start small. start simple.
Set up a small treasure hunt instead of just giving a gift, or just grab a toy or item that had already been in use, but alas, now looks to have been plundered by Dave.
Plan a treasure hunt on a random day with just one or two segments and tell them something like
“Oh my gosh! I think Dave the Christmas Pirate may have m-Arrgh-ked ye, I mean you. Marked you.”
then send them off to find the treasure.
I guess you don’t really have to sneak in the pirate talk or get into Dave yet, but it sure seems like a waste of a good opportunity…
You can use this experience to help gauge how it MAY go with a more extensive plan.
You could kick this off by finding a map addressed to the kids mixed in with the mail or lying about in an odd place that stands out.
“What’s this? Who is this Dave fellow, and why is he sending you a treasure map?”
make it simple.
Use simple notes and drawings to lead them from one item of furniture, or spot in your home to another, taking them back and forth across your domicile to find the hidden presents at the end of the treasure hunt.
plan it out.
Identify:
The starting location where they will find the map:
A landmark:
A quick challenge/puzzle/task:
Another landmark:
The ending location where they can find the hidden treasure or another map:
put together a map, hide the treasure.
This can be intimidating but don’t worry, Dave only really draws stick people and items from the world of the stick people.
Focus on drawing the general shape of the item, unique colors, and throw in a stick person interacting with the landmark, some dotted lines with the path and you have a 58% chance they could figure it out.
Introduce the map.
A quick once over with the treasure hunter before they embark on their journey can really help them:
slow their roll
proceed according to the plan
down the stairs, past the litter box, left at the obviously an upright freezer, down the hall to the bathroom, and in the tub.*
*(parent not pooping, just old and tired with bad knees)
If this seemed like fun, Dave may be for you.
ideas, plan overview, considerations and more:
this is just really pretty picture. of a ship. on the water.
it’s time for plundering and the hunting of the treasures.
of course, it’s always time for plundering and treasure hunting. OffSeasonDave.com isn’t a thing, but you could absolutely make a plan here and apply it anywhere, to anything (as allowed within the bounds of the law under which you and those around you have agreed to live your lives).
Included With a Service Package By Dave*:
(*service package not really a thing )
Spark their imagination.
Hunting for treasure may take away from the memory of the things they got and instead plant memories of the experience they had doing a treasure hunt.
Inject fuel into their creativity.
This just sounds good, like, to the level of something a childhood expert would build a chapter in one of their books or video courses around.
There is a great chance there may not be any meaning or anything real behind this phrase.
It’s so pompous you almost can’t look away.
They may forget
to pester you about letting them watch a show or play a video game.
We ran out of things
to put here, since the ‘Service Package’ isn’t real anyway. It was just made it up while this page was being put together. Acknowledging that this bit of information may not be altogether surprising to you, it was still put forth in the spirit of full disclosure.
Not our kid, just a stock photo. I hope this kid ended up finding his way back to civilization though.
You could even plan a treasure hunt across the expansive state of Montana.
I really hope that kid with the map isn’t still out here somewhere.
It would be possible to do this ANYWHERE, ANYTIME! Treasure can be put by a bear, or in a mine! Both of which are very dangerous now that I’m thinking about it.
You know, instead of by a bear or in a mine, maybe try something like a familiar local park, or if you have cool neighbors, maybe you can get permission to let your treasure hunters tromp through a few different yards on their way to finding treasure.
Save the bear and mine for grown ‘friends’ you are not really vested in and don’t mind not seeing ever again. Which brings up a good point: there is also no reason this framework can’t be adapted to help sort out and keep track of a treasure hunt for adults.
Things that have been said:
“Wow!”
not our dog
“Yes!”
not our kid
“seven”
not Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States of America
“You sea... I love Arrgh-tichokes”
Stock photo. Suspicious he may not be a real pirate.
Very sorry for this.
“The legend of Dave is a story that reverberates deep within each of us.
It’s the story of a lost soul searching for their own salvation, a story that runs through the very core of what it is to be human. The very core of you, and I, and every other man, woman, and child who has come before us, and will follow after.
This... this is the story of Dave that lives within each of us, and will profoundly change each and every one of us. This is the legacy of Dave, the Christmas Pirate.”
“That one is the best!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about”
Stock photo of pink fluff.
78% chance it feels very fluffy in real life.
“I swear to god, I’m never doing this again.”
“I can just do better this year, actually plan ahead this time, and do stuff early, instead of just talking about it. For real though.”
:
05 ASK “Can I go on the computer?”
06 SET REPEATCOUNT=8
07 EXECUTE MANEUVER: 0.5 SPININPLACE(REPEAT.REVERSE DIRECTION?REPEAT/2=(W))
10 INPUT X=(yes/no)
15 IF X=yes STOP; EXECUTE MANEUVER: RUNAWAY.COMPUTER
17 SET REPEATCOUNT=7-Y
18 EXECUTE MANEUVER: JUMPINPLACE(REPEAT)
19 IF Y=1 ASK “What?”
20 ASK “can I watch TV?”
21 CLEAR X
25 INPUT X=(yes/no)
26 IF X=yes STOP; EXECUTE MANEUVER: RUNAWAY.TV
27 IF Y>1 GO TO 30
28 CLEAR X
29 COUNT Y=Y+1 AND GO TO 17
30 SET X=“No.”;STATE “Ohh.”
40 EXECUTE MANEUVER: STAREDOWN
50 MONITOR FOR ALT X; TIMER.SET=18SEC
51 SCAN 05TO53:IFEVER X=yes STOP; EXECUTE MANEUVER:RUNAWAY.YES
52 RUN TIMER
53 IF TIMER >SET GO TO 57 ELSE GO TO 50
55 IF INPUT TAKE TO 25
57 IF INPUT=NULL GO TO 05
RUN
— the background program that’s always running in my kids heads
