30 Things to Hide in Easter Eggs Besides Candy

Hip2Save may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you via trusted partners and affiliate links in this post. Prices and availability are accurate as of time posted. Read our full disclosure policy here.

Easter Egg Non Food Filler Ideas

Do you get tired of filling all those baskets with candy? If so, here are dozens of other fun and frugal items you can use to fill up those Easter Eggs! I know my kids love it when I come up with new and clever ideas. Here are some fun ideas I’ve found for this year that I wanted to share with you!


30 things to hide in Easter Eggs besides candy:

  • Chuck E. Cheese coins
  • Hair Bands/Hair Bows
  • Play-doh Eggs (purchase at stores like Target and Walmart)
  • Crayons
  • Seeds to grow flowers in the Spring

mini nail polish for easter egg filler

  • Erasers
  • Stickers
  • Chapstick
  • Mini nail polish
  • LEGOS
  • Earrings/rings/bracelets
  • Coupons for “fun” things to do together
  • Little plastic dinosaurs and/or chicks

healthy snacks for easter eggs

  • Goldfish
  • Fruit snacks and yogurt covered raisins
  • Tattoos/stickers
  • Bouncy balls
  • Balloons
  • Mini glow sticks
  • Small container of bubbles

Small toys, cars, and glow sticks for Easter Eggs

  • Money/lottery tickets
  • Plastic army men
  • Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars
  • Squinkies
  • Silly Putty

Bubbles, Earings, and bows as Easter Egg Filler

  • Mini carrots
  • Puzzle pieces
  • Fun shoelaces
  • Rainbow Loom loops
  • Directions to the prize egg

As you can see, there are dozens of fun ideas if you want to avoid giving candy treats this Spring. Regardless what you fill those baskets with, the memories count most, so get out and enjoy! Happy Easter!


What do you add to your Easter Eggs?

Let us know in the comments below!


 Lina (lina@hip2save.com) loves cooking new recipes, thrift store shopping, and DIY home decor projects. 

Make this super cute Peeps house for Easter!

Join The Discussion

Comments 79

  1. Heather C.

    oh my goodness- WHY didn’t I think of this? I have two tween girls, and I was thinking they were getting too old for egg hunting. These ideas are FANTASTIC! THANKS ;o)

    • Collin (Mrs. Hip)

      You are so welcome! 🙂

  2. Tobey

    I have done this for years. I also put stickers in them. Very inexpensive ( less than the cost if candy). The daycare and schools prefer less candy. I also do stampers. You can buy thus stuff on clearance the year before since they don’t have an expiration date.

  3. Sabina B

    I know my daughter would love to find itunes card.

  4. Cara

    The year my daughter was 2 I filled them with cheddar bunnies — she would stop, open one, eat all the cheddar bunnies and then move on;)
    I can’t wait to see what my 14 month old does with the same idea this year.
    We do an Easter egg hunt with our neighbors — each family brings 12-24 filled eggs and most are filled with non-candy items. It’s so fun for the kids to get a variety of things — a local store has an incredible selection of fun little prizes like that for 5 cents each!

  5. visitor3

    My family would mix in some religious items – maybe stock up at the Christian book store, or print out some bible verses on cute paper, suitable for posting or using as bookmarks.

  6. Rachel

    For my kids who are older but still have fun looking for Easter eggs I put change in the eggs!

    • Heather C.

      My aunt does this for my kids….they LOVE it! What kid doesn’t like cash?

  7. Casey

    I’m doing cheddar bunnies this year for sure. It’s our 3rd egg hunt at daycare and they get too much candy every year!

  8. Verline

    Use gold coin dollars as the paper ones get mowed down and are no longer dollars if they are not found. You could put numbers inside eggs on paper. Then unisex prizes you have numbered to go with the numbered eggs. This could include games, toys, kites, cds, and so forth. Just make a numbered list of the prizes on a paper or computer.
    Adults could have crafty stuff, even Christmas ornaments and things like sample products you get and don’t want to use….number system…..like this for an adult hunt. My aunt does this for her corn roasts, reunions, and other invites to her house. Fun!! You could do elders go first for awhile and then the younger ones get to run a few minutes laterYou could use glow sticks for a night hunt in finding the eggs as well.
    .

  9. Amanda

    My grandpa always put money in the eggs. Nothing better then money!

    • Stephanie

      My uncle did this, as well! Every Saturday before Easter we all went to his house. He had two age groups. He saved ALL his change from the year just for this. We all left with at least $50 to our name. 🙂

      • Heather C.

        Wowzers- what a generous uncle!!

  10. Pam

    Character band-aids are always in our eggs. This year I’m going to stuff cute underwear/panties in large eggs for my Tweens.

    • Pam

      Also doing earrings this year.

  11. Nicole

    We put a few “rotten eggs” out each year, with a chore the child has to complete (loading dishwasher, vacuuming, etc) muahahaha!!!!

    • M

      Love it!!!

      • Ashley57

        That is amazing! lol

    • Rachel

      Hahaha awesome !!!!

      • jessika

        Omg this is hilarious! Genius idea 🙂 I’m laughing so hard right now picturing it!

    • J

      Would I be wrong to put all “rotten eggs” out lol..just kidding! Love the idea though!

    • Heather C.

      ROFL!! This is just beyond smart…..I think I need to prepare my kids for this in advance, though. It reminds me of the “biggest loser” where they have food challenges and sometimes there are calories they must eat and other times they get great cash & prizes. I think I have a reserved son who would just forego the egg hunt altogether.

    • Dorothy

      I LOVE IT! I’m going to put out some rotten eggs! Do you put the note in a certain color egg?

    • Sonya

      That’d be depressing!

    • nikki

      bahaha love the “rotten” egg idea. we have a large egg hunt with quite a few kids. I think I will do activities like you must do 15 jumping jacks, or crab walk to the end of the drive way, maybe balance a plasticegg on your head for 5 seconds ect….

  12. Jean

    My 5 year old daughter loves those fake gold treasure coins so I plan to use those this year. I love the idea of avoiding the candy this year so I plan to use a few of these other ideas too.

  13. Michelle

    I got some multi-sized sparkling “diamonds” on clearance at a party supply. Some people scatter them on tables for wedding decor. I decided to hide them in the eggs this year along with an assortment of polished rocks my daughters loved when they were younger. Large rhinestones would work also. All girls at our Easter egg hunt, so they should love them!

    • Jean

      My daughter would go crazy for those fake diamonds. Thanks for the idea! I’m going to look for some.

  14. Lynne

    My 4 yo was thrilled last year to find an egg that grandma had filled with pennies….she thought she had hit the jackpot…all 25 or so pennies! She also got things like dress up jewelry (target dollar spot) some seeds to plant in our garden, goldfish crackers, and of course a few with candy. My daycare kids we do an Easter egg hunt lunch. Each kid get a color assigned to them and I have eggs hidden around the kitchen/dining room with lunch….cheese, crackers, grapes, carrots, anything you can cut to fit inside. They loved it…each got an egg carton to sit the eggs in to eat from.

    • Toria

      LOVE your Easter egg lunch idea! I’m totally stealing that—my 2, 4, and 6 year olds will just love that! Thank you!!!

  15. Em

    Love this. We celebrate non religious Easter (well, we talk about why people celebrate Easter, and generally attend a Christian service to learn, but we don’t necessarily partake in the religious part) so it’s nice to find none Bibleish things to do

    • kiz

      what is Non religious Easter?? Christ arose from the grave, you can go to heaven if you believe this, and if it weren’t for Him, there would be no Easter! He loves you!

  16. Kristi S.

    Where did you find the “spring” yogurt raisins? My 4 year old would love these! They’re a little bit better than candy, right? LOL

    • Mel

      Target has them in their Easter section

      • Debbie

        and with the raisins/dried fruit

  17. Natasha

    My mom and dad would always put change in the eggs. Sometimes it would be only a couple cents and sometimes it would be more than a dollar. They would also put out a couple eggs with coupons in them like “you get to pick dinner” or “no chores for one week”. It was so much fun! We were doing egg hunts til we were in our late teens! Lol

  18. Rachel

    My mother in law uses the real eggs that are colored and tapes change to them each kid ends up with give or 6 bucks then I take my kids to the dollar store

  19. Mil

    Stickers, crafts (like stretchy string and beads to make ur own jewelry), keychain, Easter print socks, mini body wash, fun magnets, mini rice Krispy pack, mini pop tarts crisps,

  20. sarah

    I’ve done character socks one year. My 8 year old always talks about getting buzz light year socks. He was 3 at the time.

