Garage Sale Scavengers

At our house, we love a good garage sale.  Some of us to an extreme...(I am talking about you, lovie!)  Not actually holding a garage sale--we've yet to do that, but when we are done having kids...watch out, world! 

So last Saturday, we decided to hit a few.  My boys play HARD in their clothes, and we are always looking to increase our stash of play clothes.  I knew in advance that we'd have to plan some fun for the big boys, especially Reece, since most of the sales were spread out.  I'd noticed a lot of scavenger hunts on pinterest lately: nature, the zoo, etc.  I figured I could make one up for garage sales that would be easy for my big man to follow.

I came up with a list of things that would be pretty common at garage sales, found some clip art images to go with them, and made him a list.  Since he's prone to fits of excitement where mere paper may not survive, I also laminated it with clear contact paper.  I'd have given him  a wipe-off marker, but I don't trust him that much.

The game started well.  We got him excited and made sure he understood that the list was full of fun things he could look for at the garage sale, and if he found them, he could pick a prize.  He was kind of moody that morning, so he needed some cajoling to get started, but he did find some items:

A pretty cute teddy bear...not the prize!
'

Either "Something Red" or "a star" he couldn't decide!

Thank goodness we found "someone selling snacks!"

After the snack break, he was having trouble concentrating, so C.C. suggested that we just have him look for one item on the list for the rest of the stops.  We decided Santas would be a good fit, since there was one he hadn't spotted nearby.  This really worked, and I think it shows how this activity could be tailored for any kid.  You could have a younger child, or one who struggles with ADD concentrate on one item.  You could have several kids compete to find one item, the whole list, or give each one a different item to search for. 

Santa #1

Another Santa.  Two different garage sales.  Odd how similar they are, huh?

The prize!  It only cost $3, and plays YMCA!  Why YMCA? No clue.  

 Of course, you have to have some shopping for yourself!  We were able to find some clothes for the next couple of years for Reece, and some shorts for the baby thing!  There was also a woman closing out her ebay store, and we got some Geotrax toys for $7 each.  Love buying toys ahead of schedule for birthday and Christmas gifts!  By far, my favorite purchase was this:

They were 1/2 off, too!  Only $2.50!

 You can download my garage sale hunt page here if you missed the link above.