Christmas Treasure Hunt

We started this tradition last year as a hunt for the boys' Christmas presents. Last year we took it over to the park and ended up back in our garage for Joplin's bike which was a great excuse to get out in the air on Christmas morning. We were planning to do the same this year but unfortunately the rain was too persistant and with the park flooded I didn't really want to risk it. None the less the treasure hunt went ahead around the house.
As Joplin loves maps I made a rough plan of the house and photocopied each floor a few times. Each envelope contained a map with a trail to the location of the next along with a clue. A few of the ideas included a small book leading to the boys' book shelf, a toy bike leading to the conservatory, toothpaste leading to the bathroom sink and ended up with a envelope containing a sock and a map to the washing machine in which we had hidden the presents.
Last year I was prepared and painted all of the envelopes gold so they were easy to spot. This year I left it to the last minute (9pm Christmas Eve!) so I needed a little help decorating the envelopes and my mum and dad did a great job! Actually I think they secretly enjoyed getting to draw santas and snowmen and thinking of new designs for all of the 15 envelopes!
During the hunt I managed to retrieve and collect all the envelopes and clues so it should be easier to prepare again - hopefully with a bit of outside hunting too next year.