We have all been there. The day is planned down to the final point, the picnic is prepared and the outdoor activities will be fun. Then it rains. Here is one cheap solution to that inevitable question: What do we do now?

Weather on holiday is something we cannot control and planning for unexpected days of rain can not only help relieve boredom but can also prevent a rather large dent in the bank balance. The easy option when it rains is to seek out some indoor entertainment which can, especially on a rainy holiday, add up.

So why not stay in? Spend some quality family time instead playing an enjoyable fun game. The indoor treasure hunt. Okay if you are camping this may not be the best solution and you may be best to stick with the reliable and dependable board game.

Preferably this is played in a house with more than one room and will involve a bit of preplanning. But trust me it does pay off. This is a game that my parents played with me and I play with my children. Its simple, thought provoking and depending on the age of the kids can be educational too. I still know what many countries national flower is from one indoor treasure hunt.

The process involved is simple. The children start of with one clue and from that will work out where the next one will be found and so on until eventually they reach the prize. If you want it to be more competitive have two teams with two sets of clues and time them. This can sometimes means the game is over quickly and the idea of this is to stretch it out.

The clues are best in riddle form and if you are feeling inventive try and get them to rhyme. The game can be adapted for all ages. Young children will require quite simple clues maybe in picture form or colour related whereas older children can have more taxing clues requiring consulting books or working out number puzzles.

There are a number of websites that offer free puzzles that can be adapted to form your clues. You just have to ensure that they relate to an every day object. Once you have your clues figured out then place them out of sight next to the relevant item. From my experience it is best to have a limit of about ten clues in the game. After that children have a tendency to become disinterested. For younger children limit the number of clues to around five.

The prize at the end need not be an amazing prize as it is the game itself that is rewarding. A bar of chocolate will normally suffice.