Christmas Treasure Hunt 2023

About five years ago we came up with the idea to create a Christmas morning treasure hunt for the kiddos – a series of clues leading to a joint gift. They loved the experience and without really trying, this became a family tradition.

By now the kids know they’re going to get a treasure hunt, but they don’t know what they’re going to find at the end. One year it was a hotel booking for a special post-Christmas adventure; the next year it was new saucers for sledding in the winter, and the following two years it was our booking information for a trip to South Carolina to visit family. So the theme of their gift has definitely been overwhelmingly travel related.

We write the clues in rhyme and it’s a lot of fun for us (preparing) and them (solving). It’s the final present the kids get to “open” on Christmas morning and while I didn’t take pictures of the unwrapping process, this is a box full of other wrapped boxes, so it takes them several minutes to actually get to the teeny, tiny box at the centre which contains the first clue.

THE CLUES

1. Find a book on a shelf (right next to our Elf)
Called Famous Modern Artists.
The next clue to be seen, is on page ****teen
This one might be the hardest!

This led them to a page in a coffee table book (downstairs in our home office) that talked about Pablo Picasso. Inside that page, they found their next clue.

2. Hanging on the wall the whole year through
We check this to see what’s next to do.
One month of the year, when school’s about done
We start to look forward to summer fun.
But don’t forget, on the 5th of June, we get to say – it will be “Churro Day” soon.

Their next clue was paperclipped to a wall calendar (in June) and was taped to the back of a picture that said:

3. Bills and letters, magazines and more
Checking it can feel like a chore!
When it’s full we smile, when it’s empty we groan.
On the way we say: Does anyone love us today?

This clue required them to put on shoes and coats and grab the mail key. It is such a hoot to watch them race down the street on Christmas morning. In the mailbox they found a smurf figurine kicking a soccer ball on top of their next clue.

4. Follow the path to some keychains that hang from a bag so neat.
To school they walk each morning, to learn math and science (and eat treats).
One of these chains holds a clue. Which one? We’re not going to tell you!

This clue led back to A’s bookbag. John brings her keychains from all over the world and her school bag is LADEN with them. The next clue was taped to the back of some Spanish phrases:

5. Islands and hockey, football and baking, bingo cards and merry making.
But your favourite part – that you NEVER miss* – is watching characters share a big kiss.
First, head to where we watch these movies – different yet same. Not Disney, Not Netflix, but Plex is its name.
Once the screen is on you’ll find your next clue: of all the ways and places to go, what Tyler would do?

When they turned on the TV, the movie in queue was Next Stop, Christmas. In it, one of the main characters travels to a specific destination over Christmas. They did NOT understand this clue and the layers of hints went right over their head. The next clue was held on with an elastic band to the remote control.

*They make a huge deal about the kisses and dive under the covers and make gagging noises when this happens. It has been a big “thing” in our house this Christmas.

6. Most people call it a wallet, others maybe a purse.
But one Grandfather might say it was insular, cylindrical…or worse.
Billfold, checkbook, handbag galore, find this man to discover more.

My father-in-law is notoriously wordy and also uses VERY BIG words all the time. They knew it was him right away (insular and cylindrical are inside family jokes). In his pocket, he had a Frequent Flyer tag and 10 euros each per child (which read: spending money for L, spending money for A), along with their next clue.

7. We’ve already packed one critical item, in our frequent flyers bag.
The shirt on your back, will help you fit in…
Though we’re sure to come home with some swag.

The final clue led to John’s carryon. Inside, was a FC Barcelona shirt and one final message.

Have you put the clues together, of where we’re going to go?
We’ll eat some yummy churros, and watch a soccer show.
It’s warm and it is Spanish, it’s old and it is new…

……three cheers if you guessed, we’re going to BARCELONA with you.

Yup. We’re going to Barcelona in the spring of 2024. This will be L’s first trip outside of North America, and A’s second. John had some frequent flyer perks that were about to expire. We looked at all sorts of options: Portugal, Florida, Iceland, Denmark, Italy. But the cheapest option for the time we wanted to go was Barcelona, Spain. L is a Lionel Messi fanatic, so we think he’ll love it; A loves sweets, so we had her hooked at churros. All in, round-trip airfare for the whole family cost $383 CAD ($290 USD…which works out to $72.50 per person); without John’s perks and reward miles the same trip would have cost $6,800!!! It felt like an opportunity too good to pass up.

If anyone has suggestions for a trip to Barcelona, please share. Aside from going to see Camp Nou (probably), Sagrada Familia (definitely!), Park Güell (definitely!), Casa Batllo (maybe?), Tibidabo (maybe?), the Picasso Museum (probably?) and the Montserrat Monastery (definitely!), we don’t have too many must-sees on our list. We want this to be a relaxing and HAPPY trip (unlike our big city trek to NYC and Toronto in 2022). We might take the high-speed train to Madrid and do a day at the beach, but hopefully primarily lots of relaxing strolling and enjoying local cuisine.

Your turn. Do you love treasure hunts? Have you ever prepared one for someone else? John and the kids did an EPIC treasure hunt for my birthday during COVID and we still talk about it regularly. Have you ever been to Barcelona? If so – please tell me all your best tips and suggestions.

Header photo by Tomáš Nožina on Unsplash