{"id":2258,"date":"2023-01-01T00:02:08","date_gmt":"2023-01-01T00:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/?p=2258"},"modified":"2023-01-01T00:02:19","modified_gmt":"2023-01-01T00:02:19","slug":"a-christmas-treasure-hunt-for-the-whole-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dadstuffsite.com\/a-christmas-treasure-hunt-for-the-whole-family\/","title":{"rendered":"A Christmas Treasure Hunt (For the Whole Family)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s Christmas time and the family\u2019s all together. There are a few things I know to be true about this time of year. First, we all love to cozy up by the fire and watch a classic Christmas movie. Second, if the kids lounge around the TV too much, they start to get a little stir-crazy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s during these moments that there is no longer peace on earth. Or at least peace in the house. If I want to restore joy to the world while everyone is home for the holidays, I\u2019m going to have to come up with something epic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time to dust off some of that cipher and treasure hunt research. But this time we\u2019re adding a Christmas theme. I think Santa\u2019s going to have to send the kids on a mission. And the best part is, I\u2019m going to show you exactly what I did so you can do it too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dad Stuff Note: this activity reads longer than it seems. Putting an activity into words turns out to be more complex than creating the activity itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Scenario<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we can get into the clues, we must start with a story. Or as the clich\u00e9 thespian would ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s my motivation?\u201d For this Christmas treasure hunt, Santa\u2019s going to enlist the help of all the kiddos in the house (we had a 12-year-old, two 9-year-olds, and a 7-year-old). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It turns out Santa and his crew have been keeping tabs on the Grinch. While his elves would normally do the surveillance, it\u2019s Christmas time and Santa\u2019s a little short-staffed. In order for Santa to communicate with his elves without the Grinch knowing, everything has been hidden or encoded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kids will follow the clues and crack the codes to find out where that mean ol\u2019 Grinch is hiding. Let\u2019s get into all the different steps to make this happen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clue No. 1: A Letter from Santa<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first step to this hunt is a letter from Santa. This establishes the story and gives the first clue. If you\u2019re not feeling up for writing your own letter, go ahead and download mine (and this is without you giving up any sort of personal information. It really is free.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/object>Letter-from-Santa<\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You can print this on any sort of paper. I decided to go to Hobby Lobby (or any craft store that sells scrapbook paper) and print it on some fancy paper with a slight gold sheen (you know, to make it look more magical.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also wanted to have the letter in a fancy red envelope. And since they don\u2019t usually sell fancy red envelopes without having to pay way too much online, I decided to make my own. While I was at Hobby Lobby, I picked up a couple of pieces of 12 x 12-inch red paper (I made sure I got extra just in case!). <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Red<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how I made my envelope (FYI, I didn\u2019t have double-sided tape and used one of my kid\u2019s glue sticks).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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