Counting the successfully transferred eggs after each round builds number sense.
Tips & Variations
- For 2–3 year olds, let them simply carry the egg in both hands — the running is the challenge.
- Fill eggs with different weights and have children discover which are easiest to balance.
- Play in the dark with glow-in-the-dark eggs for a magical Easter evening activity.
- Use the collected eggs for an Easter egg hunt immediately after the relay.
My Two Cents
Fill plastic eggs with a small amount of dried rice before the relay — empty plastic eggs are so light they blow off spoons in a breeze and offer almost no physical challenge. A small amount of weight makes the balance task genuinely satisfying.
