I love traditions! As Easter approaches, I’ve been thinking about our family traditions and what will have to change this year. Fortunately, we are able to read the Bible story of Easter and celebrate the resurrection of our Savior no matter where we are or who we are with. Thanks to the internet, we can also join with others and not miss out on church. We can even continue baskets and our bunny hop down the hallway, ending with a search for over 600 chocolate eggs (Don’t judge – it’s a tradition so we have an excuse.)
I have been feeling disappointed, though, that we won’t be able to have our usual extended large family party. I’ll miss our huge outdoor egg hunt, the catching-up conversations, photo ops, cousins and uncles sound asleep on the couches after food-induced comas, laughter, and hugs. I’ll especially miss the hugs. We may have to postpone the big group festivities, but we can still enjoy the day with family quarantined together and look forward to our big gathering later in the year.
I am excited this year that I get to spend Easter with my college kids who usually aren’t home. I asked if they had any ideas about what fun thing we could do in place of our outdoor egg hunt (the only way to get jelly beans is if you participate) and they came up with Huckle Buckle Jellybeanstalk. Perfect! When they were little, we would play Huckle Buckle Beanstalk frequently. With a little spin on it, this is how we will be playing this year. I wanted to share in case your family could use a fun new thing to do this year. It's fun for all ages! My Mama heart is excited to play with hubby, teen, and young adult "kids."
GAME PLAY:
The first person to go will hide enough jellybean-filled eggs for the rest of the family. Put money in one of the eggs from each round for some extra fun. I put the eggs from each round into a bag for each hider to pick up when it’s their turn, so nobody will know which eggs have the money by holding or shaking them.
Once an egg is spotted, the person who saw it should quickly (and stealthily) go to a designated chair and sit in it and yell, “Huckle Buckle Jellybeanstalk!” That person must go get the egg they found and may then continue to look for any unfound eggs with the rest of the group.
Once all eggs from a round have been found, the first person to claim an egg is the next hider and the next round begins. Take turns hiding so everyone has a turn to hide eggs.
GAME RULES:
Part of the egg MUST be showing and nothing should have to be moved to see it. Seekers may have to stand on stools or get down on the floor to look, but they shouldn’t have to open drawers or touch anything in order to see an egg.
It is okay for any person to find more than one egg per round, but they must go to the chair and yell, “Huckle Buckle Jellybeanstalk” then pick up the egg they found BEFORE looking for another egg.
Whoever SITS and yells, “Huckle Buckle Jellybeanstalk” is the one who wins it—if they can go pick it up from its hidden spot. So, if somebody sees an egg and gets excited and yells or starts running, somebody standing closer to the chair might then see it, too, and sit first. It’s not always the person who finds it first who wins it. It’s the person who sits and yells first.
Whoever wins the egg, gets to keep the jellybeans or money in it.
Could this become our new tradition? Well, hopefully we won’t have to repeat the quarantine, but we can certainly make some fun memories and make the best of the current situation. Perhaps we will play it again next year...or next weekend if we need something to do.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."
1 Peter 1:3 NIV
