It all started with dinner on a long-ago 4th of July. The restaurant had placed temporary tattoos of the American Flag at each place setting. Of course, no one wanted theirs, so I put all 4 in my wallet. Fast forward a few months. My friend, Robin, came by for a visit with her (then) 5-6 year old granddaughter, Brynna. I had nothing in the house to entertain a 6 year old until I remembered the tattoos. “You want a tattoo?” Her head came up, eyes grew wider and an expression of some excitement appeared on her face. That’s how it all began.
Brynna is now a beautiful, grown woman. But the “tattoo” legacy lives on. I started buying temporary tattoos of unicorns, lady bugs and butterflies, and glittery rainbows. Other children started knocking at the door “Can we have tattoos?” — my friend Regina’s grandchildren, my great nieces and nephews, children in the neighborhood. Now I keep a supply of tattoos in a kitchen drawer for surprise visits.
One day, we ordered a truck load of new gravel for our driveway. The grey rocks just looked boring. I had some coloured glass stones left over in some vases from a time when my husband bought me flowers. Thinking it would be fun to “decorate” my gravel with “treasures” for the kids, I tossed the colourful stones down and added a handful of coins (WHAT kid doesn’t like money?) … and children appeared!
THINGS TO CONSIDER
- Initially, kind neighbors (some quite elderly) picked up all of the treasures and either knocked at the door to return them (“Look what someone threw in your driveway!”) or they stacked the recovered treasures on a post or step.
- If you park on the gravel, make sure the treasures can stand up to the weight of a car. Smashed treasures are no fun.
- They should be fairly weather resistant.
- Keep Ziplock Bags on hand. The treasure hunters usually want more than a small handful.
WHAT MAKES GOOD TREASURES
Besides the coloured glass stones used to hold cut flowers in vases and coins, here are a few of the kid’s favourites:
- River rocks, fool’s gold, gems, minerals and crystals
- Geodes
- Petrified Wood
- Small plastic toys (like 4 leaf clovers, rings and bugs)
- Buttons
- Beads (Buy inexpensive necklaces and take the beads off of the string)
- Marbles
- Play money
- Charms
- Shark’s Teeth
- Arrowheads
- Fossils
- Plastic Glow-In-The-Dark rocks
WHERE TO GET TREASURES
- Souvenir shops (Many have “fill a bag” of colourful rocks and gems
- Oriental Trading Company (They have plastic toys galore!)
- Dancing Bear (Great selection of shark’s teeth, arrowheads, fossils, rocks and minerals)
- Graham Products (These clever kids put the glow-in-the-dark rocks in jars for makeshift nightlights!)
- Thrift Stores
- Dollar Stores
- A nearby river (My great-nephew Will was partial to smooth river rocks!)
- “Junk” drawers in your house
- Friends and family (A number of friends – Sherry, Ned, Regina, Rhonda – have brought driveway treasures for the kids and are constantly on the look out for more!)
Over the years, it’s become a tradition. Frequently, there’s a child or 2 searching for treasures in the driveway. Oftentimes, it grows to 7 or 8.
Most times, they’re children that I know. Once in a while, it’s a stranger passing by with their kids. Either way, it’s always great fun to watch their excitement!
So, toss some treasures on your gravel and watch the children multiply!
