Kids are going to have to work at it this Christmas

[NM_Shooter]

Their presents are hidden.  Luckily, they will find an old document from a pirate which will start them on a string of clues.  Along the way they'll have to solve riddles, know how to read a compass, use the periodic table, research on the internet, and other nonsense.  Hopefully this will keep them busy most of the morning. 

With any luck, the outside clues will hold up to the weather 

[Ernest T. Bass]

Somebody's going all out.. Sounds like fun! (And a lot of work..) We just had our homemade gift exchange as we can never wait until Christmas morning.. Lotsa fun. We made a wooden two-player head-to-head pinball game this year which has been a big hit so far.. We had a lot of fun in the shop playi-- er... "working" on it..

[NM_Shooter]

Well, it took them 40 minutes to work their way through the clues, and some were nested so they had to solve a sub-puzzle to solve the puzzle.  I did it in a pirate's theme, buried treasure and all.  Toughest part was that the glove box on my fishing boat was frozen shut.  They had to get a hair dryer out there to get into it 

But they had fun, and learned some stuff.... it was fun watching them shoot a bearing with a compass and work as a team to keep a straight line. 

I'm already plotting my next one.  I'm thinking a riddle with calculus, maybe a marksmanship challenge (pop a water balloon to release a key), more compass and gps work, and maybe a puzzle box.  Hmmmmm.......

[MountainDon]

   Frank. Merry Christmas to all 4 of you. 

[firefox]

Wow, I wish I had a Father like Frank when I was growing up.
That was a pretty amazing thing you did that will last them a lifetime.
Bruce