DIY Treasure Chest for Indoor Scavenger Hunt

I don’t know about you but this is always the time of year that we are stuck in the house because of cold weather conditions.  We get bored and eventually, the winter blues.  To liven things up, we love to play games.  Since most board games require you to sit, we opt for other games that require some sort of physical activity.  We love charades, twister, and scavenger hunts.

Scavenger hunts can be done so many ways and are fitting for all ages.  I think that’s what makes them fun.  It’s like you’re on an adventure and in order to get to the big prize or win the most points, you must find the next item.  When thinking about Truett, I decided that I wanted to be learning something while playing the game, so we picked an ABC Scavenger hunt.  He’s not particularly fond of writing so I thought if I incorporated it into a game, he’d have more fun.

Basically, you list each letter with a blank space beside it on a piece of paper.  You ask your child to find something in the house that starts with that letter.  Ask them write the word (the best they can) and put the item in a bag.  After they’ve collected all 26 items, they get a prize.  It’s up to you on what that prize can be.  I headed to Walmart and bought a few things to create a grand prize Truett would love!  Some of the items I purchased included:

• Wooden Chest – $6.97
• Yellow and Brown Paint – $1.97
• Pack of Foam Brushes – $0.97
• Piece of brown paper (or any other and you can paint over it)

Total to make the treasure chest – Just under $10

• Bubbles – $0.97
• Hot Wheels Car – $0.97
• Playing Cards – $1 (for two packs of cards)
• Tub Crayons – $1
• Candy wrapped in gold – $3
• Monkey Stationary set – $2

Total for treasures – $9

As you can see, I didn’t spend much at all (under $20 for all) but got lots of goodies!  One of Truett’s favorite things at school is to pick from the treasure chest so I thought it would be fun to just create his very own filled with treasure.

DIY TREASURE CHEST

Keep in mind, I literally just ‘threw’ this together.  I didn’t have to have the perfect supplies or paint job. I didn’t want to spend all day working on it. I just wanted something quick and fun for Truett to have at the end of the game.  While perfecting a craft project will make it pretty, it also takes a way from the time that could be spent with family.

• Wooden box (our Walmart only had this one in stock so it’s what I used)
• 2 B or D wooden letters (you could probably use anything for the side but I wanted windows)
• Glue
• Staple Gun (optional)
• Brown and Yellow paint
• Foam brushes

Instructions

1. Using the photos below as a guide, glue each letter to the box and allow to dry a few minutes.
2. Take your scrap paper and cut down to width size of box.  It’s okay if it hangs over in length.
3. Using glue or staple gun, attach to letters starting at back towards the front.  I used staple gun to insure it was securely in place.
4. Paint your box and sides brown. If you want to paint inside, you can.
5. Paint a thick yellow stripe on each side of top of chest.
6. Paint a yellow keyhole outline.
7. Once those are dry, using brown paint, make the notches and keyholes.

After all is dry, you are ready to fill.  Truett thought it was “awesome” and didn’t care one bit about the imperfections.  He was thrilled with having his own treasure chest and the fact that it only took me about 15 minutes is even better ’cause it allowed me time to visit with my oldest who is only home on weekends now.

My favorite part of this whole indoor scavenger hunt, is that I have a little piece of Truett at 6 yrs old, to keep forever.

Disclosure: I am an official Walmart Mom. Walmart has provided me with compensation and gift card in return for my time & efforts to create this post. Opinions are my own, always.