Birthday Party with a difference

It has to be said that the combination of night time, forest, and a large group of 11 year olds in the pouring rain is not one that springs to mind as a party success for your daughter's birthday theme. When we first came up with the idea it was summer and the forest was enchanting , the weather glorious and the mellow day light hours warmed the theme to our hearts. Come November it was a totally different scenario!

My beloved was determimed to out do my 'feeble' efforts of a few years ago when I had designed a party along the same lines. I had organised a treasure hunt through the forest in the night time winter hours for daughter number 1. Low maintenance, 'get back to the house and hot chocolate quick' being my overiding ambition. It was a resounding success. So much so that my beloved was determined to make this occasion an even more memorable and exciting event.

As I quietly prepared the food for the party, he set off with daughter number 1 to do a 'reci'. Three hours later they returned with a very complicated looking master plan. Daughter number 1 raised her eyebrows. He planned to divide us into three groups going in different directions with three different sets of instructions. I said nothing.

Assuring us that he could set up the treasure hunt blind fold I was somewhat bemused when it started raining.........and didn't stop. With guests arriving in less than an hour he set off confidently armed with master plan. 15 minutes after guests arrived there was no sign of him. Finally as I was about to despair a very wet and soggy husband trudged up the now darkened driveway. No time to ask questions, we set off in groups to follow the carefully prepared maps and find the carefully hidden plastic bags with clues and directions. (Each team had a different supermarket brand plastic bag. )

Within 5 minutes of the first clue my team were in trouble. It was teaming with rain, pitch black and the ground was so flooded the path had become a blur of watery bogginess merging into the surrounding woodland and we were off track! Fortunately, daughter number 1 had been hiding in the woods waiting to jump out and scare us and was able to tell us that 'no' the bridge we were about to cross wasn't part of the plan and we needed to turn back.

What followed was a disaster. The team who had clues left in orange plastic bags wouldn't have had a problem, but my team was one of two who were allocated white plastic bags with different logo's. Please appreciate that in the dark and in the wet it was very difficult to ascertain which were which. We somehow ended up finding the wrong teams clues!

We continued on what turned out to be a treasure hunt of treacherous proportions. As the only adult I bravely encouraged my small team over bog, quarry, rabbit warrens and barbed wire fence! (Yes, we got so lost we were hemmed into a quarry with no escape but to climb over fencing.) When we finally made it back (last) to home base, freezing, drenched to the skin and with great relief, I could barely find it in myself to speak to my other half.

Needless to say if you were to ask any of the children present they would remember it as the best party EVER! Me ? I'm saying nothing!

(PS My beloved has since confessed that within minutes of setting off to set up the treasure hunt the master plan had become a soggy and unreadable map of disastrous consequence!)