Katherine turned 9 and I wanted to make this birthday a little more special for her. I feel like the Halfway birthday is a big one so I wanted it to be different.
I decided to use one of the ideas from my friend Katie at Pick Any Two and do a scavenger hunt. I wanted to make it a fun hunt where each clue would lead her to other clues that would eventually take her to her gift.
I wasn’t quite sure how to make a scavenger hunt. We’ve done some before but they were the type where you have to locate objects and not solve riddles.
So how do you make a scavenger hunt? Here’s how I did it:
First I made a list of all the places I could hide clues in the house, which are also the rooms I wanted her to go to. They were the laundry room, the family room, the kitchen, her bedroom, the mudroom, the bathroom, and the craft/ play room.
Next I made a list of where she could find her clue in those rooms:
- Laundry room – on the washer
- Family room – the couch
- Kitchen – kitchen table
- Her bedroom – on her headboard & behind her pillow
- Mudroom – near the chalkboard & coat hooks
- Kitchen – in the oven
- Bathroom – on the lid of the toilet seat
- Craft room – on the wall
- Family room – on the DVD player
Then I reordered the list so that the places she was looking were in opposite places. For example, I wanted her to alternate between upstairs and downstairs, so I sent her from the kitchen to her bedroom and then back downstairs to the mudroom.
I wrote short little rhymes that talked about where I wanted her to look for the next clue. I’d write down a word or two about the place she’d be and then tried to find rhyming words that related to it. If I got stuck on rhyming words, I used this rhyming website to help me. This part was harder than I thought it would be but once I got in the groove it got easier.
Finally I was able to hide the clues. I started with the first one and hid them all in order. This helped to ensure I was getting the sequence right and she wouldn’t get lost during the hunt.
When it came time to start the birthday scavenger hunt, there was a ton of excitement in the air. I don’t think I’ve ever seen all the girls so excited to find a present before. Katherine started running all over the house and her little sisters followed her to each new spot.
While I was hoping to do something fun to make this birthday extra special for her, the scavenger hunt was such a big hit that Caroline and Rebecca want me to do it for their birthdays too. I’ve decided I’ll be doing a scavenger hunt to welcome summer too.
Originally I wrote out the clues on index cards with different colored markers. I decided to make them a printable so you can print them out if you want to use them too. You can print them out on regular printer paper or on cardstock so they’re more sturdy. Then just cut them out!
What’s the most fun thing you’ve done to help your child celebrate a birthday?
xoxo
–k
Take a look at the scavenger hunt we did to welcome the summer
A summer scavenger hunt is the perfect way to welcome summer for your kids! Here’s how you can decide what you need and how to set it up.
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