There are many different ways to plan a treasure hunt. For younger children, an adult can hide clues in different locations.
Plan a treasure hunt with each clue leading to the location of the next clue. You can buy a set of plastic Easter eggs, but you don't need them. Just make the clues easy to identify (use orange paper). Children as young as 2 can play this game by using pictures instead of words. (e.g. Put a picture of a bathtub in an egg. The next clue should be in the bathtub.) The final clue would lead to the treasure (plate of cookies, invitation to go to water slides, movie pass, lemonade). For older children, the clues could be riddles they need to solve. In the beginning, limit the number of clues to the age of the child ( 7year old could follow seven clues to the treasure).
Make a treasure map (or list of directions) that would lead to the treasure.
Use a single type of paper to make the letters that spell out the location of the treasure (e.g. guest bed). The kids need to find the letters, than unscramble the word to find figure out where is the treasure.
Write up a list of common objects and have the kids find every item. If there's lots of kids, divide them into teams, and then give each team a list.
Get a roll of 100 pennies or any collection of coins. Either hide the change around the house, or toss it on the lawn or a gravel driveway. Kids will spend lots of time making sure they've found every coin.
Hide the clues in Treasure Balls.
Make each clue a riddle with the answer being the location of the next clue.
Clues could be short poems with missing words to figure out.
Use musical notes on a staff to spell out words.
Write the clues in code. Create your own, or use Egyptian hieroglyphs or Mayan hieroglyphs.
