How to organize a search quest for a gift?

A holiday is always a long-awaited event that you want to make vivid and memorable. On this day, it is important not only to give a gift, but to charge the hero of the occasion with energy and positive emotions. Therefore, the quest to find a gift is an ideal option for those who are tired of monotonous annual greetings. If you give even the most ordinary thing in an interesting way, it will bring much more joy.

There are many options for quests. The location of the “missing” presents can be found from the notes hidden at the stations, determined with the help of riddles, found on the map, parts of which need to be pre-assembled and combined, and in many other ways that your imagination is enough.

The number of stations, that is, parts of the quest, can vary from 4 to 10-15, depending on the complexity of the tasks. Do not make it too simple and a short way to the gift, because people do not have time to feel the excitement. But do not stretch the entertainment for a few hours - the birthday boy and guests can simply get tired. For a mini-quest it is better to use more complex tasks, and for a long one, on the contrary, to connect measurements of the speed of completing tasks.

Before starting an organization, carefully consider the possibilities of your budget, as some quests can be quite expensive. Some people specifically order a courier service to deliver a job or buy expensive props. However, in most cases, you can do with improvised means with little cost for office supplies or printing photos. Below is a list of things that may optionally be needed for various quests. You can choose the ones that are more suitable for your plan:

• colored cardboard;
• paper (plain or wrapping);
• Scotch tape (single or double sided);
• scissors;
• boxes of different sizes;
• markers or colored pens;
• Balloons;
• USB flash drive and computer;
• newspapers (letters or sentences can be distinguished in them);
• picture illustrations;
• photographs (with the place of the gift or the following stations);
• cellular telephone;
• glue;
• colored stickers.

This list can be expanded as your imagination is enough. You can print ready-made tasks or write them by hand on beautiful paper blanks. If you decide to make a map for a home scenario, you can artificially age it with coffee solution or milk. It can also be showered around the edges with a flame from a match, a burner or a lighter. However, be careful: the paper quickly inflames.

Regardless of the location of the holiday, need to take into account several important steps in organizing the quest.

1. Choose a non-obvious place to hide the gift, so that the birthday boy accidentally did not look there during the passage of the stations.
2. Carefully plan each station (stage) that should not intersect so that the hero of the occasion accidentally misses a few steps. Answers to riddles need to be made unambiguous and not too complicated, since you are planning a holiday, not an Olympiad of scholars. If a person does not cope with the tasks, he will be disappointed, not happy.
3. Consider a system of additional tips on finding a gift, if you still decide to make unobvious tasks.
4. Prepare props in advance. Do not postpone this interesting lesson in the end, and think over all kinds of unforeseen circumstances.
5. Calculate time as accurately as possible. If you independently organize a quest to search for a gift at home before the arrival of guests, it will be inconvenient if they come at the height of the fun. In the office, time may be limited to a lunch break, and on the street - the onset of darkness.

If the birthday man lives in this apartment, it will be much more difficult to arrange the quest. You need to lure him out of the house under some pretext to set the scenery. And you can also do it early in the morning, before the hero of the occasion wakes up. In this case, choose non-obvious places that he will not declassify immediately after lifting (sink, toilet, closet with clothes or refrigerator). Conversely, if you want to hold an event right away, leave the first riddle in one of these places.

When everything is ready, go for one of the options.

• Enclose the first task to get a birthday gift. Then the quest will develop along the chain: it will follow the prompts from one station to another, each of which will contain information about the next one (for example, “follow where the treasure is stored” - to the storeroom; “find the highest cliff in this kingdom” - mezzanine of the highest cabinet). Puzzles can be rhymed.
• Place a piece of the map to the searcher, which will indicate the next place. With each new stage, he will find new passages of the map leading to the treasure. But you can also give a whole map, the mark on which he will have to apply himself, solving puzzles. Do not forget to prepare for the treasure hunter marker and other necessary props.
• You can independently ask questions that will help in the search for a gift. For example, put a prize in a variety of boxes of different sizes, which can be opened after the correct answers. This option is good in a limited area, where hiding and looking for a gift is hard.

The main thing for the quest in the office is to create a festive mood among all employees. To do this, you can pre-distribute them holiday caps or even use them at the stations. It will be more fun if a large number of colleagues take part in organizing the event. Consider in advance a convenient time for all, which does not interfere with the main work.

In the office to create props, you can use the improvised stationery. There are more places there than in the apartment, which facilitates the planning of stations. The best option is to attach each of them to the employee, who will have to give a hint, a riddle or a piece of the card leading to the next stage. You can search for clues in different rooms, under a table or behind blinds, in flower pots and other accessible places. However, it is not necessary to put them in the drawers of the birthday table, because it can be regarded as a manifestation of bad taste.

The most intriguing will be carrying out a quest on the street, since you will have more opportunities to prepare the stations. However, before conducting the review of the weather forecast so that the fun will not spoil the rain or snowfall. Choose daylight, since it is more difficult to find clues in the dark. Go ahead with some simple steps.

1. Think over the stations in the familiar territory so that the searcher will not get lost.
2. Find places where you can hide riddles. This may be a hollow in a tree or a crack in the facade of a building. It is better if the task is given by a specially assigned person: so you will be sure that they will not be blown away by the wind and curious children will not be taken away.
3. Find reliable people who are ready to come in advance. You can connect shop sellers, security guards and other people who will be in place and agree to play along.
4. Draw a map that will fairly accurately display the stations. Instead, you can use photos of the right places. Make sure the person responsible for the event recognizes them.
5. Consider whether the birthday party will go through the station itself or with an accompanying assistant. It is good if someone shoots what is happening on the camera so that later the shooting returns to a joyful day.

Quests can be arranged both for children and adults. It will be a fascinating surprise in a comic form for a husband, wife, beloved father and mother, friend or colleague. You can arrange it for a birthday, anniversary of relationships and another significant event, the options and nuances of holding will depend on it.

The scenario can be prescribed depending on the hobby of the person. Perhaps he is now or in his youth was fond of fantasy. Then prepare him a fabulous trip to Middle-earth or Narnia. If you like cars, arrange a race against the clock at the stations. Plant flowers - hand by flower for each correct answer.

For fans of crosswords and charades, you can create your own crossword puzzle or rebus, the keyword of which will be the main hint. There can be many examples, the main thing is to create a festive spirit.

At the stations you can use mini-games: using cards, decoding abbreviations for speed, rhyming answers or solving puzzles. But do not overload the player to feel excitement, not fatigue. For several participants, you can arrange mini-contests, but make sure that no one feels deprived, because this is not a competition.

Even if your quest is not grand, believe me, it will bring positive emotions to all participants and leave warm memories. Perhaps this way of presenting a gift will even become your family or friendly tradition.

For information on how to organize a quest to find a gift, see below.