Easter Egg Hunt (or anytime hunt really!)

My nephew (10) has asked for an Easter egg hunt this year, which is always fun (unless of course I make the clues to hard and they can't do them so give up and asked for the answer!), and I've been given the task of putting it together. I thought I'd share some of the clues that I'm planning on using and some ideas also, which I may or may not use. Not sure what the weather is going to be like on Sunday I am going to base it mainly inside but with, maybe, a few outside. I'm not so worried about the kids going outside in the rain it's me having to go outside in the rain and place all the clues and eggs!

I was hoping to finish it with a pinata but the only pinatas I've come across have been way too big and I don't want to have to spend a fortune on filling it! So I think at this stage it will just end with a basket/box/bowl of Easter goodies unless anyone has any easy ideas on how to do a diy pinata??

Some of the clues I have so far include:

• Let the fun begin, grab your sister and your brother and go hug your mother
• Hickory dickory dock the mouse ran up the ....... [clock]
• Santa Clause is coming to town, wait, what?? Did he drop in for a sneaky visit? [fireplace]
• Who sat on the wall and had a great fall? [humpty - egg cups]
• The clue will just have their house number (hoping they'll go to the letterbox!)
• For the next clue, think number 1's and number 2's :-) [toilet - ewwww]
• What goes up when the rain comes down [umbrella]
• Looking for the final prize, go to where you can look into your eyes [mirror]

plus I'm thinking of doing a few find a words (just use word or publisher - maybe 10-15 letters by 10-15. I just put in a few words ie their names and a few randoms and then one that is the actual clue), photo cut into pieces that they'll need to put together (like a jigsaw), text someone for the next clue (Can I get a clue from you?), use an insta #, word scrambles (with this one I thought of the place the next clue was going to be and then used the letters of that world for each of the scrambled words). ie If your next hiding spot is say in the 'bath' you would have 4 scramble words, one starting with b, one with a, one with t and one with h. Easy peasy but hopefully not too easy peasy for the kids!. Another one is 'matching lists' so you have two list of words that match ie list one has puppy, list 2 has dog, list 1 has easter, list 2 has egg and so on. Jumble them up so they are not next to each other and have one extra word that doesn't have a matching word - this will be the clue. I hope that makes sense?!

I don't want to get too elaborate or have too many clues but a nice mix of hints, riddles and puzzles to make it fun with a few Easter eggs thrown in for good measure!

There are so many ideas online just google 'easter egg hunt' or 'scavenger hunt' and you'll have enough ideas to get you through Easter, birthdays and Christmas! Education.com is a good resource, not just easter egg hunts but fun kids activities that you can personalise.

Have fun and be safe over Easter and, of course, eat lots of chocolate!

Jacqui ~ Rainbow Designs boss(y) lady and 'fun' activities co ordinator

Are you secure?

Rainbow Designs and I have survived the awful floods but so many others are still dealing with it. So much destruction and mess, a big clean up is currently underway. Everyone is banding together which is so wonderful to see.

During all this my security certificate on the website expired and didn't update it's self so left Rainbow Designs as 'insecure'. This is an automatic thing each year but the way it gets done had changed from last year so by the time I realised it was already coming up as 'danger, this website is insecure'! Even though technically my website itself doesn't need to be secure as we don't 'catch' any of the payment information, like credit cards etc, these are all done on the banks website which is secure. I just like to have it on my website as more of an extra assurance to my customers so it doesn't help when it expires and brings up a big old warning! Anyway, it's all fixed now and we are super secure again :-) Sorry if anyone went on over the weekend and got a bit spooked - it's all better now.

Due to this slight hiccup(!) very few orders came in over the weekend, boo. I am hoping now that everything is as it should be the Easter orders in particular will pick up. I've got a few bills starting to pile up so really need a bit of cash to pay them :-) Living on beans and rice is getting a bit boring.

It's still spins me out that my business has been running for 13 years, wow. I'm just hoping 13 isn't unlucky and this is as far as it gets!

School holidays are about to start here, some have already started, which the kids are looking forward to. Although at the moment the schools are still closed so they've got a bit of a preholiday holiday. A few of the schools got flooded and some are just wanting to check everything is safe, especially the electricals, before reopening plus there are many people that are trying to get their homes and lives back in order.

We're planning an Easter egg hunt as requested by one of the kids so I've been given the task of coming up with some 'fun and not too hard' clues - I love doing this sort of thing! I'll have to get my thinking cap out. I was also thinking of maybe having a pinata? Never had one of these before, thought it might be a fun way to end the hunt. Just have to work out where to put it so it isn't found too earlier plus I need to find a smallish pinata somewhere and then fill it with Easter eggs! Fun!

I hope you all stayed safe and dry over these last few days and have plenty of help and support if you were caught up in it. Take it one day at a time and try not to get to overwhelmed. It's a daunting task but you will get through it. Please ask for help don't think you need to do it alone. There are a lot of people around for help and support. I've noticed there are many Facebook pages (this is the Murwillumbah one) going up with offers of support and information on what is happening in the area, maybe check there for your area if you are able.

Thanks everyone for your continued support of Rainbow Designs and if you do need any Easter gifts sending out now is the time to order (we are secure, he he) - remember to allow extra time for deliveries to rural and country areas as well as areas that have been affected by the floods. These areas may not have a delivery service for awhile so may just be delivered to the local post office or collection centres.

Jacqui ~ Rainbow Designs boss(y) and Easter egg hunt organiser for 2017