Your child's birthday party is coming up soon and you have invited a few of his/her friends to celebrate at home. You would like to organise a treasure hunt for them so they can have fun and keep great memories of this day. In this blog post, I will give you my advice to plan a treasure hunt at home.
Step one : choose a theme
The theme is what will hold the game and the party together. It should also be reflected in other aspects than the game itself such as : the invitations, the decoration, even the food itself. It's better if you choose it with your child while making sure it's adapted to his/her age group. It should also suit you. Some of the very classical themes are : pirates, magicians, sleuths, princesses, spys, explorers etc.
Step two : find a story with a problem to solve
Make up some characters in relation with the theme you've chosen, and find which problem they will have to solve with the help of your child and his guests. For instance, it could be a fairy who is trying to go back home, or a detective who is looking for the thieve who stole your great grand-mother's jewels, or pirates looking for a famous treasure.
You need to find a simple problem that can be explained to the kids in one sentence. Don't try to make it too complicated unless they're older, otherwise you will loose their attention.
Then find a way to communicate this problem to them through a letter left by someone, a newspaper article, an audio file or a video that they will find at the beginning of the game.
Step three : make up the clues and challenges that the kids will have to solve and do
Come up with what will be the solution to the problem. For instance, the discovery of the treasure, of the secret scroll with the magic words or of the stolen jewel.
Then decide how many steps will be necessary to get there (between 4 and 6 depending on the age of the children).
Design each step. It must be made up of a physical test that will enable the kids to earn a piece of the final clue (meaning the sentence, the map or the puzzle that will lead them to the solution). They will then have to solve a clue that will lead them to the next step.
Here are some examples of physical tests : tug of war, sack race, obstacle course, musical chairs etc. And of simple clues that lead to the next step : rhymes, dot-to-dot sheets, messages that you can read in a mirror, mazes etc. You will find lots of resources on the web to help you with that.
Step four : design and hide the clues
Design the clues according to your theme : messages in a bottle for a pirate treasure hunt or old scrolls for a magician one. Try to be creative : some clues can be audio or video files, or they can be hard to reach (at the bottom of the swimming pool or hanging on a string above the trampoline).
Write down on a piece of paper all the steps, the physical tests that they need to do, and where each clue is hidden. Keep that paper with you on the day of the party.
My advice
On the day of the party, act as if you believe in the story. You can even dress up for the occasion. Play your part and ask the other adults to do the same, you will see that the children will be super happy to follow along with the story.
Don't hesitate to sum up regularly what the story is, what you are looking for, or even better ask the children to do it to see if they are following along.
Try to help them with a clue if they struggle too much. You don't want them to feel discouraged.
And don't design a treasure hunt that lasts forever. Four steps are more than enough for the younger kids.
And if you think after all that it will be too much work for you, you can check my Etsy shop to download printable birthday games with detailed instructions and printable clues.
Don't hesitate to comment below with your suggestions, it could help other parents !
Thanks for reading 😊
