A few weeks ago, I drew a treasure map for my niece Bean. It was a way of playing with her, creating memories and feeling connected without getting too close or breaking any lockdown rules. I created some for other children too. These included an indoor hunt, a hunt to do in a park, and a blank one that can be tailored for anyone to use. You can download these here.

This Christmas will be the first one in a long time that I won’t be spending in Fat Sister’s house. She’s a hospital doctor and I’m in the shielding group for COVID so even though she lives really close we won’t be able to be together in the usual way. Rather than feeling sad about this I’ve decided to focus on new traditions or ways we can celebrate the festive season together. I decided to make festive treasure maps for Bean and my god-children so that coming to collect their gifts is a more exciting.

I’ve created a template that can be downloaded here. All you need to do is print the map, choose a treasure location and add clues that will reveal the location in the blank spaces on the right-hand side. They could be letters that reveal a secret password or small drawings that give a clue. Then cut between each clue and fold it over so it can’t be seen. When each challenge is completed the child can unfold a flap to reveal the next clue.

Here’s some photos of the maps I’ve made.

You can use these maps in any way that works for you and your family – happy adventuring!