Archive for October, 2007
Thursday, October 11th, 2007Hi 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