Hi Nikki
Party was yesterday and thankfully was a great success. As you would expect weather very unpredictable in Ireland for Nov but we were blessed with a dry if windy day. Have taken some photos and will email them to you this week.
Thanks so much for package which I must say was very thorough. The hardest part for me was trying to contain the children (21 in total) when they arrived at party and explain how the treasure hunt worked. Your website details have been passed to several parents so hopefully you will reap the rewards. Thanks again and photos will follow.
Anne Goodwin, County Kildare Ireland
Wednesday, October 10th, 2007Dear Nikki:
I’ve downloaded the planner and at first glance, it looks like there are lots of ideas that will work for our event after I tailor them to our needs.
Every July our church puts on a camp called, ‘Summer Hummer’. Ages 4- 5 stay only half a day, and each day I need to develop a new treasure hunt because the same children repeat the activities every day.
Ages 6 to 14 stay all day and the treasure hunt will be an activity the age groups participate in once. The groups are divided up, such as: ages 6-7 is one group, ages 8-9 is another, etc. All together there will be close to 900 kids! Wow, that takes my breath away. It’s really a blast, kids have a ball and so do the counselors. About 300 counselors participate. There’s craft people, snack people, story tellers, water slides, zip lines, luge racers, all sorts of field games: soccer, races, etc.
A theme is established by a company called Gospel Lights where we purchase the course. This year’s course is ‘Sonforce Kids’. During the week we emphasize a different element of the course. Monday is Trust, based on Exodus 1-2:10: Moses: Boy in a basket.
Tuesday is Unite, based on Esther 2-8: Esther: Queen at risk. Wednesday is Train, based on Daniel 1: Daniel: Servant of God. Thursday is Follow, based on Jeremiah 36-39: Jeremiah: Prophet in trouble. Friday is Lead, based on Numbers 13-14:9: Joshua: Spy in a strange land.
The setting is on a space station full of adventure and high drama leading the children to make good decisions based on the day’s Bible stories. I’m going to attempt to fashion clues and puzzles with a space theme.
I’ll have some help during the treasure hunt itself, but it will be up to me to figure out all the details and logistics of the hunt. It should be great! Thanks for all you do, you’ve given me some confidence and the beginning of some ideas to pull this off. I’ll keep you posted.
Regards,
Patty Pynch, Washington USA
Tuesday, October 9th, 2007Dear Nikki,
Yes, we played the Instant Treasure Hunt twice with a group of 10 year olds. They were so smart that they breezed through most of the clues, but they enjoyed it!
Thanks for the fun!
Amy Paikuli, Hawaii USA
Monday, October 8th, 2007We are having our treasure hunt in Albuquerque and Corrales, New Mexico this Saturday about 1ish. It is a ‘back to school’ gathering for our 4th/5th grade class and their parents. Our theme is Knights and Castles!
Trish Nickerson, New Mexico USA
Sunday, October 7th, 2007Hi Nikki
My Scavenger Hunt is not until June 23 But the stuff that you sent me has been such a great help so far in organizing the event. Everyone here can not wait to participate. I have a waiting list started . I am sure that this will not be the last hunt that I organize. I just wish that I could
take part.
Maybe I will be a fifth wheel in one of the teams just to see how everything went. Will let you know the results after June 23 Thank you for your interest and I shall recommend you to anyone whom asks.
