A treasure hunt for one

This is a treasure hunt designed for one.

It might be something you set up for your child, or for someone you love. It could also be something you set up for yourself.

Not to trick yourself. Not to pretend you don't know what's coming. But to remember: you are worth planning for. Worth making extra effort for.

It's a celebration of discovery.

A dance of remembering and forgetting, knowing and unknowing.

✳ How It Works

You only need:

• A handful of clues
• A few small hiding places
• A bit of time

Choose a theme to give it shape. Here are some suggestions:

• A Memory Trail: places or objects with personal meaning
• A Colour Hunt: each clue leads to something of a different colour
• An Alphabet Path: each location starts with a new letter
• A Mini-Worlds Game: each clue reveals something tiny or hidden

Write 5-8 clues. They don't need to be clever. (Good for you if they are.) But the most important thing is that they work for the intended recipient.

Hide the clues around the house, or even within a single room.
And at the end, add a small "treasure".
It could be a gift. A message. A snack.
Or a past favourite toy that's fallen out of rotation and waiting patiently for a second chance.

✳ Clue Ideas

Let the tone of the clues match the occasion. Use different senses.

• "I'm where you go when you want some time to yourself."
• "Look behind the snack you love the most."
• "The next clue is snuggling something soft."
• "Go to the 'safe place' where you leave things you don't want to forget."
• "The next one smalls like oranges."

Variations:

• Use audio prompts (recorded messages or notes read aloud)
• Use themed objects (all animal-related, or items that spell out a message)
• Include emotional objects (a photo, a written memory, a letter)

✳ Can You Really Make a Treasure Hunt for Yourself?

Yes. Absolutely. You can.
And it will still work, even if you wrote the clues.

Set the Frame

Decide what kind of discovery you want to make. |
Not everything needs to be "fun". Some treasure hunts could be about:

• Re-encountering past versions of yourself
• Reminding yourself of what still holds joy
• Offering yourself a series of gifts, or truths, one at a time

Write the Clues

Write them like you're talking to a future version of you who might forget. Perhaps the clue doesn't lead to a thing. Perhaps it leads to a question. A feeling. A moment.

Stagger the Journey

• Hide the clues over a few days, then forget exactly where
• Seal them in envelopes with dates. One a day? One a week? A year?
• Or tuck them in a jar or box to draw on days when you feel lost.

It’s not about surprise. It’s about intention.
About getting to the end and remembering: someone made this for me.
Even if—especially if—that someone was you.

✳ What Counts as Treasure?

Anything that feels like care or thoughtfulness. It doesn't need to be a "reward."

• A favourite snack with a note
• A handmade coupon (for a break, a rest, a thing you've been putting off).
  Could the "thing you've been avoiding" become a gift you give yourself?
• A mirror with a post-it note that says: I see you. I think of you.
• A tiny object with no use at all
• A photo of someone you (or they) miss

✳ Want Help Setting One Up?

I've made a free downloadable kit with:

• Ready to use clue cards
• Printable labels and treasure ideas
• Suggested themes and layouts

LINK COMING SOON!