Need to organise a treasure hunt for Dd's 10th birthday party How do I do it?

[sorrel]

I have a garden- not that big, a little wooden box with chocolate coins in it-ie THE TREASURE! Haven't a clue about what to do though- clues /teams/etc.
Can any one help!

[Whizzz]

I struck lucky in Woolies today - they were selling off coins - I assume ex valentines ones for 39p a bag. However they were red & silver & some had hearts on.

everyone knows that just what pirate dubloons look like

[sorrel]

hi dq i bought minehere
But neede about 6 bags of them as only about 10 coins in each.
Silly isn't it- you can get them evrywhere coming up to Xmas.

[dramaqueen72]

worth a look then! any one know where i can buy chocolate coins???????????????????????????

[Whizzz]

Its not a brithday party - just a summer party in the garden (hopefully). If it rains on Sat, we will postpone until next week.

But yes, Tesco is much cheaper than online
ours had pirate cutlasses, bunting, cups, plates, table covers, napkins, eye patches, map game & balloons !

[dramaqueen72]

oh might go and have a look then! tesco eh? well I never! how old is your birthday person?

[Whizzz]

Yes I trawled through all of those before settling on Partydelights.co.uk & ordering from there BUT then this morning DH went to Tesco & they have loads of cheaper stuff !!!Grrrrr

Plastic cutlasses 65p !!

[sorrel]

ooh and here

[sorrel]

oh whizz i found some lovely pirate stuff for my neice in May will find a link;
pirate stuff
and even more pirate stuff
I like the treasure chest pinata!

[Whizzz]

Glad all went well.
I'm just trawling the internet to find pirate party supplies for our party

[sorrel]

hi all. our treasure hunt went really well on saturday. We had a blue team and a red team and i gave them each 5 different clues- one leading on to another. both teams got the same last clue leading to the treasure. Thanks for all the wonderous clues written by team Mumsnet. great success.

[Whizzz]

I would do it all together but try & dish out the clues evenly. Let them run off to find the clue but then they should hand it to you & you can either read out the next clue or give them out in turn so they can take it in turns reading them out. That way one person doesn't take over the hunt !

have fun !
(I would love to be a kids party organiser !)

[dramaqueen72]

whizz THANKYOU!!- for heavens sake, write a website, book, or something on this, (theres nothing out there right now!!!) you have great ideas
one more question........... do i split the girls into 2 teams and race to find treasure? do i do it in pairs? or just all together? there wont be very many of them......

[Whizzz]

Your thanks and happy smiling faces are payment enough

Another good tip (from the Whizzz guide To Treasure Hunts) is to use a digital camera to take photos of where you will hide the clues. Then crop down the pics to make it harder to see what the pic is of. The wider the angle of pic, the easier the clue is to find !
Happy Hunting !

[dramaqueen72]

oh those are fabulous! thankyou so very very very much!
how much do I owe you??

[Whizzz]

How about these for a first attempt ? Any good?

behind a stone face :
Some stoney eyes are looking out
A clue is hidden here no doubt

basket ball hoop :
To score a basket is the aim
You need a ball for this game

top of baby swing :
You sit on here, go to and fro
You need to look on top I know

in garden umbrella/parasol :
A bit of shade to keep you cool
If you find the clue you are no fool

near orange roses :
A prickly flower but they smell sweet
The colour of fruit that you can eat

near fish pond :
These animals swim round and round
So quiet they don't make a sound

inside wooden playhouse :
Look inside a house of wood
You'll find a clue if you are good

'in' a newly cut hedge :
This hedge was big but its been cut
Another clue insides been put

[dramaqueen72]

thanks whizz! youre a star! am hiding them......
behind a stone face on garden fence
basket ball hoop
top of baby swing
in garden umbrella/parasol
near orange roses
near fish pond
inside wooden playhouse
'in' a newly cut hedge(used to be eight foot high now six!)

and i've already pinched a couple from this thread too.
was totally stuck at new ideas for small group of dds friends now much more excited at 10/11yrs arriving!

[lemonice]

They love these and ten is a really good age, and it takes more time for them to do than you think...hope it goes well

[Whizzz]

Yes - all clues catered for !
Just post where you are going to hide the clues & I'll certainly do my best !

[dramaqueen72]

these ar just so very clever, twiglett, whizz I'm impressed! if either of you can help me rustle up some more please let me know, i have a treasure hunt in the garden next weekend for my dd. and am stuck!

[sorrel]

thanks whizzz and twiglett. i have written out your clues in front of TV tonight. Dh thinks we should have 2 teams so now that i have( YOU have ) written the clues he will organise it.

only problem now is the weather. It's like december out there just now! pouring and cold. off to do a sundance with crossed fingers for Sat evening.
cheers!

[Whizzz]

Recycle Bin :
The things in here get used once more
If you lift the lid you'll find a clue I'm sure

Foxglove :
A sly brown creature might wear these
It's a tall pink plant that's as high as the trees (well almost!)

[Twiglett]

do you still need recycle bin and giant foxglove then?

[sorrel]

twiglett- i am so sorry i have been away from the computer as dh has been installing windows NT- very fancy and so much faster than my last operating system.I am back at last to discover your fantastic clues. You have been so busy and i am really grateful and impressed- sorry if you thought i had bogged off. All of your work is amazing and most appreciated.
Whizz thanks to yourself as well. I love it! was sort of dreading this BBQ but thanks to you i am feeling less weighed down by the prospect of trying to entertain 10-15 ( no. keeps growing) friends of dd in what might be a soggy garden.
We thought we would do an assault course too with two teams. Dh brought home 6 old tyres for that this evening( for stepping in or something). have BINGO cards on standby if there is horizontal sleet!
Many many thanks
PS was desperate for something and saw a 12 ft foxglove out the window

[Twiglett]

hanging basket

look up high and you just might see
amongst the flowers (plants? ivy?), a clue just like me

garden arch
'arch' your eyebrows, can you walk through me?
I'm hidden in the garden just look and see

giant foxglove!