Scavenger Rae Party

     Rachael, the 15 year old, has developed into a social kid with a big friend group and she asked if she could have them all over for her birthday. I turned "all" into a concrete number of 12. She has aged out of the organized themed party but the idea of that many kids here without something specific to do didn't sound wise to me. So I discussed doing a scavenger hunt with Rachael and she liked the idea.

     I found a website for doing scavenger hunts and asked Emma to give me some fandom based clues, that I entered. I created four different sets of the same clues so that each team got the same clues but in a different order and on different colored paper. Megan and Jim helped me hide the clues as Rachael's friends were arriving. The prep for Rachael's party got hijacked by the blizzard when we had to reschedule for the evening after Megan's party. After Megan's guests left we baked and decorated Rachael's cake and printed and hid Rachael's scavenger hunt clues. Because of the short prep time, I didn't get a chance to test out the hunt but we hoped for the best.

     Rachael's friends all arrived and planted themselves about the living room. Rachael hugged and leaned on her friends and talked and laughed. She was exuding positive energy throughout the house. They descended on the pizza, snacks and soda. We got pizza from a different place than usual and the pizzas were much bigger than we expected so we had way too much. After food I explained the scavenger hunt and after they divided into teams sent them on their hunt. Some clues like the QR code were solved quickly, but there were some letter shift clues, and cryptograms that took them a very long time. Occasionally I gave out a clue or direction but for the most part Rae's friends worked things out, or paid attention to other groups and figured things out by watching where they went. One clue was an anagram of a Moaning Mrytle quote and they had to go to the basement toilet, where Mrylte's picture is, to find the next clue. Another clue was the quote "I find your lack of Faith disturbing" and they needed to find Darth Vader in the office for the next clue. At the last location there was a bag of candy that matched their team color. They were challenged but I think they had fun doing it. Some clues were too hard but Rachael was pleased with how it all went.

     After the hunt, bags of candy were opened while the other groups finished and then we gathered for cake. Rachael asked for a Homestuck cake so I made a cake shaped like a house and rolled and cut fondant to look like the online comics logo. It turned out just like she wanted. Her friends and family sang her a "Happy Birthday" and lined up for a slice and some ice cream. We did gifts next and I was thoroughly impressed with the homemade cards and personal gifts that her friends gave her. She is blessed to be surrounded by friends who get and enjoy her. Rachael was so cute opening the gifts and appreciating the little details of her friends efforts. It was beautiful.

     They descended to the basement and wound up playing the wii for a few minutes before parents began arriving. By the end of it Rachael was still powered by joyful energy. She is a beautiful creation.