How to Turn Your Home Into a Birthday Present

 by Stacy Watts - guest post

 

What to do when you run out of ideas for someone special’s birthday present? You’ve done it all: expensive presents, cheap but handmade and cute presents, surprise parties, adventurous birthdays in nature, etc.

How about making a fun game out of his or her birthday? You can turn your whole home into a birthday present in a sort of treasure hunt where excitement grows with each step you both take.

Treasure hunt
First you should start out with a present, but it is here only as a tool. That is why you don’t need to work a headache over what to get your partner. It can be a nice piece of clothes, a book or CD they wanted, bicycle equipment, nicely illustrated set of playing cards or Tarot cards or whatever you choose.

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Wrap the present nicely in a shiny wrapping paper, put a ribbon on it if you want and hide it somewhere in your house! If it’s a big present, some places you could hide your gift would be: in the closet, in a basket in your bathroom where you keep dirty clothes, in a washing machine, outside on the balcony, underneath your bed, etc  then begins the fun part.


How to make the clue search fun

1) Place a handwritten or printed note in your partner’s slippers or anywhere she will definitely not miss it the moment she enters the house. If you choose to print the note, it would be fun if you chose some archaic or artsy looking font (lately I’ve been using Matura MT Script Capitals, it is very fun looking). The note could say something like this:

Are you ready for your big adventure? Can you resist the treasure hunt’s lure? If you carefully search your bedroom wall, you’ll be a step closer to your final goal.

 

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2) Hopefully you are better at rhyming than I am. Your partner will be curious to find out what’s on the bedroom wall and he’ll immediately go there, where you’ll have prepared the next clue. It can be a picture of you guys sitting on the sofa in the living room, or a poster featuring some piece of furniture, a bed, or anything like that. You can circle the object where he’s supposed to look next, and if that’s too subtle, you can write in big red letters: YOUR NEXT CLUE.

3) Let’s say his next clue is bed, which would be convenient as he’s already in the bedroom. It can be an envelope consisting of cut out letters from a newspaper. Your partner should easily arrange the letters because it should be only one word, like: sofa, mirror, toilet, fireplace (that one might be more tricky to guess, maybe), or any other place you’d like to hide the next clue. As for the envelope, make him search for it a little. Place it under the mattress, inside the pillowcase or under the bed.

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Go on in this manner and hide at least 10 clues around the house using your rug, the cat’s basket, kitchen sink, computer (where you’ve alredy written a note and turned off the screen) and any other piece of furniture until you’ve toured the whole house and learned about hidden corners you’ve never even noticed. However, don’t make it too long and make your partner annoyed. The game should last just long enough to maintain the excitement and curiosity level, before your partner gets impatient. The last clue will, of course, lead her to her present, after which the reward for both could be a romantic dinner with candles.

 

   Stacy Watts likes to write about celebrations and decorations. She thinks life is very short so she doesn't want to miss any moment of joy and celebration. Hope you like her strange but interesting birthday celebration idea."