  21. Rachel

    Pinterest has DIY silly putty and play dough that I’m doing. Goldfish crackers fir done eggs and eggs with trip to the zoo etc candy too

  22. Pat

    I also roll up with a pretty ribbon a letter from the Easter Bunny along with coloring pages for them to color when they get all tuckered out.

  23. Karen

    I do money. Pennies, nickles and dimes mostly. There are three “special” eggs (I have 3 kids) that have a $1 bill in them. They each can only have one of the special eggs so if they find two they have to leave one (I marked them with polka dots). The kids love it! When I was young we had an egg hunt at my grandmothers and they put chocolate in the eggs. It was afternoon, the sun was out, and we were all in nice clothes. The younger cousins were covered in melted chocolate, dresses were ruined and that was the end of the egg hunts! That’s why I chose change! The kids never leave it laying around and I don’t have to pick it up! 🙂

  24. Heidi

    My friends have a hunt just for the adults, they had airplane sized bottles of liquor 🙂

    • Stephanie

      Love this! Sounds like fun

  25. Heather

    I put coins (except pennies) in most eggs, some have dollars and the golden egg has $5. When the kids are done they come inside and can use their money to buy stuff from the “Easter Store”. I decorate the dining room table and cover it with all kinds of snacks,little toys, candy and a few larger items like coloring books, movies, ect (things Collin has helped me stash away for cheap) This way the kids pick what they want and what isn’t purchased gets returned. Everyone is happy 🙂 the kids really loved it

  26. Samantha

    Gift certificates from the local ice cream store for a free cone. If u live where it’s hit put the candy in the refrigerator before putting it outside.

  27. Jenn

    Since my kids have gotten a little older we have an Easter scavenger hunt. I write out cute clues and they have to search for their Easter loot! They look forward to it every year:)

  28. jennifer

    For tween girls and adults find an Avon or Mary Kay rep and get some new makeup or perfume samples to try.

    • Audrey

      Your comment reminds me of those cute little lipsticks Avon once gave away in the 70s. Maybe they still do???? My aunt was an Avon Lady and she always gave me tons of those. I love her still!!!

  29. MommySpendsLess

    Most of the treasures for my daughter’s eggs came from clearance deals last year. I snagged a big package of Squinkies from Target.com for $2.XX and colorful heart shaped rings, silly socks and stickers from Vallentine’s Day clearance. I got candy from CVS and Walgreens when it was super cheap so some had candy as well. I also included one of those big blow-up punching balls (they’re always cheap but Walgreens usually has them like 6/$1 around Christmas). One egg had a dollar and another had coins. When she was a toddler I filled eggs with brightly colored, sugary cereal that she normally doesn’t get (like Fruit Loops).

  30. LauraL

    Just look at Oriental trading on-line. They have tons of small things to fill eggs.

  31. jen dorn

    cute fun socks are a hit at our house

  32. Beck

    I got some mini Transformers from Five Below to put in the eggs. My son is obsessed.

  33. Leah

    We are putting a nerf gun in our son’s basket and hiding eggs filled with the ammo (we’ll also probably do some candy, but mostly ammo).

  34. Steph

    I never really have stressed over this and didn’t realize I was supposed to! We hide dyed hard-boiled eggs! They’re biodegradable and don’t have to be filled. 🙂 That’s the way we did it as a kid, and my kids don’t know any different!

    • Suzanne

      Me too! I wish times were simpler 🙂

    • snoopymom

      Ditto!

    • Stephanie

      We do too. I have about 8 plastic eggs I use year after year for their Easter morning baskets but we color eggs to hide. They love it just the same and I’m not stuck buying a bunch of stuff they don’t need/want. I do buy some things for their baskets but no where near as many as I’d need to fill plastic eggs.

    • Sonya

      Boring.

    • Jessica

      We dye hard boiled eggs and hide them in the house for the kids to find in the morning. Then we have family over in the afternoon for lunch and we always hide plastic eggs outside for the kids to find. Usually we fill them with change or a dollar bill or two. The kids love getting money and it gives them something to look forward to later in the day. Its a cheap thrill and I love watching my kids chase each other for the eggs.

