Hunts
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Parties that involve hunts are so much fun!
These games all involve searching for a treasure, one way or another.
Select a game and make sure you tailor it to the age of your guests, whether young or old.
Make the items you are searching for related to your party theme. Kids can enjoy looing for the party favors themselves!
Scavenger Hunt
This is a really popular idea from the tween party years thru adult.
You are in luck because this website has lots of information about this fun party idea! We've even included lists of scavenger hunt clues for your party to get you started.
Visit our page devoted to Scavenger Ideas Clues
Treasure Hunts
Prepare clues for teams to follow such as writing the clue on a jigsaw puzzle that they must put together, a riddle, invisible ink, etc.
You can make getting the clue dependent on completing a task, like this visitor did with her Amazing Race Party.
For older kids, teens and adults, following a set of clues to a treasure can be a lot of fun. You'll want it to be challenging for the age group, but doable.
For small children, the best was to seek treasure works basically like searching for Easter eggs. While the children are distracted, have a helper hide the objects they’ll need to find around your party site. If you hide them before the party they can sometimes be found and moved or played with, making them impossible to find when the time comes. Show the kids what the object that they will be looking for looks like and then have them go collecting! You might specify “one per kid”, or “three per kid”. That way one child won’t take a bunch, leaving none for another child to find. Always hide a few extra for those that are hard to find. Ideas of treasures to find are Goody Bags or theme related objects – For example, at a Dinosaur party, kids could search for dinosaur figurines.
Go to more ideas for Treasure Hunts
String Maze
To make a string maze, you’ll need several skeins of yarn in different colors. This is very time consuming to set up but fun to do! You’ll need to set it up in an area away from the rest of your party, because you won’t be able to use this area at all until this party activity is over!
To set up, make a starting point for a string of yarn. Then thread the yarn all over the available area. Loop around, over and under objects, with a note or prize at the end. Create a string of yarn that loops around for each player. You don’t have to have a different color of yarn for each player, but it is nice to at least have a few different colors to help players be able to tell their strings apart from each other.
Geocaching
Using geocaching, you can create your own searching fun. Geocaching is using GPS devices in public places to find hidden boxes that contain logbooks and small treasures. You can follow official ones (make sure the hidden box is still there though - nothing more disappointing than looking for it and not being able to find it) or create your own, giving the GPS coordinates and having everyone find your clues.
Sandbox Hunt
This idea is a very popular activity or game at a little kid birthday party. If you have a sand box available, hide theme related objects in the sand and let the kids seek them. For example, at a princess party, you could hide plastic jewels.
Don’t have a sand box? Fill a tub with sand or rice. You might want to limit the number of items each child can find (such as three). If you have a large number of children let them take turns, just a few at a time, or set up this game as a “station” to be done when other “stations” are being played, such as some Target Games.
Treasure Stones
Treasure stones are "stones" that you make with a treasure inside.
To create a batch, wrap your “treasure” inside tissue paper, then aluminum foil, then coat it with plaster of Paris and allow to dry on wax paper. After dry, paint as you wish.
Another recipe for Treasure Stones is to combine 1 cup flour, 1 cup used dry coffee grounds, 1/2 cup salt, 1/4 cup sand, then stir while slowly adding 3/4 cup water until the mixture forms a dough. Roll dough into a ball, with the toy or treasure inserted into the center. Place on a baking sheet in a 170 degree oven for 40 minutes. Cool completely before handling.
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