Hobbies And Interests
Family Treasure Hunt
Geocaching is a family-friendly activity. If you own a GPS, you simply input the coordinates and follow the directions to the loot. If you don't own a GPS, you'll need a compass and a map. This treasure hunt can take you on local excursions, but they are also offered all over the country. Treasure hunters who have found the cache before you will leave items in the box so content changes with every visit. Items can be local souvenirs, small toys or trinkets like key chains or inexpensive jewelry. When you find the "treasure" you can take something out, but you have to put something back in.
You can also organize a treasure hunt around the house. This works best when a birthday gift, a gift basket or a reward waits at the other end. Make a set amount of cards, no more than a dozen, each with a specific clue. If you feel creative, do this in the form of a poem. For instance, the first clue might be something like, "You sit on me at the table." The treasure hunter will follow each clue's directions which will lead to the next one. In the above example, the answer would be the hunter's chair. The next card would be lying on the chair. That card will lead to the next clue, in another room or possibly outdoors. The last clue will lead to the prize.
Birthday Party or Youth Group Treasure Hunt
Another idea with a different twist would be a scavenger hunt. With a Bigger and Better hunt, instead of writing down each item a team must find, you give each team a penny. The teams must then go door to door and ask for anything "bigger or better" than a penny. The resulting "treasures" can be a lot of fun. At the end of the event, you can decide how to divvy up the loot, or if you want to donate the items.
One last idea is a mall treasure hunt. Each team is given a certain amount of money ($5 to $10 per person) with instructions to buy the nicest items for the best price. After the hunt, each person can keep the gift they buy, or they can turn it into an extended hunt to see what they end up with at the close of the hunt. If they choose to do this option, have them sit in a circle with their treasures in front of them. One person starts and can choose any item from anyone else. The person who has a treasure stolen can then take an item from someone, but cannot steal their treasure back from the person who stole it from them. You can go around one time with each person getting a chance to choose, or you can go around several times, trading treasures each time.