Many months ago i found a post online here (nothing to do with me) that gave me the idea for my sons trunk. So before i start the hunt, i will explain the box.
I used an old shoe box, the straps were pieces of cardboard stuck onto it. i bought a small hasp to fix on it.
the whole outside of the box was covered with kitchen towel and glue, which gave it a rough texture. I let it dry and then painted it all. I fixed on the hasp and glued over the screws as they were slightly bigger than the box. I printed an assortment of images - hogwarts, platform 9 3/4, mauraders map, 3 broomsticks etc and his name, and stuck them to the box and covered with pva glue. The box/trunk was now complete.
Onto the treasure hunt. as per the blog entry
here , my son had to go on a hunt to find his trunk. The clues had been printed onto mini scrolls (word art shape) and laminated. There were dummy keys and real ones, you need to make sure that the keys needed early are in early places and not later ones. the scroll he was given had the following info on it:
Dear Mr Watson, before you can fully enter Hogwarts you need to find your missing trunk. To do so you need to work through the clues, keep hold of anything you find as they will be needed. Good Luck.
Outside in the "toy shed" you will find an assortment of wand blanks, one of these is your new wand. Remember the wand chooses you not you it, so you will need to close your eyes and feel the best one. Also with the wand blanks is further instructions.
Professor Dumbledore
He went to the toy shed (which had a sign saying "olivanders"), and he picked his wand and read the 2nd clue:
clue 2 - Inside the owlery* you will find some feathers, you need to gather these to make your Quills. There's also a key with wings and another key. *the owlery is my dining room window and it has has plush/toy owls hanging from the curtain pole.
Along with the quills and keys there was another clue.
Clue 3 - In Flourish & Blotts stationary store* you will be able to gather the materials for your ID card. *Flourish & Blotts was the drawer that holds all my pens, staples, hole puch etc.
There was also the next clue.
Clue 4 - the words "go to the upstairs library" are among the pens as well as a key. *The upstairs library is the bookshelf at the top of the stairs.
Clue 5 - you find a stack of books that will help you with your studies. There's also a "gringots coin".
and the next clue.
Clue 6 - One of they keys fits the bank vault. You open it to find a well deserved snack and the words "the mirror shows the most desperate desire of a persons heart, a vision that has been known to drive men mad.". *This clue was on a lockable money tin labelled gringots bank.
Clue 7 - it says "some keys have been dropped by an owl down the chimney. They could be important." *this clue was on the "mirror of Erised".
and the next clue
Clue 8 - one of your keys unlocks professor snapes potion cupboard where you can find a simple experiment to do today. *This was on the fireplace.
Clue 9 - well done for finding the correct key to the cupboard. your simple experiment is here and an image of moaning myrtle. *the potion cupboard is one we keep all of our sceience things in and i had locked with a bike lock.
clue 10 - how many "POINTS" do you get for hitting Myrtle in the head?" * this was in our bathroom which we had named myrtles bathroom, there was also a key.
clue 11 - Deep in the restricted cellar you will find your trunk that the pesky elves have hidden! *This was on the hogwarts house points chart.
The drinks cellar was my outdoor cupboard that has a couple of shelves for alcohol. Obviously you can change the clues to fit your own house etc.
This was alot of fun.
