h a l f b a k e r y"Not baked goods, Professor; baked bads!" -- The Tick
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As doting Uncle, it is my responsibility to come up with interesting gift ideas for my niephews.
This one requires a little planning (and appropriate permissions from the grown ups) but requires the following items.
1) A treasure chest - ideally made from wood, with a little hinged lid
2)
Some treasure - beads, lab-jewels, old currency that's been in the washing machine, stuff from down the market - what ever looks shiny enough and old enough to be considered real treasure
3) A burial location
4) A map
5) A backstory.
Combined, your 6-year old nephice will be entrusted an old weathered map, along with some old tale you heard about this or that location, and who knows, just maybe, it might be true?
Said niephews are then left to study the map, mull over the story, compare it with tales they may have already been exposed to in books, film or TV - except, rather than it being in book, film or TV - who knows? It might be REAL?
On digging, not only does the youngster receive a box full of shiny goodies that they can hoard and play with - but they also get the (much more important) gift of believing that the exciting and adventurous stuff that they read in books can actually come true.
(On the downside, they may grow into conspiracy riddled paranoiacs - but at least they will have had the benefit of a rich and imaginative childhood)
The perfect idea for you...
Famous_20Wreck_20Backyards
[theircompetitor, May 19 2009]
'Masquerade' by Kit Williams
http://en.wikipedia...i/Masquerade_(book)
Famous 'Treasure Hunt' book. [DrBob, May 20 2009]
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My father and other adults did exactly this for us when we were about 9. It started with a fire on the beach at night, a 'yo-ho-ho' from the dark, and a map (written in 'blood') in an empty bottle of rum was thrown into the circle. The treasure hunt took most of the next day, going from clue to clue. One was even in an old tin can on the end of one of a fishing adult's line. It ended with having to dig beneath 'poor old polly's bones' (the previous day's chicken). I still have the 'chest'. Great fun. Bun. |
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Did this for both my kids birthdays one year. They loved it, good idea. |
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I had a treasure chest once. Went looking for it 10 years later, couldn't find it. Got a metal detector, couldn't find it (although I did find an alien spacecraft- er, uh, some old coins). But thanks for reminding me maybe I will go look again. |
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I lost the map, by the way. |
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I did something like this for Mike Jr., once. I gave him a piece of paper with a clue which led to the location of another clue etc. The last clue eluded to the location of a few small toys. He had a blast. |
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My parents did this with our Christmas presents one year, they left us a note saying "Christmas has been cancelled" but on the back of the note was a clue... |
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And this idea also demonstrates causal relationships to
youngsters, due to the fact that it also helps prevent global
warming. |
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My grandpa did this for me when I was 6. He gave me a compass and a crumpled, faded piece of paper with some written instructions, including steps and degrees. I followed the instructions to the letter, and found a bow and a quiver of steel-tipped arrows wrapped in a burlap bag in an aging treehouse in the middle of his pasture. I can't remember the story he told me about the bow and arrows got there, or how he obtained the instructions, but it sure was the coolest gift I ever got. I eventually passed the bow on to my little brother, but I still have the compass, and always keep it nearby. |
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Imaginative fathers and grandfathers have been doing this for ages, Tom. I've even seen it done on TV shows. I can't bring myself to fishbone it, though, because it's a wonderful idea and was worth the read for the memories alone. Thanks, Zen. I needed that boost today. |
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Even better, just make one of the clues a bit ambiguous, or hard to solve, and you don't even have to go to the trouble of buying a chest, treasure, digging a hole, ... etc. |
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Very nice, this is a slightly less life-threatening version of what kids in Burma do. I say "slightly" because you might get the urge to place a clue in a sack of cobras to spice things up a bit. You can disarm a mine, but not a sack of cobras. |
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Yay! Buns for everyone! Except Custardguts. |
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I'd be tempted to be slightly evil and place a Ionizing radiation sticker on the top of the treasure chest. |
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Is there an international sticker for "Sack 'o Cobras" I wonder? |
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[AfroAssault]: That sounds like a dare... |
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//You can disarm a mine, but not a sack of cobras.// |
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I've seen folks on TV temporarily stun snakes (which are cold-blooded) by rapidly lowering their body temperature with a fire extinguisher. It makes them go into shock or something like that. I don't know if it would really work or if it was just bullshit movie magic, but it sounds feasible. Spray an unknown sack with a fire extinguisher, dump out any dormant snakes, and claim your prize. |
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Best to spray everything with a fire extinguisher before
touching it. It might have snakes. Or be on fire. Maybe
both. |
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I ran across a large snake (of an unknown specie) while out on my morning jog on an unusually brisk summer morning. I decided to capture it. (Fried snake is pretty damn tasty). I darted my hand towards it and grabbed it right behind the head. It's reaction was ridiculously slow, but it's movement picked up as it leached heat from my arm. |
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Point of the story being, temperature definitely correlates to the speed of a snake. |
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[21] - This is one of those situations where I'm happy to be wrong. And on a related note, if someone happens to make a t-shirt that looks like those Police "Bomb Squad" shirts, except that it says "Sack of Cobras Squad," then you've got yourself a sale good sir/ma'am/other. |
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//just make one of the clues a bit ambiguous, or hard to solve, and you don't even have to go to the trouble of buying a chest, treasure, digging a hole, ... etc.// That would suck! The gratification is what helps create the lasting memories. No kid is ever going to value the experience or call it the best gift ever if they spend all day looking for something that does not exist. |
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Maybe we're teaching the little tikes that not all stories end happily? |
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Or just maybe I was making a joke... |
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This is a really nice idea [+] |
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//You can disarm a mine, but not a sack of cobras// |
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//On digging, not only does the youngster receive a box full of shiny goodies //
Or maybe just an 11kV shock. [+] |
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"Fred what are all the kids doing in the yard with shovels ?"
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"Helping me find the buried mains, dear" |
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