The Ultimate Easter Egg Hunt

THE OBJECTIVE:  Find your jelly-belly jelly bean

THE CHALLENGE:  It could be hidden a-n-y-w-h-e-r-e

THE RULES: Anything taken apart must be put back together CORRECTLY

THE TOOLS: ladder, screwdriver, hammer, can opener… ect. and clues from other participants

THE REWARD: a dusty old jelly-belly and feeling of personal accomplishment

PARTICIPANTS 2010:

• Dan – ceiling chandelier jack • Bonnie – baking flour container • Frank – hollowed out raw egg  • Leah – Dirty Dancing MV •  Tim- on top of coat closet • Bert- hollowed out law book • Carrie – hall fire hydrant • Mike – taped to cupboard above sink • Krystin- rolled up in paper towel roll • Jessie- zipped into couch cushion  • Jill – sealed in a black olive can (my favorite)  • Cody- toilet seat fish nose • Jodi- taped above coat closet door frame (inside) • Dale – inside crisco container • Bobby- inside thermostat • Tony- above bathroom ceiling trap door • AJ- sealed in yogurt container • Charlee- taped to the back of mom’s quilted wall hanging • Brian- inside sewing room door handle  • Robin – freezer pees • Linda- floor lamp light socket  • Jake- window blinds pull string  • Pauline- taped inside guitar  • Tristan – taped behind fridge  • JD- under dish drying rack • Scotty- behind light switch cover

Our second year hunt was even better than the first.  Three dining room tables were pulled out into the hall to fill with various hot dishes, desserts, and entrees.  Dan and Bonnie walked over and revealed an entire tray full of sushi (half filled with halibut, half with shrimp), and Frank and Leah prepared a scrumptious ham for the occasion surrounded by a moat of grapes.  Not to mention aguduct (eskimo ice cream) and salmon from Jodi and Dale, potato salad, green bean casserole, mac and cheese, straw berries, jello, cranberry nut bread, and on and on.  Needless to say, no one went hungry.   Hmmm!

My favorite hidden jelly-bean: I steamed a can of black olives above boiling water until the label pealed nicely from the can without tearing.  Setting aside the label to reapply later on, I carried the toasty metal can with me into our apartment shop conveniently next door and drilled a jelly-bean sized hole in the center of the can (3/8 in worked just fine).  At this point, it is important to remember to drain the liquid out of the can, because it does leak (even through duct tape) and ruin your reapplied label.  After draining the can, slip the jelly bean inside the hole, duct tape the entrance, and use a fast drying super glue to re-attach the label (I needed to use a steamed off corn label having learned the draining lesson the hard way).  Voila!  A sneakily concealed jelly-belly jelly bean!

Luckily she only needed to open two cans before finding her egg...

Suggestions are welcome for jelly bean hiding locations in the 2011 Ultimate Easter Egg Hunt.