Kelly LaPorte, Ontario Canada
Saturday, October 6th, 2007Hi Nikki
We used the instant treasure hunt outdoors for My Daughters 8th Birthday Party - I used the 5-7year old hints and they were perfect
Thanks
Richard Rude, Connecticut USA
Friday, October 5th, 2007Hi Nikki,
The pirate treasure hunt party is long over. It was a great success. I did make some changes which I thought I would pass along to you. I had all of the girls together, divided them up into their teams and as a big group they dressed up as pirates and continued as a big group to the flag making station. So they were outfitted and had their team flags before starting the hunt. My treasure chest was a pi?ata which, after they put the puzzle together they broke open. It was a lot of fun and my neighbor asked where I got my ideas from. Thanks
Catherine Grote, Kansas USA
Thursday, October 4th, 2007Our treasure hunt is in Kansas, a birthday party with guests ranging from 4 - 14 yrs. We will be having a pirate theme
Selena Varady, Kansas USA
Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007Nikki, just wanted to let you know that my treasure hunt was GREAT!!! I had four groups of two with six stations using the Winter theme. I was not expecting it to go by so quickly. I have never seen women wanting to get to the prize so fast! It truly was hilarious! I adapted some changes to the theme pack but it worked out great. Thanks for all your hard work!
Tina Franklin, North Carolina USA
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007Hi Nikki,
Thank you for your treasure hunt book. We held our treasure hunt a couple of weeks ago and it consisted of 12 groups of 10 year old children, a total of 110 kids. The treasure hunt was a culminating activity of our term’s unit ‘What is your treasure?’
We had 6 stations and made up fun challenges at each stop, the children received a piece of the last puzzle each time they successfully completed a challenge. The teams eventually ended up in the principal’s office where they found a spade and a beautifully tea-stained treasure map that directed them to a sand pit on the school property where the treasure was buried.
The winning team received the contents of the treasure chest and each participant a love heart with the words ‘Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also? Matt 21:6 with a chocolate bar attached to the back. The children absolutely loved the hunt and it was a highlight of the term. The book was so helpful in setting up the treasure hunt, which was quite complex with so many children involved. We will definitely use all of the tips again when we run the treasure unit next year.
Thank you for all of your help and your follow-up emails which ensured the day was a huge success!
Kindest regards,
Anna Payne, Queensland Australia
Monday, October 1st, 2007The treasure hunt went great! All the girls dressed up in pirate garb. My daughter was totally surprised. They all enjoyed the treasure hunt part and everything worked out perfectly. Your e-book was a great guide to planning an exciting party. Thank you!
RobAnne Burns, California USA
Sunday, September 30th, 2007Hello Nikki,
We are planning a party in Brussels, Belgium, which is where we are based although we are British and all the children are English speaking.
It is for my daughter’s 7th birthday party on 3rd July and we are expecting 14 (maybe 15) children between the ages of 6 1/2 and 7 1/2.
I have read through the book a couple of times and I think it looks good. Some of the games look at bit tricky for them, perhaps the message written backwards is too hard, but I guess we could substitute it for another.
The only real concern I have is that the children’s reading skills may not be up to it (they start reading late here - they’ve only been at it since September), so I thought I could incorporate lots of symbols to help them.
Also, does it matter if the teams are not of equal sizes? I was thinking of 2 teams of 4 members and 2 of 3 members. Will it still work?
I’d be grateful to hear any comments you have.
Best regards,
Philippa Stewart, Belgium
Saturday, September 29th, 2007Hi Nikki
It was a big hit at my son’s 7th Birthday party. It was a pirate themed b-day and I used some of the riddles and I made a treasure map that at each station had gold coins to collect and then ended at a real treasure chest that my son had ask for filled with treasures and gifts for him and his friends….he loved it and they all wanted to play again…..thanks for the help!
Jennifer Troutman, Pennsylvania USA
Friday, September 28th, 2007Hi Nikki,
We had the Halloween treasure hunt party the day after we ordered your planner. It was my son’s 12th birthday party and he complained that he didn’t want to play any games, but I didn’t want 10 children running through the house for 3 hours. Our party was held in an old convent in Pennsylvania, USA. The guests were aged from 6 to 35. We had a Halloween theme, since Shane’s birthday is October 31st. The guests had to search for Uncle’s Seymour’s Last Will & Testament.
