Chica and Jo Chica and Jo

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Chica and Jo Chica and Jo

DIY tutorials, party ideas, recipes, crafts, and tips for everyday life

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Pirate Treasure Hunt

by: Chica
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Pirate Treasure Hunt
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Our vacation in Sanibel is over now (boo!), but we had so much fun while we were there! One of the kids' favorite activities during the week was the pirate treasure hunt we set up for them. All of our planning was worth the effort and the event turned out even better than we thought it would.

We started by using our tutorials and templates to create some pirate flags, booty bags, and eye patches. They were all pretty easy to create, but if you don't want to make them yourself, there are some really nice pirate flags, eye patches, and loot bags available for purchase online.

We also bought some felt pirate hats and toy swords for the kids to play with during the hunt. The hats were so fun that Jo's baby girl even wanted to show one off. She was the tiniest pirate in training!

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

We decided to have little prize bundles at each leg of the hunt, so we picked up some pirate crayons, coloring books, mini telescopes, pirate stamps, and pirate figurines. We bundled each set of prizes together in a red bandana and tied it with a little ribbon.

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

The final goal for the treasure hunt, of course, is a treasure chest. We filled the chest with all sorts of pirate-themed goodies. Treasure is all about the jewels and gold, so we used lots of necklaces, sparkling gems, and tons of gold coins.

Little Jo kept telling us that "X marks the spot!" so we cut a giant X out of a piece of black cardboard and sent a couple of the guys off to the beach with the chest and a shovel. They buried the chest about a foot down into the sand and put the X on top, then stuck a few flags around it to make it easier for the kids to find. Meanwhile, Jo and I took our treasure hunt clues (see how we made them here) and the bundles of prizes and went off to hide them.

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

(By the way, do you like my shirt? I had so much fun with the iron-on skull and crossbones that I used for the booty bags that I decided to make an extra and make myself a pirate T-shirt!)

With everything in place, it was finally time to start the kids on the hunt. They had been looking forward to it for days and were really excited when we handed out the hats, swords, bags, and eye patches.

pirate party treasure hunt

They opened up the first clue, figured out that it was leading them to the swimming pool, and off they went!

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

They found clue #2 under one of the white lounge chairs, along with a bandana full of prizes. They were so excited to get a prize so early and were quick to put it into their booty bags.

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

Then they took the clue out of the bottle and started reading it. The clue led them to a garden area where they were supposed to look under a bush with red flowers.

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

There was clue #3, under the hibiscus bush, along with another prize.

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

Clue #3 led them to the tennis courts, where they found the next bottle and prize right by the net.

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

Clue #4 was an easy one and they were at the canoe racks in no time, searching for the next bottle.

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

The last bottle was hidden among the boats, and when they took out the paper inside, they expected to have another clue...

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

...but this time it was the treasure map to tell them where to find the treasure!

pirate party treasure hunt

The kids followed the drawings on the maps and started running straight to the beach, with their swords in the air and yelling "Ahoy mateys!" the whole way. We could barely keep up with them!

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

When they got near the shore, they narrowed it down pretty quickly and then spotted the flags over in the sand. "That's it! I see the treasure!"

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

They dug in right away, and between all of them they had the handle of the chest in no time.

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

A little more digging, and ta-da! Treasure! Oh boy, they were so excited!

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

The kids swarmed the chest and took out all the wonderful treasures, yelling things like "We're rich! Rich, I tell you!" and "We've hit the jackpot!" the whole time.

pirate party treasure hunt

It only took a couple of minutes for our little pirates to empty the chest and fill their booty bags. They were so thrilled and played with all the goodies for days.

pirate party treasure huntpirate party treasure hunt

We had such a fun pirate treasure hunt and will definitely do something like this again next year!

Pirate Treasure Hunt
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4 comments so far:

  • 1
    Katy 06/21/2010 at 8:30 am

    WOW! What a great idea! It looks like the kids really enjoyed it and you guys did too...thanks for sharing!

  • 2
    Stephanie 06/21/2010 at 2:20 pm

    How wonderful! Looks like everyone had a blast....so glad ya'll enjoyed your vacation down here!

  • 3
    Pamela 11/02/2023 at 12:25 pm

    LOVE this!! I'm doing a pirate beach hunt for my grands this year. Would you be willing to share the clues you used?? Thank you so much! You girls are just so talented and fun!

  • 4
    Chica 11/04/2023 at 2:57 pm

    Pamela, so sorry but we don't have the clues anymore that we used. It was quite a few years ago!

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Chica and Jo

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