Treasure Hunt Party -7yr- Photo Hunt

Treasure Hunt Party  The birthday party for my 7-year-old son and 5-year  old daughter (their birthdays are a week apart) was a  challenge because of the wide age ranges of the  guests (from 3 - 12 years old). But they all had a fun  time together!  The treasure hunt left out any mention of pirates since  my children love treasure hunts but aren't interested  in pirates. However these ideas can be adapted to  any pirate treasure hunt! 

CAKE: We bought a regular cake, scraped off the  flowers, and covered the holes with piles of  foil-covered candy coins, candy necklaces, and Jell-O  beans that looked like jewels (mold available from  jello.com). The cake looked like there was a pile of  treasure sitting on it.

CRAFTS: We spray-painted small paper-mache  boxes with gold paint and let them dry overnight. The  kids received a box and a small cup of sequins,  buttons, and craft jewels. All these were placed on a  plate where their name was written. Using glitter glue,  each child decorated their treasure box and brought  the box home on the plate. The kids were more  interested decorating the inside than the outside!

GAMES: The kids were split into teams of 4 or 5 kids  each, with each team led by an adult. The adults were  given a list of photos to take for the photo scavenger  hunt. For example:

1) Everyone by a fire hydrant, everyone with one leg up  in the air.

2) Everyone by a stop sign, holding onto the pole.

3) Everyone lying in a circle on the grass.

4) Everyone by a tree, posing like a tree.

5) Everyone by the number "8," holding hands.

6) Everyone sitting on a different square on the  sidewalk.

7) Everyone shading their eyes and looking at the sky.

There were other clues that they were able to find  around the neighborhood. I borrowed my friend's  digital cameras and let each team have a camera.  When they came back, my friend downloaded the  pictures and used a borrowed video projector to  project them onto the wall for a slide show at the end  of the party. The kids loved seeing the pictures of  themselves and the adults enjoyed it too! While the kids were gone taking pictures, other  friends hid foil-covered candy coins around the yard  (we used bubblegum coins because chocolate would  melt). The kids came back and searched for the  coins.

Then we had a treasure-chest pinata filled with  candy and toys (pinata was purchased from a party  store). After that, they went in to the family room where  I had written a clue on a sheet of colored paper, cut it  in pieces, and hidden it all around the room. They  found the pieces, put together the puzzle, and tried to  figure out where the next clue was.

The next clues  were also puzzles in an envelope. Here is an  example of what the clues were like: 1)I’m on a  machine that holds water/Sometimes it’s colder,  sometimes it’s hotter./It’s noisy and spins and makes  things so clean/But it’s behind a door and is rarely  seen. (washing machine). 2)The next clue is behind a  door/There’s only one shelf where things are  stored./The room is very, very small/And is  surrounded by 3 walls. (coat closet) The final clue led  to a hiding place where all the goody bags were  stored. The kids had a great time and went home tired but  happy!