The rooms were named Mad Scientist’s Lab, The Doomed Room, The Porthole to the End of the Universe, The Asylum, The Chamber of Horrors and The
Graveyard. We followed all your suggestions for the challenges, teaming older players with younger ones. The puzzle pieces led the players to the chapel (we have a real chapel with stained glass windows and oak pews in our home), where we had hidden the Last Will & Testament with directions to Uncle Seymour’s most treasured worldly possessions.
My two sons, my husband and I dressed in Halloween costumes and supervised the rooms. Even after one team had located the treasure, the others were having so much fun that they asked if they could complete the remaining challenges (the one with the peas seemed to be everyone’s favorite). Everyone had a great time, but what made me happiest was that my son kept thanking me the next day, telling me how much he loved me for throwing such a great party for him. Thank you for the great plans - they were well worth the money!
Gratefully,
Ildiko Mulligan, Pennsylvania USA
Thursday, September 27th, 2007Hi Nikki! Our party is this Friday. My Daughter is 11 and celebrating with 15 of her 5th grade friends. I planning on incorporating things to hunt for that represent spring, the year of 1996 (the year she was born) and March. I am not very far on my list yet!!
I am very nervous because I don’t have a full plan as of yet. Your planner was helpful but still I need to be more creative. Perhaps I am over thinking things too!!
We are planning to split the kids into groups and giving them colored t-shirts saying ‘We found a great time… or Searching for Great Time.. And we still have to figure out prizes etc.
I purchased ‘Riddle me’ but didn’t like it nearly as much as I like yours so thank you!!
I also appreciate you helping me figure out what to purchase 
I will keep you posted,
Lori
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Hi Lori
Just look through all of the many scavenger lists and choose about 15/20 items that appeal to you and work with your theme. For spring - there are several nature hunts so you can choose items from them. Obviously some coins for the year she was born - is there anything else around the neighborhood that is 11 years old?
You could also use the numbers 1996 - e.g. one clothes peg, 9 paper clips, 9 daisies and 6 balloons (or whatever item you choose).
Some fun tasks recorded by camera always go down well. Look at the task based hunts for some ideas.
As for prizes - give each team $11 to purchase an item - you state the theme - fun / pink / biggest / smallest / cutest etc. Winners get their pick of the purchased items.
I hope this helps
Best Wishes
Nikki
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I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help. You work like I do and I love that about you. I am going to share your website with everyone!
Lori
Lori Logan, California USA
Wednesday, September 26th, 2007Hi Nikki:
Thanks for your e-mail. My ‘concept’ is to search the world for the treasure chest. Each room in the house will be a different country (with appropriate props and decorations) - China, France, Italy, United States, Africa, Egypt etc. I only have 5 children (girls- sleep over) -no helpers-I thought I would have the girls go from country to country with each girl having a clue that leads them to another piece of the map, then they put their pieces together, complete the map then follow the map to the treasure. Don’t know if I can bury it (altho I would love to). I may have the treasure chest in the exercise room (separate little cottage from the house) because they will have to leave the main house to get there - no risk of discovery prior to the completion of the map. That ‘place’ would be another exotic place - a tropical island. It may make more sense to have all the girls with the same clue running to the next country to find one piece of the map - perhaps each ha ving a different piece in each room is a bit much….
I need to find something to serve as the treasure chest (I’ve been looking). I am having small duffle bags/tote bags made with each girls name on it. They will be given the bags when they arrive. As they start the hunt they’ll carry the bags from place to place-with each discovery of a map piece (and completion of a challenge (forgot to mention the challenge at each place) they will earn a prize - little wrapped gifts that will go into their duffle bags along the way. Then the ‘treasure chest’ at the end will be filled with goodies for all to go into their individual bags. These and other prizes will make up their goodie bag take aways…I’ll hit it hard this coming weekend (the party is next weekend on the 4th).
Any advice will be most appreciated - I love your book and service - terrific and innovative.
Thanks,
Roni Agress, USA
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007Hi Nikki,
I have been able to get the scavenger hunt downloaded successfully and just briefly looked at, looks good.
