When my son turned 16 I was really at a loss as to how to make his birthday a little extra special. Unfortunately for him…he wasn't getting the keys to a new car or anything huge like that. He didn't want a party with friends…he was too old and cool for that! I decided to do a birthday scavenger hunt for him and I think it turned out really well!
How to Do a Birthday Scavenger Hunt
- First you need to decide how many “hunts” your special person will be going on. I wanted to do 16…since my son was turning 16….but quickly realized that was a daunting task. I ended up with 10 hunts or clues.
- Now you can decide if you want the fun of the hunt with a big prize at the end…or if you want to have a prize with each clue. I decided to do 9 small gifts that he would find as he went along and then his big gift when he got to the last location.
- Will your birthday scavenger hunt be at home or will it encompass a larger area like your neighborhood, town, etc. We just kept to our home and yard. It is much simpler to keep it small, but it is really fun to go big!
- Decide where you want each clue to lead. This will make writing your clues a little easier…or at least I thought it did. I am not a poet and my clues were pretty simple, but they did rhythm which I thought was important.
- Make it fun! Birthday scavenger hunts are supposed to be fun! You can be silly with your clues and try to make them pertain to the person doing the searching! If the hunt is for a younger child, make sure the clues are easy to figure out! Nothing worse than a birthday child in tears because they can't find the next clue, lol!
Birthday Scavenger Hunt Clues
I think it is easier to do things with examples! So I am going to type out the clues I used for my son's birthday scavenger hunt and feel free to copy any that you like for personal use! Sharing is caring…right! 🙂
I started out by giving him a card that I had made myself…very simply with colored cardstock.
Card:
Today is your 16th birthday party…so what shall we do? A treasure hunt is what I have planned for you! To begin your search it is quite simple you see…you will find your first clue when you complete this masterpiece!
- I gave him a 50 piece child's puzzle. It was taken apart in the box and wrapped. He opened the puzzle and had to put it together and the first clue was on the back of the puzzle. I had already opened the puzzle and put it together myself and written the first clue in marker on the back, then reboxed and wrapped.
Good job with the puzzle…now lets get to work….after using this bench big muscles are just a perk!
- He found the next clue on top of the weight bench in our basement. The gift was a tank top which I felt kind of went along with working out.
We lay on these when we go to the beach…down the hall one is always in reach.
- The next clue was in the closet where we store our beach towels. The gift was a beach towel for him (he was getting his lifeguard certificate so he could be a lifeguard in the summer).
You will find your next gift if you aren’t a geek…in a place where envelopes come six days a week!
- The next clue was outside in our mailbox. It was a gift card to McDonald's.
It is a privilege to get from here to there…remember to always have a spare!
- This clue was located in the truck that Gabe drove to and from school. It was a gift card to our local gas station.
You always want to wear a clean pair….if they’re all dirty it just isn’t fair!
- I hid this clue in his underwear drawer…and the gift was a new pair of boxers!
You are getting close to the big gift so don’t be grim…your next gift is in a place where fish or mermaids could swim!
- I put the next clue in my bathtub which also contained fish and mermaid bath toys that his little sister played with! The gift was a bag of Swedish Fish candy…which is one of his favorite.
Be sure not to run past, the place where you warm your food fast!
- This clue was in the microwave and was a bag of beef jerky..another favorite snack of my his.
You spend many hours on this device….I hope you see your gift and don’t have to look twice.
- I put this gift on top of his Xbox. It was a gift card for Xbox live points.
Frosty could live here without fear and even though you are now 16… I will always want you near!
- This was his last and big gift. It was in the freezer. It was CASH….something every teen loves to have!
I hope sharing these clues has helped you if you are trying to create a scavenger hunt for someone. It is a really fun idea and this was fun for our whole family! I think the best thing about a birthday scavenger hunt is that the person the scavenger hunt is created for quickly realizes how much time, thought and love is put into making the scavenger hunt!
Have you ever done a birthday scavenger hunt? What ideas do you have for clues?
Be sure to check out some other fun posts while you are here! Thanks for reading!!
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Such a fun idea!!! I will have to remember this when my toddlers get a little bigger! Hope your son had a blast!
Thanks Jessica, he loved it!
This is an awesome hunt! We’ve been doing holiday/birthday scavenger hunts since my son turned 13. All he really wants is cash and small items. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for reading! It was such a fun hunt to do for my son! Sounds like your son is just like mine…show me the money, HA! Have a great day and thanks for commenting!
thanks so much for this idea… I was thinking of doing this for my husband this year since it’s one of the first bdays in the states. I just didnt know how to start it.but you just gave a simple yet fun way to have him celebrate his bday 🙂
I hope he has a blast doing it!! Thanks for reading.
So much love in this post. Thank you for sharing. WIsh all children had a mum that loved them as much as you love your boy!
Thank you so much for your kind words!! Happy Thanksgiving.
I love this! I’m tweaking a bit for my 9 year old stepdaughter and her slumber party. I’m wondering how your son flipped the puzzle over?
Hi Rebeca, well that is a good question…it has been over 4 years now…I really don’t remember. Simple thing to do though is just put down a piece of cardstock or something firm and when she is done put something on top of the puzzle to flip over. Hope her party is GREAT!