Guide to Organizing a St. Patrick's Day Treasure Hunt

Are you looking to set up a treasure hunt for St. Patrick's Day or host a scavenger hunt?

You've come to the right place!

For years, I've dedicated myself to these wonderful outdoor games, suitable for both kids and adults. So, no matter who you're planning a treasure hunt for—let's get started!

A common question many have is:

How long does it take to prepare a St. Patrick's Day treasure hunt? 1-3 hours, depending on the level of detail. A simple St. Patrick's Day treasure hunt can be prepared in 60-90 minutes. However, with a compelling story and well-thought-out stations, preparation could take over 3 hours.

If that seems too long, there are ready-made treasure hunts available on Amazon. Completely prepared, ready to print and start. Beautifully illustrated with a treasure map, invitations, 7+ stations, and a certificate. Perfect for diving in and having fun (our motto for a reason)!

I've broken down the process of organizing a St. Patrick's Day treasure hunt into 9 concise chapters.

How do I organize a St. Patrick's Day treasure hunt?

Determine the route
Set the start and finish
Devise treasure hunt stations
Connect the stations
Select treasure hunt tasks & puzzles
Prepare & hide clue notes
Hide the treasure & treasure chest

This guide aims to provide parents with a clear and straightforward approach to organizing a memorable St. Patrick's Day treasure hunt that is enjoyable for both children and adults.

Step 1: Finding the Right Scavenger Hunt Route

Where can you organize a scavenger hunt?

Anywhere! Even an escape room in a tiny space is essentially just a condensed scavenger hunt. But...

Scavenger hunts and treasure hunts are games typically played along a route. Participants start at a starting point, are given a treasure map, and must go from point A to point B, solving puzzles and tasks at each station to ultimately reach the destination. Thus, choosing the right route is very important.

What makes the perfect route?

That's challenging to pinpoint because a loop, meaning a route that circles back to the start, has its advantages, just as a straight path does. The crucial factor is that the start and finish are thoughtfully chosen and you can fit all the stations along the route.

Whether there's 16 feet or about 656 feet between each station is up to you. If you aim to fill more time with the scavenger hunt, tire out the participants, or create time for walking and chatting, then the distance between the scavenger hunt stations is your choice of strategy!

Step 2: Start & Finish are Important!

To address this upfront: At the start, there is a treasure map, and at the finish, a treasure. At least that's the case in a treasure hunt. In a scavenger hunt, there doesn't necessarily need to be a treasure, as the game mainly revolves around solving the tasks at each station. However, this is a matter of definition.

Generally, however, a treasure is essential, especially at a St. Patrick`s Day!

Your scavenger hunt can easily begin at your home. Exiting the front door, participants then follow the trail, advancing step by step towards the goal. If you're incorporating a captivating story into the scavenger hunt, you can also leverage the start for this purpose.

Naturally, it makes sense to choose an indoor starting point. The castle then could be the apartment, the house, the kindergarten, or a cabin. On their way to station 1, the children must pass through the castle gate (front door) — perfect!

The goal of the scavenger hunt or treasure hunt should be a memorable place. In a loop around a lake with a cabin, it could circle back to the starting point (cabin) again.

Good goals for a scavenger hunt:

Playground
Garden shed
A small bridge over a stream
A beautiful viewpoint

Important Questions about Start & Finish:

When is the scavenger hunt taking place?
Is the season appropriate for an outdoor game?
Do you want to have some stations indoors?
Where to start? Do you have an interesting place close by?
Where to end? Do you know a place you could walk to?
Do you have an idea on how to sensibly connect the start & finish?
Do you have some candies and a shoebox that can serve as a treasure chest?

Step 3: Determining Stations for the Treasure Hunt

Stations are much more than just the icing on the cake. They are the link between the start and the finish, the setting for puzzles, thought and physical activities, and of course, an opportunity to engage with the story of St. Patrick's Day.

But what does a perfect treasure hunt station look like?

You have a station sheet

The station sheet is either hidden or conspicuously posted
The station sheet contains a task or a puzzle
The station sheet somehow conveys how to proceed after completing the station

How many stations does your treasure hunt have? Ideally, between 5 and 8. Five stations are the minimum, while more than 10 can be overwhelming. With 5-8 stations, you can't go wrong in a treasure hunt!

It makes sense to choose the location of the station based on the task to be completed.

This means: If the children need to play a tag game at the station, you'll need a lot of space. A meadow or a play street would be ideal. If the station focuses more on searching for and finding a clue or solving a puzzle, you'll need less space. Then, the "ambiance" of the station becomes more important.

Good places for treasure hunt stations:

An old wall
A park bench
A hunting stand
A tree stump
A pile of wood
A mailbox
A manhole cover
And many of these everyday items can become ideal hiding spots.

Before the treasure hunt starts with the children or adults, you must prepare all the stations. That means: Walking the route and placing all clues, papers, and markers.

Important Questions about Treasure Hunt Stations:

How many stations do you want to have?
What places come to mind where a station could be set up?
Are the stations marked (with streamers, balloons, chalk) or hidden?
How do you plan to mark them? (See Step 7)

Step 4: Connecting the Stations to the Goal

One of the most frequent questions I've received over the years is:

"How can I connect the stations to the goal in a treasure hunt?"

That's why I wrote the guide "The Path to the Treasure."

In our ready-to-use guides, a general rule applies:

Physical and cooperative games are always excellent tasks for treasure hunts. However, puzzles and educational games are also viable options.

Treasure hunt puzzles can be anything:

Research puzzles
What-am-I puzzles
Picture puzzles
Secret codes

When preparing the scavenger hunt, variety is the spice of life!

If you have a bit more time in organizing the treasure hunt, here's a tip for you:

Breaking up the medium creates excitement.
A word puzzle doesn't always have to be solved on the station paper.
Perhaps there's a street sign, a plaque, or a website to consult for the answer.
However, integrating this external factor into both the treasure hunt story and the sequence of stations is crucial and challenging.
But when it works, it can add that special something!

Important Questions about Tasks & Puzzles:

How old are the children? Not all 6-year-olds can read.
Are your tasks age-appropriate?
Are your tasks and puzzles well-mixed? Avoid repetition!
Are the tasks and puzzles well integrated into the scavenger hunt story? In our ready-made hunts, you won't have to worry about this: Here, all stations interlock within the story, leading to the treasure in a meaningful and engaging way.

Step 5: Preparing Clue Sheets

If you've made it this far, then you're almost across the finish line. Because now, it's time for the hands-on part: Crafting and placing the clues!

If crafting isn't your forte and you're all thumbs, let me tell you: Don't worry! If you already have the tasks and puzzles ready, all you need to do is write down the clues on the sheets and cut them out.

However, opinions differ on whether to hide the clue sheets or to hang them openly.

I don't have a preference, but the following two points are important:

Always consider the age of the children: For those under 5, hidden clues might be too challenging to find.
If you decide to hide the clue sheets, make sure to mark the station visibly (and indicate that the clue is hidden within, for example, a 16-foot radius).

Good markers for stations include: