Treasure Hunt Birthday Party Dairy-Free

Moms often ask how to pull off allergy-friendly birthday parties without spending a fortune.

And since I have a few frugal but FUN birthday parties under my belt...

I thought I'd share one of our favorites!

The outdoor treasure scavenger hunt.

For my son's fifth birthday, we celebrated with about eight families and over a dozen kids.

And everything turned out safe and happily memorable.

We simply served juice, water, and cupcakes and the children went home with treasures of trinkets and candy.

The event was held at a quiet public park that we used for free so the whole thing only cost about fifty dollars. Not too shabby!

For the invites, I sent out a hand-drawn map and painted an "X" on the park location with invisible ink: a mixture of baking soda and water.

Invitees had to put the maps up to a hot light bulb to get the secret X to appear and to know where the party would be.

I was pretty certain we'd be the only ones at this certain hidden park, and that's great for food allergy safety.

With acres of green space to run in, it was a perfect treasure hunt location, as well.

The kids used my hand-drawn list, shown below, to know where to find their treasures.

And at each spot the kids would find a basket filled with safe candy and a couple trinkets.

They were sent off in pairs, with adult help, to start hunting.

So much fun was had by all! 

Below are helpful affiliate links to host your own treasure hunt party.

Always double-check labels, as ingredients can change.