Creating an Easter Treasure Hunt has been an annual family tradition, one that began when our daughter Keri was a child and then continuing when her children were toddlers all the way to their teen years.
Now three of the children (including those two above, Zoe and Brendan) are living in faraway cities, leaving Emma and Soren to participate in the ritual without their older siblings. What happens is that their Papa gives them a first clue, which then leads to another and another until the treasure (their Easter baskets) is found. Each clue has to be pondered carefully. The following photos were taken from a treasure hunt the two went on some years ago (an added bonus is the physical workout)…
The problem now is: they’re both teenagers. When their older siblings were teenagers, they helped Emma and Soren figure out the clues – or at least, accompanied them as they tried to find where the treasure was hidden.
But two teenagers without younger siblings to help? I think we’ve reached the end of the era unless the older three can finally get married and have their own children, so we can begin again with wide-eyed cherubs looking through fallen leaves and around the garden for hidden eggs containing candies. This, however, doesn’t seem likely any time soon.
It was Soren this year who asked if there would be a treasure hunt. “You really want one?” Buzz (known as “Papa” to the grandchildren) asked. “Absolutely!” Soren said. Last year the weather had been cold and rainy. So Buzz and I put together an indoor treasure hunt where the paper clues were found in books – i.e. a literary hunt. They were allowed to use cell phones, because some of the clues required research.
This year the weather forecast was for sunny skies and temps in the 50s, so we opted for an outdoor hunt, which most years was the norm.
Now another problem presented itself: they knew all the favorite hiding spots. Could we make the clues harder but not so hard that they couldn’t find them?
We tried, but in the end Soren was simply too smart and spurted from one clue to the next, Emma (the older teen, now much too old for such an event) trailing behind.
It still was a lot of fun as always.
Well, maybe next year we could do another inside literary hunt – it’s just too much fun to watch them open clues, think, search, and finally FIND. Happy Easter everyone!