Have you ever considered a treasure hunt? Some people think that treasure hunt’s are for children only, but that isn’t the case. The adults can have just as much fun and to make it particularly special, why not pick a theme such as a “pirate” theme? Everyone loved the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and because you’re organizing a treasure chest it’s the obvious choice. Have everyone come dressed up as a pirate so that they get into the spirit of the day. If you’ve taken on the task yourself to organize the treasure hunt, you could hand out to each person a black eye patch and a sword to save them dressing up.

Send flyers around your neighborhood asking your neighbors to let you know who will be participating so that you have an idea of numbers. Another way is to user OneTwib, this is a great website to meet your neighbors. Ask if any of them want to help you organize the treasure hunt and you may be surprised to find out that you will get some volunteers. Some people don’t like to get involved unless there is someone there to lead them. If you have a few of your neighbors involved, you’ll be able to brainstorm and work out directions and what you will be rewarding the neighbors with as the “treasure.”

To make it even more authentic, draw a map of your yard if you are holding it at home, or in a park or anywhere else you choose. You can easily make a map using old newspaper cut out roughly, stain it with coffee and burn the edges. You can then use a pen such as a black Sharpie so that you can see the print clearly. Make the clues on the map very cryptic so that they have to work out what they mean in order to find the treasure. Everyone will be excited once they see the effort you have put into it, and be sure to name objects such as cars in “pirate sayings” such as the “Black Hawk” to give the treasure hunt a more realistic feel.

Choose items to find along the way to the real treasure so that everyone has the incentive to keep looking. It doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money as you can buy low cost trinkets to hide. You could buy some small candies such as candy canes to hide along the way to the real treasure. Spend a bit more money on the major prize so that the neighbors feel as though they have been gallantly rewarded for their actions. As an example, you could fill a “treasure chest”, which I’m sure could be bought in a store or one of your neighbors may build one for you, and fill it up with gold chocolate coins. They really will feel as though they’ve found a treasure chest!