Create a Sandbox Treasure Hunt

We recently went all DIY and built the boys a huge sandbox, I’ll share the details on that project soon. We were sort of forced into the project because our little turtle sandbox  barely fit one boy, definitely not two big-little boys. Of course my boys improvised and started digging in the yard, finding random things buried beneath the rocks. I promise, no dead bodies. 😉 I knew we needed to find them a new place to dig and we might as well fulfill their desire to find cool things. So we created a fun sandbox treasure hunt to celebrate their brand new sandbox.

A sandbox treasure hunt is very easy to organize. Simply find a few fun trinkets to bury in the sand. I picked up little animals, bugs and marbles at my local dollar store. Shells, army men and pennies would also be fun.

Since the sandbox was brand new, we simply added the fun “treasure” when we were about 1/2 done filling it with sand. I randomly spread them around and then we raked sand over them. They were then covered by a few more inches as the sandbox was filled up.

My boys were super excited by the new sandbox that we didn’t even tell them about the buried treasure. They jumped in and started digging in the dirt right away. Of course Peter and I were waiting on pins and needles, anticipating them finding the first piece of treasure.

It was worth the wait. Quinn thought it was awesome!

So far the boys have only found a few pieces of treasure, the treasure hunt my last all summer! I love how $3 can easily enhance the fun of our new sandbox! I imagine next year we will have to work at burying the treasure a little more but after seeing how much the boys enjoyed it, I know it will be worth the effort.

Contemplating a pirate birthday party? A sandbox treasure hunt would be perfect party game!

Have you ever tried a sandbox treasure hunt?

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