My task is to organize a lock-in for youth ( appro. 100 grades7-12) at my church, my theme is mission impossible eluding to the fact that without Christ it is impossible to get into Heaven. I was planning to use some of your ideas to make a week long mission to be accomplished before they could get into the lock-in. This is probably going to be a very elaborate event (I hope I can pull it off) in early April.
Thanks
Jim Abbott, Montana USA
Monday, September 24th, 2007Hi Nikki,
I have just started to go through the manual. I’m not in a hurry. I plan to do the treasure hunt somewhere between now and the end of March.
I’m planning to do the treasure for my two boys because I have 2 tickets for Disneyland and I want to give the tickets to them in a special, fun way.
They don’t know anything yet about the Disney trip. I would like to create special memories for the trip and I thought that including a treasure hunt to start with would be a good idea.
I will keep you updated on how it goes, I might have some questions for you though in the near future, I’ve never put a treasure hunt together before, but I do believe it will be a lot of fun for all of us….
Kind Regards,
Joke De Frenne, Idaho USA
Sunday, September 23rd, 2007Hi Nikki,
We live in the USA, in Moore, OK. The party is this Saturday the 23rd.
It is a surprise birthday party for my son who turned 13 last Sunday.
There will be mostly 13 to 14 year olds but a few younger and some older siblings at the party, and of course aunts and uncles to help drive for the scavenger hunt.
I have read over the planner and am trying to decide which one I want to do. I really like the one they have to find something for each letter of the alphabet.
Thank you,
Kim Rogers, Oklahoma USA
Saturday, September 22nd, 2007THANK YOU so much! This is so great, exactly what I needed. My son’s 11th scavenger hunt party should be a blast.
Thanks for sending the one I had intended, I will tell others about the site.
MariBeth Smith, Arizona USA
Friday, September 21st, 2007Hi Nikki,
The treasure hunt party went great. We had about 19 kids and two 4th grade teachers participate. I could tell they really loved the idea and had a lot of fun.
thanks for your help!
Tracy Nekula, Ohio USA
Thursday, September 20th, 2007We had the scavenger hunt party this past sat. Everything went great. The kids (and adults) loved it our neighborhood was really good about letting the kids have fun and knock on their door trying to gather stuff. We had 25 11-12 yr olds show up it was a lot of fun.
Thanks,
Misty Whitlock, South Carolina USA
Wednesday, September 19th, 2007Hi Nikki,
When I had my Halloween party all the moms were asking how I put it all together so well considering I work 55 hours a week. I told them that I was searching through the internet and found the neatest little website. I told them I would put the web address in the thank you cards. And if I have ever met a bunch of women who try to out do each others parties it is these women…LOL.. I know they will all love your site and the ease that it provides when planning a party. I loved it and I know they will too. I plan on getting the scavenger hunt game for a neighborhood Christmas party. I know it will be one to remember! Thank you for your time and all of your great ideas. You have made it so simple for even the busiest person to throw a phenomenal party!
Kathryn Sepulveda, Nevada USA
Tuesday, September 18th, 2007Hello Nikki -
I have had a chance to look over the treasure hunt info. I love this!! I am going on a Christian women’s retreat in Pigeon Forge, TN towards the end of March and wanted to come up with a fun idea. We don’t have a particular theme at this point so it will not really matter what theme we use for the clues, stations, etc. Age group is from late 20’s to early 50’s. I understand all of the info. pretty well the only thing I could not find was one of the bonus’s. I am looking for the ebook on your favorite 10 games.
Talk with you soon! Tina Franklin
Tina Franklin, North Carolina USA
Monday, September 17th, 2007My daughter’s 10th b’day scavenger hunt party was yesterday and it went great. I had 42 kids at my house + put them into 6 teams. They went out w/ an adult chaperone to peoples houses to find the items. They had a blast. The book was very helpful. Thanks again!
Tammy Kaufman, Florida USA