I went to drop Tanner off at a birthday party two weeks ago but we arrived a bit early so I hung out and we kind of stayed off to the side as the party was being set up. There was a large delivery truck parked in front of the house with a few workers unloading items for the party. We watched as they wheeled in a snow cone machine, followed by a popcorn machine and then a massive BBQ grill. Lastly, they unloaded the dolly and proceeded to inflate one of the largest jumpy houses I have ever seen.
Just so we are clear, this was a party for 10 seven-year-old boys with most parents dropping their kids off and returning later for pick-up.
Honestly, as petty as it sounds, my initial thought was: “Tanner’s fortunate to have wealthy friends.”
My second thought was: “Is all this really necessary in order to have a successful birthday party?”
I will cut to my answer now: “No, I don’t really think so.”
Looking back on all the birthdays I ever had as a kid, I can’t think of one where I complained to my parents afterwards that I didn’t have fun. And the closest thing we had to a jumpy jump back then would have been a garbage bag full of air. If you gave me five of my best friends, a plate full of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, followed by a chocolate cake, it was guaranteed to be a great day.
So here we were just this last weekend and Tanner has yet another party to attend, only this time I was invited to be part of the “planning committee.” We mulled over the usual’s such as the jumpy jump, bowling, and even Chuck E. Cheese, but they all seem so overused for kids’ birthday parties. I wanted to come up with something different where the kids would be energized and have something fun to share with their parents about the party.
And then it came to me — a treasure hunt! Recently, I have taken some time while Tanner is in school, to walk the hills around our house and hide golf balls along the way. When I get home I make a map highlighting various key landmarks and using a series of X’s to represent the location of the treasure. When he is done with his homework we break out our ‘secret treasure map’ and hike the hills in search of buried treasure. He loves it and has no idea that he is getting great exercise at the same time!
So we went with the treasure hunt and it was a total success. We decided that finding ‘six treasures’ would be enough so earlier in the week we went to the Dollar Store and purchased $6 worth of items for each child. We had footballs, bubbles, glow sticks, party hats, a small toy truck and a small Nerf gun for each child.
I took six paper bags and loaded each with the various items. All six footballs in one bag, six bubbles in one bag, six glow sticks in a bag, etc. I then walked a path through the hills and hid a bag at six points along the way. Upon my return home, I created a map showing the local area and the ‘treasure path’ to follow. The locations and /or areas to search for treasure were marked by a star or asterisk.
This party was a lot of fun for the parents as well. It was a blast to see these kids so excited about what was about to happen. I talked it up and told the kids about the ‘secret maps’ and the hidden treasure they may find along the way. Their excitement was contagious. By the time I gave these kids the green light to go they were bursting at the seams and they were off, holding empty goody bags ready to be filled, on a mad dash up the street and into the hills.
We parents followed along just to make sure they didn’t get stuck on the map along the way but we found they were fine without us. It was great to watch them roam the hills as a pack searching for each treasure together. They ran up the hills and rolled down the other sides. They laughed together and worked hard as a team to find each treasure. It was very satisfying to watch.
Hey, I have nothing against a good jumpy jump, popcorn or snow cones. I love the fact that Tanner has opportunities to enjoy such things at birthday parties but I also liked to stay focused on the idea that it doesn’t always take a lot of money spent to keep kids happy and entertained.
For under $40 and a hand-drawn map we entertained six kids for a few of hours, and when it was over, they were asking when they could come back and do it again. Now, in my book, that is a Happy Birthday!
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{ 23 comments }
This is really a creative way to save money. I don't think you have to spend loads of money on themed birthday parties.
There's another great "how to" for a treasure hunt party at instructables.com (though this was a great writeup). We tend to do a 50's party for my kid – music, sock-hopping, hot dogs (maybe burgers), soda and milkshake orders, and cake. No presents – we ask for donations for our local food pantry. We ask them first what they most need and just request that or generic items like cereal as donations. Our kid then brings the donations to the food pantry soon after that. The party is the gift and the kids have a blast. We like to sleep after that, though.
Great idea for a treasure hunt party, though. A bit more work up front, but it sounds like a bunch of fun.
We did one for my son last year…the theme was Indiana Jones. We turned our yard into a treasure hunt, compete w/neighbors acting as angry natives.
I think the themed parties are fun. you don't have to spend a lot of money just a lot of imagination and fun…
Cute idea, I wouldn't want to have to plan it though
I've never had or been to a treasure hunt birthday party. But, I will definitely keep this idea in mind when I plan for my son's birthdays in the future.
Love it!
Once I did something like this for my then husband. It took a lot of planning. I left him a rose and a note and then left. The note said for him to shower and change and wait for a call. I had someone else call him…to add to the mystery. They told him where to go, I sent him to a bar where a bartender had the next note (and a cocktail), I sent him to find notes under rocks. I sent him here and there…saying things like "go 2.5 miles to the east and then look for the building with the red sign and go inside and find someone named Cindy".
It was great fun. At the end…he found me.
He might not be so happy with that prize now….LOL. But at the time he was.
My son’s pirate-themed party a few years back was one of the best he ever had, and one of the least expensive for us. We bought pirate backs at the dollar tree, made peanut butter and baloney sandwiches with chips and a homemade birthday cake. We used crepe paper to “rope” off the patio (which was the ship). We purchased an inflatable parrot and sword (about $5 for both) and hung them up. The yard was the island where secret treasure was buried. The children received an easy to read treasure map with clues. Each one found a bag of loot, candy gold coins, etc. (again, purchased at dollar tree) They had a blast and spent hours outside running around and hunting for their “treasure”.
Simple, inexpensive and the kids, including my beloved son had a wonderful day spent having fun and laughing together.
mbaldrees at yahoo dot com
even my 10 year old daughter enjoyed a 'treasure hunt' with clues and the ultimate prize… her cake!
I just found this blog. Love it and Love the Treasure Hunt B-day party. My Sister has two girls who would love this for their party. Sounds like so much fun and different than the normal activities.
That was awesome. We hid the boys gifts once ( 2 born the same day, one year apart). I started them out by having them read the first clue which was a riddle. They figured it out to get to the 2nd and so on till they got their gifts. It was fun for all of us.
What a fun idea! My Dad would make treasure hunts for my sis and me when we were little and they were so fun!
I used to have these for my daughter every year until she was 17…I was great because we lived in a very small home and she would always have 12-15 girls over and this got them out of the house, gave them something fun to do, gave me a chance to get the meal ready and breathe !! lol ..They always had fun doing it and it ended down the road at the beach!
I love your treasure hunt! My kids usually got their birthday parties at the lake with lots of food, family and freinds. Everyone loved it including the parents. Nothing like sending the kids to the water for the day, they really slept good at night.
I have thrown some awesome parties for my daughter: carnivals, Mardi Gras, Teenage Drama Queen, rock and roll parties, etc. If she was younger I would do one of these. The thing is that with lots of thought and planning no party has to be expensive. I have done all the parties with free items, dollar Tree things and creativity. Treasure hunts are a great idea.
Never did a treasure hunt, but we did do scavenger hunts when we were teenagers.
ceis8009 at yahoo dot com
I LOVE treasure hunts and have done a couple for my brother and for others.
i love this idea. We use to do this as kids!
Sounds exciting!! We've done birthday treasure hunts before with the kids, but actually they were inside…. we totally need one outdoors so we can stretch out our legs.
What a lovely day for a 4844184! SCK was here
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