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10 Tips for a Gift Giving Treasure Hunt

Sometimes a simple spin can turn a special activity into a memory making one!

During the parties I run, I love to have the children search for pre-hidden loot
bags, wands, treats, etc.  This twist on a little gift giving activity is so special to
children.  As soon as I mention “treasure hunt”, the children are oooing and
awing.  Now giving out a little take home gift becomes an activity!

10 Tips for a Gift Giving Treasure Hunt

There are several tips I can give you that can really make this fail proof:

  • Use a little magic by saying that a little birdie told you that some special friends (superheros, fairies, etc) were zooming by and hid some treats!
  • Ahead of time, draw up a simple map for yourself and record where the treats are hidden!  In the excitement (or stress) it can be easy to forget!
  • Hide these items in a room where people aren’t coming in and out of (a spare bedroom, basement or sunroom).
  • Contain the hunt to one room for young children.
  • For older children, make them look a little harder!  One example would be to look for the treat that has their name printed on it.
  • Remind the children to be safe and not run!
  • Every child gets one treat.  Once you find it, you’re done.  Let the others find their own treat, too (unless they’re very little, scared or shy).
  • Make the items in the bags equal or the same.  Great items for this are pencils, stickers, tattoos, notebooks, bracelets or juice boxes.
  • If you have made gender specific treats, then hide half the treats on one side and the rest on the other side!  This will get rid of all the confusion!

Use this Gift Giving treasure hunt for stockings, one special gift or a special letter!

It really doesn’t take very much work to make things into a memory!  A little
thought and a bit of organization is the key.  It doesn’t have to cost more, in
fact it can actually cost less!

Do you have any fun activities that you do to make memories?

Cindy Despins is the founder of dressupandplayparties.com.  As a stay at home mother of 2, she loves to provide her children with opportunities to play, be creative and learn.  She loves to share these ideas with other children and help parents out with her birthday party packages.

Anne Younger

Monday 3rd of December 2012

I love treasure hunt parties!!!

Ronni Keller

Sunday 2nd of December 2012

That sounds like such a fun idea!! Next b-day here I'm totally doing that!

Cindy

Monday 3rd of December 2012

It's an easy thing to do!

Mallery Schuplin

Sunday 2nd of December 2012

Awesome tips! I loved treasure hunts when I was a kid and Michael will be old enough before I know it!

Cindy

Monday 3rd of December 2012

Sometimes I ask parents to help me by hiding the gifts for me. Often they will run off and stuff them up into a cupboard. I have to stop them and say, no no, hide them in different spots to look for them. Oh, I get it, they say. It's so funny!

Gena

Sunday 2nd of December 2012

This is so sweet! Great tips!

Cindy

Monday 3rd of December 2012

I hope you have fun with it!

Brett

Sunday 2nd of December 2012

What a SUPER creative, fun idea- thats so little work and so much fun! My kids are semi-obsessed with treasure hunting so they'd love this.

Cindy

Monday 3rd of December 2012

Great! Let me know how it goes!