Planning a Fun And Festive Christmas Scavenger Hunt

There’s a palpable energy in the air as the holidays approach and a Christmas scavenger hunt is just what you need for an extra special holiday season! This Christmas activity pairs well with other popular traditions like an elf on the shelf. You could even make this game part of an advent calendar where you open a new riddle or clue each day. It’s a great bonding activity for friends or families and it gives you something to look forward to when the weather is dreary and Christmas feels so far away. 

You just might be making your newest holiday tradition with these Christmas scavenger hunts. Especially if your family structure has been changing and growing, these traditions help you feel connected, according to Hallmark. The best part about this holiday activity is that it can be changed to accommodate all different ages. Even adults can delight in Christmas scavenger hunts!

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• How Do You Host a Christmas Scavenger Hunt?
• Christmas Scavenger Hunts for Kids
• Christmas Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Adults
• Fun Christmas Scavenger Hunt Clues and Answers

How Do You Host a Christmas Scavenger Hunt?

Hosting a Christmas scavenger hunt can make for great fun, but it requires some planning and a creative mind. If you need a bit of a creative boost, check out online art classes to create festive clues or prizes. Plus, your homemade goods make some of the best gifts. You can also break down an artsy creation as part of your scavenger hunt, leaving pieces that come together to create a masterpiece. 

You will have a few decisions to make once you decide to do a Christmas scavenger hunt and there are a few tips and considerations to keep in mind to ensure it’s a success. After setting the date and deciding if it’s for kids or adults, there are a few more details to work out. 

1. Indoors or Out?

Decide if you want some of the clues and hunting to be done outside, which may or may not require some special gear, or if you prefer to keep it all in the house. 

2. Decide How To Win

Determining how a person or team “wins” is perhaps the most important consideration. Will it be the first or fastest person/group, or is it going to be complex enough that only one individual or team will be able to solve it? You can also determine the winner based on who finds the most clues, so long as they are made adequately challenging to find!

3. Set Clear Rules

It’s better safe than sorry, and you don’t want any cheating. Are phones or computers allowed? Can teams skip clues? Will you give hints and if so how many per team? You might also want to consider adding a penalty if a team breaks a rule, to make things a little extra competitive. 

4. Create Clues

This is the tricky part and you might want to get some inspiration and guidance from Google on this one! Making age-appropriate clues is really the bulk of the event and it helps to have a creative mind on your side.

Make it even more fun by personalizing the clues or questions with inside jokes, family trivia or other references that your group will get. Your Christmas scavenger hunt doesn’t all have to be clue-based.

You can include Christmas games and activities, like making a snow angel or wrapping someone up in Christmas lights for time-based hunts. 

5. Make a List of What to Look For

If your Christmas scavenger hunt will be outside, make a list of things like city landmarks or cross streets. If it’s going to be in your yard, find the best hiding places like between the branches on that Evergreen tree or amongst the rocks. Indoors, add festive touches like decorated envelopes or extravagantly folded pieces of paper. 

6. Pick a Prize

Motivation to win is what fuels your Christmas scavenger hunt, and while sometimes the joy of success is enough, a good prize never hurts. Make sure to choose something enticing and announce what’s on the line before your scavenger hunt kicks off. 

Christmas Scavenger Hunts for Kids

1. Festive Decor

If your Christmas scavenger hunt for kids is going to be inside, it should include some homemade art. One of your tasks could include decorating and hanging an ornament on the tree; it’s the best Christmas craft that also makes a special keepsake.

You can also incorporate your already decorated tree and task kids with finding eight or ten specific ornaments before they can move on. Ornaments can also be hidden throughout the house for more of a challenge. 

2. Snowy Adventures

On a mild snowy afternoon, there are some really fun Christmas scavenger hunts for kids that can be done outside. Include tasks like making a snowman, making a snow angel or wrapping a mini tree in lights and time each kid or group of kids. You can always hide clues in trees, shrubs and under rocks too. 

