With Good Friday and Easter just around the corner, most of us are finishing the final preparations for either dinner, Easter egg hunt or some type of family activity. In my household, my parents would put together Easter baskets then hide them at night so in the morning we would wake up early and begin the hunt!

_Fortunately for us boys, the Easter Bunny knew just what we liked. So he would go easy on the jelly beans and heavy on the Cadbury eggs for me while doing the exact opposite for one of my younger siblings. Sweets and candy weren't the only things that came with our Easter baskets. In every basket was a stuffed animal. Mostly rabbits, but often ducks or turtles, from small to large, there was always one in each basket. Another favorite was a pail with a small plastic shovel and rake (which is great for filling with rocks, making sandcastles or mudpies with later). Other times there might be a pack of toy cars, plastic army men or even oversized chalk (that my dad LOVED to see us use on the sidewalk in front of the house!). There was also, always, an outfit – usually a pair of shorts and a shirt. These types of things can serve two purposes. First, they certainly last much longer than a chocolate bunny, but for children affected by food allergies, they can keep the baskets fun without the focus on candy.

_As we grew up and began families of our own we also started having an annual Easter Egg hunt. While there always were at least a dozen or two colored eggs, most of what was hidden were plastic eggs, and though no one in the family has food allergies, some of the things my mother did were a bit forward thinking in that regard.

_Starting from just a couple dozen and expanding to nearly three hundred, mom would purchase hollow plastic eggs in a variety of sizes and colors. Some would hold candy, like a small packet of jelly beans, individually wrapped chocolates or packets of sweet tarts (a favorite of mine). She would also fill many with a variety of other things, that while not the intention, were very food allergy friendly.

_Running around a massive three acre yard we would find colorful plastic eggs with stickers, rubber bouncy balls, or money. The ones with money were what we called the ‘jackpot eggs’. Filled with anywhere from fifty cents to a whopping two bucks, the older we got, the more these eggs became priceless to us. Another fun idea is to put tickets in the eggs. Number the tickets to match with a corresponding, larger, prize that will prolong the anticipation. They could be redeemable or things like a larger stuffed animal, an inexpensive pair of earrings, an iTunes gift card or even events like a couple hours of bowling or roller skating.

_Though we didn't do this, before the event, you can have the children help you decorate the eggs. In reality you can get as extravagant as you want, from using simple stickers to going as far as hot gluing beads or other decorations on each egg. Ribbon or paints can also be used. For real eggs, you can fall back on the trusty Paas coloring kit or even use packets of Kool-Aid to dye the eggs. (Oh, and PLEASE make sure you boil them first! You or your child will only make this mistake, once.) Again though, for children with food allergies, the plastic, or even a purely decorative wooden egg, is likely your best bet to avoid and potential problems.

_If you put on your own Easter egg hunt, here's a few tips, coming from years of experience. There are easy hiding spots as well as more difficult ones, so cater to your age ranges. By placing as much or more emphasis on things OTHER than food and candy, you can subtly make the event more inclusive for all kids. Lastly, don't let things get too big. Even with six to twelve kids searching, three hundred eggs is… a bit much. If you don't keep track of exactly how many you had to start with, you might have another annual experience that we had, finding them with the lawn mower a few weeks later.

_There is nothing quite like hearing the audible change in the sound of the mower as you buzz through a plastic egg, or watch the contents spew out of the mower into a thousand little slivers (particularly when it is a George Washington that was obliterated). Nearly as bad, if not worse, when you hit one of the real, boiled eggs, after it had been sitting in the yard for three weeks.

_For many people, Easter is much like other holidays in that a big part of it is gathering with family or friends. While things like food allergies shouldn't be completely ignored, they do not have to dampen the fun. There are a variety of easy ways to be more inclusive and to ensure all the children and adults involved have an enjoyable time!

_Author: Kevin Gilmore