If you’ve ever wondered why I created AweVenture, there’s a great story behind it. Let me share it with you.
Note: This post was one of a few posts created by Safari Jake before he left on an adventure to keep socially distant, got lost in a dense forest, sent us a series of clues to his whereabouts including images, coded messages, and videos, before becoming sucked into the zombie-filled, post apocalyptic, parallel dimension from Zombie Goals from which he’s been unable to escape.
2020, amirite?
Struggling to Fit In
My youngest son, Evan, was struggling to fit in and feel important. No matter what I tried, he simply didn’t connect with anything: not sports, academics, games, or a myriad of other things.
It broke my heart to see my fun and thoughtful boy struggling. As much as I knew things would eventually change, that didn’t make things any easier for him.
I decided that his ninth birthday was going to be different. I was going to make it memorable and make him feel connected, important, and energized. That wasn’t going to be easy, but I had a plan; I was going to make this the best, most exciting birthday ever.
It also became why I created AweVenture.
Super Evan Saves the Day!
For his birthday he had some schoolmates over. They had no idea what was coming! I had custom ordered Superman shirts with the letter changed from “S” to their first initial. Additionally, I bought a cape for Evan. That was just the start.
I had my family create short videos for the scavenger hunt. They dressed up as super heroes and super villains and gave clues to where special treasures were located: all types of rubber ducks that he had started collecting.
The ducks had barcodes that could be scanned to start the next video mission.
Now these ducks weren’t just anywhere. They were at the local toy store where there were presents waiting or an ice cream shop where we had ice cream cake or the recreation center where there was go karts and other activities.
It was a scavenger hunt adventure extravaganza, and Evan was the right person to save the day and bring it all together.
Why I Created AweVenture
Evan had such a blast that me and my other boys ended up creating similar scavenger hunt adventures for each other’s birthdays, keeping the surprise until the day of the reveal. It was a great time not just to have a fantastic party, but to create the adventures that everyone enjoyed.
I spent a lot of time building these adventures. Between the planning, script writing, costuming, coordination, editing, and more, I found myself planning months in advance and spending weeks and weeks doing the work. I realized there had to be a way to package the adventures pre-made so that other parents could give their kids the adventure of a lifetime with most of the heavy lifting taken out of the way.
That’s why I created AweVenture: so that parents without the time and resources to plan something big, can create an active, unforgettable adventure with a few taps on a screen. I wanted to take the same, unforgettable experience my boys enjoyed and make it as easy as ordering online, but still have lots of customizable options.
Then I added the tips, tricks, and ideas from the blog and video channel into the app so parents have a slew of additional ways to expand their adventure outside the app and make it their own.
A Successful Adventure
Evan had a blast on his adventure. We’ve talked about it a lot in the years since. What’s more, Evan has found a ton of activities and interests that he connects with and shares with friends. He’s done a lot of projects and had a lot of birthdays, but that one birthday still stands out above the rest.
Even though I didn’t realize what I was doing at the time, it’s why I created AweVenture: I was simply trying to provide a lasting memory for my son to show him how important he was. After seeing how much it meant to him, I wanted other parents to experience it too.
If you’d like to learn more about why I created AweVenture and the adventures I created for my other two sons, you can learn the whole story and find out about creating more than just the best time ever.