    • visitor3

      Then there was the year that it rained on Easter so the egg hunt moved indoors. Real hard boiled eggs. Except that one was missing. For days, then a week, and maybe longer, I can’t remember. But the stench was awful. Finally found it lurking in the living room.

      • Steph

        One reason that boiled eggs are NEVER boring. 😉

  35. Dorothy

    We hid puzzle pieces in some of the plastic eggs and when the kids get done finding eggs they all put the puzzle together. Just make sure all the eggs gets found and none of the eggs open outside. I need some ideas for a easter basket for a 6month old baby girl. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks

    • dopey396

      When my son was that age, we filled his Easter basket with the Gerber puffs, yogurt melts, Cheerios and fun feeding stuff like sippy cups and plates. We also put a bathing suit in his basket. Maybe a fun summer hat or sunglasses would be good for her. A small stuffed bunny, a kids music CD or a book would be good too.

    • Mer

      Sunglasses, swimsuits, sunhat, diapers, lotion, shampoo, gerber puffs, mum mums

    • Laura

      Any practical stuff she needs…socks, pacis, bibs, bath toys

  36. Katie

    The “kids in my family”- we cousins now range from 17 to 29- still enjoying egg hunts at grandmas, just like old times 🙂 last year I used my stockpile and the eggs had “coupons” for them to pick out toothbrushes, soap, shampoo, razors, toothpaste, deodorant, etc that I had bought with coupons! We had a blast!

  37. Teresa

    Thanks for all the great ideas. Half of the stuff for our hunt was hard boiled eggs before. I was trying to figure out some things since my 18 mo old is highly allergic to eggs.

  38. jennifer

    I always use the exact same easter basket year after year. It just a plain basket and each year after the kids play with the stuff for awhile I find the baskets and the grass stuff it in a plastic bag high in the closet and by next year they can’t remember what the basket even looked like, lol. Refill with brand new bright contents and its new all over again.

  39. Jaime

    I put papers with numbers on them. When they get inside the boxes are wrapped and numbered. Everyone only gets one number. So they get a prize….but they don’t know what it is!

  40. Ryan

    My son likes collecting coins so last year we bought a state quarter collector map/folder for the Easter basket and a bunch of uncirculated state quarters to hide in the eggs to get him started. That was a good way to sneak in a geography lesson and it took us almost a year to fill the rest of the book. He’d get so excited throughout the year every time he found another quarter for his collection. We also hid other coins like a steel wheat penny and presidential dollars (good history lessons). This year, I like the puzzle pieces idea above but I think maybe I’ll write a message or draw a map on the back that leads him to a final gift or maybe even the actual Easter basket.

    • Mary Sue Bowling

      How old was your son when you started this state quarter collector map?

  41. Leanne

    I have college age daughters and they still hunt!! I put “gift certificates” in them. I don’t see them as much as I’d like, so I put in–New pair of shoes, New shirt, pedicure, etc., more expensive, but I get to pamper them from afar.

    • Julie

      That’s adorable! I will totally be that kind of mom when my kids are older 🙂

  42. Angie

    I would add ” fun” band aids to the list. 🙂

  43. Charolette Ragsdale

    Put a bible verse in each egg that shares the story of Jesus Christ.

  44. Brandy

    Pics of the adults. When u get a pic u find that person and say Jesus loves u and so do I and give them a big bear hug. It gets everybody involved. And kids and adults LOVE it equally

  45. Nicole

    Our 14 year old daughter made her First communion last may and her required communion outfit was given to her in numerous boxes on easter sunday! Her poofy communion dress was in a big box that was hidden behind the couch,her veil was hidden in the dining room,her lace socks and white shoes were hidden in another box,her under shirt in a small box and her cloth diaper and rubberpants were in another box! She was quite excited!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

It's not your Grandma's coupon site!

Sign up for a Hip2Save account (it's free) to access all of the awesome features!

Forgot Password?

Don't have an account? Register

Forgot Password

Don't have an account? Register

Become a Hip2Save Insider

Don't Miss Out! Join our large community of insiders - it's totally free! Once you join, you'll be able to save & share your favorite deals, rate posts and recipes and add items to your HipList and Cookbook! What are ya waiting for?!



Already have an account? Login

Thank you for rating!

Would you also like to leave us a comment?