By Owen Winter

Treasure Hunt...

Make a Birthday (or any reason for a gift) into a fun time for all…… First the short simple version:- Put a clue in a Birthday card that leads to another clue, then another clue, until eventually they find the presant..just like a real treasure hunt. For the finer points ..read on….

For many years I have not GIVEN Birthday or Christmas presents to my children, instead they receive their Celebration card and in the card is a simple clue written on a piece of paper. (Depending on the age and ability of the birthday child would depend on the clue they receive).

The general idea is to play treasure hunt on whatever scale you feel the recipient can manage...E.g. Young children from 4 to 10 would probably be restricted to the house and garden. Teenagers may like to travel to local malls or shops..for adults unless you have a rocket to play with ..the world is big enough!!

This Idea works like this. Get a piece of paper and a marker pen and think of areas where you could put a clue that will direct them to another clue....e.g.. Clue--- “Where does Buzz light year go when the play room is tidy?” The answer is "the toy box" When they figure that out, tell them there is another clue in the toy box. They now go to the toy box and find a clue (may be fixed to Buzz Lightyear) it could say "where do you store your bike??" The answer could well be the shed or garage...so the child goes to the shed or where ever the bike is stored and there, fixed to the bike, is another clue.

The Treasure hunter will enjoy this much more than just getting the present given to them. Try it yourself( do a dummy run with your partner and see what fun it is).I suggest making the treasure hunter work a bit so why not put the first clue down stairs and the second one up stairs and then the third one in the garage..think of two places a long way from each other then watch and enjoy as your treasure hunter runs around the place looking for the next clue! After four of 5 clues (or more if you like, sometimes a clue could send them to the fridge for an Ice cream..then they find a clue fixed to the ice cream!). They eventually find the present that you may have hidden in a draw or under the settee.

Some clues can be tricky so you may have to give hints or tips. This could take the form of the game “charades” where you can give a clue, but you can’t speak, you only give signs. Writing the clue is especially suited to personal family jokes or Information i.e. Clue:- “This is where the item that Granny broke last Christmas used to be”....may be she broke the vase on the fireplace, so they go to the fireplace where the vase used to be and find a clue there. (for an adult version, I guess you could hide the clues about your person! I shall say no more on that!!)

There are many variations on this simple Idea, for example... for teenagers this can be made into your major party game. Your clues could suggest they go to a few local shops or places of interest. The way that works is to select the places you think would be good to visit (may be you know the shopkeeper or assistant there) and deposit a clue in a brightly coloured envelope with the shopkeeper or assistant at each place. When preparing for the treasure hunt, just go to the selected place and explain you have a treasure hunt for a party game and would they mind if the their establishment was a place for a clue to be kept? (I find giving the assistant a few bucks as a tip is a good way to get it two work smoothly).

If the assistant agrees check they know what your treasure hunter looks like and give them a password that the treasure hunter must say before they receive the clue envelope. Tell them an approximate time (and day) that your treasure hunter should arrive. When the treasure hunter arrives they ask for the password (which was on the previous clue), if it is correct handover the clue. Once, in a candy shop, I pre paid for six packets of candy, this way, when my lad and his mates came in, they got a packet of candy as well as the clue...

As for the clues themselves write them in big letters on a sheet of A4 or A5 as you may have quite a few people in the treasure hunt party all wanting to read the same clue. The bigger and brighter the envelope you put the clue in , the better! (I tend to keep all the envelopes the same size and colour, this helps with continuity and is an assurance they are getting the correct envelope) . you can make the treasure hunters work out the location of the next clue with a word game. An anogram of GOD has the clue under their food bowl… You can really put some work in and bury a clue in a box or a bag, may be in the garden or even a public place like a beach or under some stones in a park. The places to hide the clues are endless..as the envelope has no value as such they should not be stolen if you hide them well.

How do they get around? they could all be on their bikes or you can say you will be the driver..that way you can enjoy the fun, they get to be the back seat driver and keep you can an eye on them all.

Have fun

This fun family idea is brought to you by Owen Winter

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