For Dan's birthday (which happens to fall on Halloween), I surprised him with a scavenger hunt on Saturday. It was really fun to create, and it was even more fun watching him search for his clues and figure out my riddles. I highly recommend designing a scavenger hunt, especially if you're short on funds, in place of a traditional gift. You can surprise someone with lots of little treats. Who wouldn't love to get 13 surprises versus just one? The scavenger hunt took most of the day to complete, so it was a birthday adventure for both of us.
First, I thought about where I wanted to send Dan, and I made up my clues. The scavenger hunt started in our apartment with clues hidden under and around a bunch of meaningful objects. Then the hunt moved on to some spots in our neighborhood — from our amazing cheese shop to our local market. I even built in a rest stop at our place, so we wouldn't get exhausted by being on the run all day. The last few clues sent Dan to a couple of our friends' places. I put a vintage fork (found at at our local junk shop) in the last bag to clue him into the final stop on the hunt: one of our favorite restaurants, where we shared a birthday dinner of delicious pasta.
I used my trusty typewriter to make the clues look official (and I have horrible handwriting.) I typed out each clue on a piece of vellum that had been stamped with Halloween images (from the Martha Stewart Crafts line — I think Martha does the best holiday rubber stamps.) I rolled up most of the clues in test tubes. And I filled a few test tubes with sweets like jelly beans and chocolate-covered peanuts. Other treats for Dan included a few good books that I thought he'd love, some manly face wash, and an 8-oz Coke in the classic glass bottle (his favorite). I woke up early on Saturday and delivered the treat bags to the shops in the neighborhood that were playing along — and hid the treats in our apartment. Now I know why my mom loved Easter — hiding presents is an underrated cure for happiness.
Here's a clue that I hid behind a frame.
Each treat bag got a clue, a treat, and a card. Some of the cards were sentimental, and a few cards had personal trivia questions for Dan. Those cards had the question written with a regular pen and the answer written with invisible ink (using a secret message pen!). Dan had to beam the special UV light on the pen to check his answers. That gave us a good laugh.
We finished off the day at our friends' place for a Halloween party. Our friend Scott made blood deviled eggs (he pickled the eggs in beet juice.) So cool and tasty! Thanks to everyone who helped me pull off the birthday scavenger hunt. Happy birthday, D!
