How to Throw an Easter Party the Entire Family Will Love

If you’re the Easter Bunny, you probably won’t need help planning an extraordinary shindig this Easter. However, if you’re not usually a party animal, a little inspiration could truly go a long way.

We know you’re busy hopping around from one activity to the next as the candy-sweet spring weather begins to float in, but we’re here to help! We’ve gathered up a basket full of Easter-themed ideas for decorations, treats, and activities for your Easter party this year. You’ll be collecting the smiles from your guests in no time.

Bunny Treats and Other Goodies

What’s more fun than goodies and treats for a special holiday? We can’t think of anything better than DIY bunny ear ice cream cones!

All you need is a tube of premade sugar cookie dough and some icing from your local grocery store. Take the tube out of the packaging and mold each cookie into a bunny ear shape and bake as instructed. You can add icing if you wish! Then, stick the cookies into a Joy Cone full of your favorite ice cream. All of a sudden you have what resembles the ears and tiny top of a bunny head poking above the top of your ice cream cone.

Another fun treat idea is an updated play on the idea of an Easter basket! Put a spin on the traditional basket by using enJOY-a-Bowls filled with egg-shaped treats. You can find all sorts of candies during the Easter season, from malt balls and cream-filled chocolate eggs to jelly beans and peanut butter cups shaped like eggs. Use your favorite twisted, licorice-type candy with both ends stuck into the bowl to form a handle.

For a healthier option, use Easter-themed cookie cutters to create fun fruit slices for your whole bunny nest. Use all shapes and sizes of cookie cutters to slice your favorite fruits into Easter-inspired shapes. Pair the fruit with an easy and delicious lemon dip, then use the leftovers for a smoothie!

More than Easter Baskets

There’s no doubt you’re thinking about Easter baskets for decorations. Why shouldn’t you? Just because baskets are traditional doesn’t mean they have to be boring! Let your baskets do double-duty as both a decoration and a take-home gift full of treats.

Pick a simple theme for each person on your list and swing by your local retail store for princess- or superhero-themed party favors to drop into each one. Pair the party favors (for whichever theme you like) with a few of each person’s favorite candies for a basket worth remembering.

To keep the cone theme running through your holiday party, try using them as part of your centerpiece! Buy a box of Joy Waffle or Sugar Cones, snag some of your favorite fresh flowers (or silk ones from a local craft store), and then grab a few rustic jars, funky glasses, or inexpensive small vases. Gently place a cone in each of your glass receptacles and fill with cut flowers. Arrange as many as you like for your table centerpiece or buffet decorations.

Another sweet-themed centerpiece to try requires a glass vase, a smaller vase (one that fits inside the other with a couple inches surrounding it), jelly beans, and flowers. Place the smaller vase inside the larger one, then fill the area between the two vases with the jelly beans. You can create layers of colors, a kaleidoscope of all the colors, or use one single color. Then fill the inside vase with water and place the cut flowers in the center vase. Your centerpiece will draw everyone’s attention and tap their sweet tooth at the same time.

Create craft paper bunny garlands to drape in doorways, across mantels, or from the ceiling. Snag your favorite colors of construction paper, a bunny-shaped cookie cutter, a hole punch, scissors, and some twine or string. Trace the cookie cutter onto the construction paper and use the scissors to cut out the shape. Use the hole punch to make holes in each bunny and string them together. Then find a place to let your creation hop to making your guests smile.

Hopping Good Ideas for Activities

So, your place is decorated, and you’ve got treats for the whole gang. Now, what will you do to stay busy? It’s Easter, so of course you can’t go wrong with some traditional activities, but let’s add some new ideas in with the old.

This time when you’re decorating eggs, why not try painting them instead of dying them? Get some water-washable paint and cover a table or countertop with an old tablecloth or newsprint. Snag a few paintbrushes from your local store and let everyone gather around while they paint their favorite shapes on eggs!

Once the paint is dry, you can use those eggs as part of a traditional Easter egg hunt. Have all the participants cover their eyes while someone (or a team of people) hides all the eggs. The hunter who finds the most wins!

For a fun twist, hide plastic eggs filled with change or small candies as “prize eggs” and make them worth double the points. You can also find battery-operated tea lights at your craft store and hide that in one plastic egg. The “grand prize” winner who finds it earns bragging rights for a whole year.

Tired of egg-themed activities? Fill a glass jar with some of your favorite treats and have your guests guess how many are inside. Whoever gets closest wins the whole jar. Try it with different sized jars, different sized treats, or add a bouncy ball to the middle to mess with your guests!

When the Party is Over

Everyone knows holiday moments with your friends and family are fleeting. Little ones grow up, quit being excited by egg hunts and bunnies, and then some of the magic of the holiday changes. Easter parties with fun and treats like this one will help make memories that last a lifetime.

We know you’ll snap tons of smartphone pics of people with their bunny cones and the cone flowers in the background. We’d love for you to share the Joy with us! In fact, share the pictures with us on Facebook or Instagram (@joyconeco) by using the hashtag #BringJoyHome. We can’t wait to see how you make your Easter traditions come alive!