The President and First Lady have announced the White House Easter Egg Roll is back for 2025!
But…
You have to enter the lottery to see if you can get tickets.
The last day to enter is Monday, March 10th, 2025 so make sure to apply before it’s too late!
Source: White House
Our family had tried for a couple of years unsuccessfully before we got in. The online lottery for tickets opens roughly 6 weeks before Easter and lasts only a few days. Officially one entry per household is permitted but you can always have out of town family enter as well.
This event is a lot of fun for the kids as there are additional activities and is really geared for kids 13 and under.
Entering the Lottery
The lottery closes on Monday, March 10th, 2025 at 12pm EDT so make sure to enter right away.
To enter the lottery, you’ll need to visit the government’s recreation site here.
The lottery winners will be released on March 18th so make sure to check your email on that day to see if you’ve won. And make sure you check your spam folder just in case as that’s where our previous lottery email went.
The lottery is free to enter and there is no charge for the event. You can receive up to 6 tickets per family.
Once you are notified of your successful ticket bid you have a limited amount of time to officially claim your tickets. All tickets must be printed at home prior to the event.
Source: White House
The Day of the Event
On the day of the egg roll we took the metro downtown to arrive at the White House grounds prior to our noon timeslot. Our tickets read, “Doors open at 11:15”, which meant that they began security screening at that time for our “Group C” tickets. Security is very thorough and took a lot of surprising items including sunscreen, hand sanitizer and all reusable water bottles and coffee cups even if empty. Once through security you cue up a second time waiting to get into the official Easter Egg Roll grounds.
Weather plays a huge role in the enjoyment of this event. On a hot sunny day such as we had, kids and parents may be quicker to lose their patience with all of the crowds and waiting involved to get into the event. At the other extreme, a rainy day may cancel the event.
Activities at the Egg Roll
Aside from the traditional rolling of eggs with spoons in front of the White House (long line), there are many other activities that can be enjoyed here. This year there was egg dyeing, egg decorating, an obstacle course, craft area, hula hoop and dance party, story time, face painting and main stage entertainment. Most activities take place in the open sunny areas but there are large shade trees to take a break from the heat.
A huge hit for my kids was all of the storybook and PBS television characters who were there posing for pictures. We saw Madeline, Clifford, Super Why, Papa Smurf, Tiny from Dinosaur Train, Kung Fu Panda and Felix the Cat. Most people seemed to go towards the egg rolling area first so we found working backwards yielded smaller crowds. We did not luck out in seeing the First Family, but the Obamas do make an appearance each year, just not during each allotted session.
Be Prepared
Prepare your kids ahead of time that there will be a long wait to get in and many lines for the activities inside. Bring snacks and drinks to have while waiting in the security line and hold off on using the bathroom until you get inside if possible to avoid the port-a-potties outside.
Tickets are issued for 2 hour time blocks and they do shut down the activities 5 to 10 minutes before the time slot is up to start ushering people out of the grounds. Again, prepare your kids ahead of time that they will need to pick and choose activities since the timing system just does not allow families enough time to experience everything offered. The entire event seemed to be most successful for kids ages 5 and up. We saw many younger kids having meltdowns throughout our session from noon to 2pm.
Restrooms and drinks are available throughout the grounds of the Easter Egg Roll. The portable restrooms have flush toilets and sinks and changing tables in the women’s room. Cold water is distributed in several locations and a tap near the stage area enables you to refill the bottles as needed. T
Despite the warm day and the large crowds, our family really did enjoy our day on the White House lawn. The excitement at times seemed greater for the parents than the kids since many young visitor’s were not old enough to grasp the significance of the building they were playing in view of. My 5 and 6 year olds’ favorite activities were the egg rolling, the craft table, face painting and taking pictures with the characters.
Most of what they enjoyed could have been experienced at any spring festival but the pictures of them rolling eggs on the White House lawn will be a treasured family souvenir for years to come. If you are lucky enough to score tickets, GO! Just prepare yourselves and your family for a bit of organized chaos and a lot of waiting before the fun can begin.