3. Get Your Gifts

Wake your kiddos up on Christmas morning with a little challenge: find your presents! Make note of where you hid each kid’s presents and task them with searching high and low to find all of them. 

4. Pictures and Riddles

To keep things simple and make the Christmas scavenger hunt more about thinking and solving than racing through an activity, you can print off some holiday-themed pictures (things like a snowflake, Santa Claus, a penguin and a candy cane) and write corresponding clues on each one. Kids start by solving the riddles to figure out what they’re searching for, then the race is on. 

5. Include Elf on the Shelf

Hiding your naughty little elf each night is sort of like a miniature Christmas scavenger hunt each morning that kids look forward to. But he can get in on the fun by hiding pinecones or candy canes in your living room for the kids to find. Place a note stating how many of each are hidden and let your kids search high and low. 

6. Christmas Light Show Extravaganza

If you’re lucky enough to live someplace where your neighbors get into the holiday spirit, you’ve got the perfect setup for a Christmas scavenger hunt for kids. Go on a holiday light walk or ride and have your kids mark off each time they see a reindeer, a light-up present, Santa and other festive yard decorations. The most marks win!

7. Countdown to Snowman

Plan an indoor-outdoor Christmas scavenger hunt for kids where each child or team must first search for all the necessary pieces to make a snowman. Hide mittens, a scarf, some rocks or buttons for eyes and don’t forget his carrot nose. Race against the clock to gather all the supplies and assemble your snowman. 

Christmas Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Adults

1. Make it a Bachelor or Bachelorette Party

Hide a bunch of party goodies (like mini bottles of alcohol, treats and accessories) similar to an Easter egg hunt. You could even hide all the ingredients for a special cocktail that must all be found to mix up a perfectly balanced drink.

2. Classic Riddles and Objects

Simply turn the last Christmas scavenger hunt idea for kids into a more challenging version for adults. Everyone must first solve the answers to the riddles before they can go looking around the house, yard or neighborhood. 

3. Reindeer Scavenger Hunt

This Christmas scavenger hunt idea works for kids and adults, but it does require more than a couple of stuffed animal reindeer. Sure, you could use printed photos, but that’s not as fun! Hide Come, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen (along with the rest of their crew) around the house and set a timer to see who can find them all the fastest. No need to remove the reindeer once found, just snap a photo or make a note of where it was. 

4. Holiday Bingo

Start by throwing a holiday party, maybe even an ugly sweater dress-up party. Then, challenge participants to mark off when they find a wreath, a nativity scene and someone wearing a reindeer sweater. The winner has the most marks at the end of the time allotted. 

Fun Christmas Scavenger Hunt Clues and Answers

1. I am a man during the winter but a source of water in the spring, what am I? - Snowman

2. You might make this at Christmas so that you can stuff your face, a cake, icing and candy, an edible dwelling place- a gingerbread house

3. Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree, off to the pantry for clue #3! - the clue was hidden in the pantry 

4. Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh, what fun it is to find a clue right where you lay! -the clue was hidden in the bed

5. He’s making a list, and checking it twice. Your next clue is waiting where you find the ice. - a clue in the freezer

6. I am colorful and go on your tree. Metallic and shiny, I make kids smile with glee. - tinsel

7. If you look inside me what can be seen? At rest, I show a whitened ground but when shaken, a wintry scene. - snowglobe

8. I am tall when I am young and short when I am old, what am I? - a candle

9. When does Christmas come before Thanksgiving? - in a dictionary

10. Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh, the next clue can be found, where you throw your trash away. - in a trash can

There’s no shortage of festive ideas to make your Christmas scavenger hunt a success. Don’t forget it’s a party too, so make some holiday bites and encourage your guests to dress up.

Whether that’s in formal cocktail party attire or ugly sweaters is up to you. Kids and adults alike will love this interactive way to hang out with loved ones, with a little competitive edge. Even on the actual holiday, this is a perfect family Christmas party idea that everyone will love. 

For even more fun Christmas ideas, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!