Christmas Scavenger Hunt

Nov 22

When my sister and I were little, but old enough to stay home by ourselves, we would often entertain each other with scavenger hunts. When my kids were small I did the same thing for them. They loved it!

A few years ago I started a new tradition at Christmas.

Before that, on Christmas morning the kids would get the presents from under the tree and make piles based on whose name was on the tag. If they asked for something that was a specific size, even though they hadn’t opened it, they knew what it was. It took some of the surprise out of unwrapping it.

I remember the year I decided to do a scavenger hunt. I can’t tell you the number (2015? 2016?), but I know what triggered the decision. A bow staff.

If you don’t know what that is, I will tell you. It is a long (approximately 50 inches) wooden weapon that has the diameter of a mop or broom. Try hiding that under the tree!

That particular year, once all the presents had been opened, I handed the kids the first hint. They were surprised at first, but joy and excitement quickly took over. Another present and they had to find it!

As the kids have gotten older, the hunt has become harder and longer. We have a two story house with a basement (3 floors total) and I usually hide each clue as far apart as possible. It burns a lot of energy! In the beginning the clues were easier: What does mommy do first thing in the morning? The next clue would be on top of or behind the coffee pot. This year I might have something like: “I find your lack of faith disturbing.” — Darth Vader. I could hide the next clue around/behind/under one of our MANY Darth Vader dolls. Oops! I meant to say, ‘figures.’

Since I started doing this, my kids LOVE IT! Every year they ask if I’m going to do it again. First of all, it makes the magic of opening presents last longer. But second, it’s fun.

Unless their big present (the one hidden at the end of the scavenger hunt) was a life-changing present, they don’t usually remember what they got. But they always remember the fun and excitement of the search.

One year, I made each of them their own scavenger hunts. Ok, I’ll be honest and say it was too hard. Too hard for me to come up with that many different places (and someone messed up and found a clue that was supposed to be for someone else… ugh!) It was also too hard for the kids. Some found their clues super easy and some found them too hard.

So now they always do it as a group. And they can’t open the next clue until everyone is there. They run around the house laughing and thinking and bouncing ideas about answers. It’s fun to watch!

Here are some hints if you want to do this yourself:

Keep it written down in a notebook to keep track. For example…
Note 1 (give to kids) I LOVE my sock!
Note 2 (hide in stocking) Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!
Note 3 (hide in cereal box) Family is the most important thing!
Note 4 (hide behind family photo) Mom and dad’s clothes look so nice!
(Hide final present in closet)
I always write on the note where I’m supposed to hide it. For example, on the inside of note two I would write, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!” On the outside of the note, I would write, “stocking.” Trust me! If you do more than three notes, it gets hard to keep track of. Not worth the headache.
Last year, because I had had back surgery, I couldn’t run around the house hiding all of the notes. I had my husband buy a cheap puzzle set. Depending on the age of people involved, you can choose a small puzzle like 10 or 24 pieces, or a bigger one—however, I haven’t used anything larger than 63…yet… Hubs found one that had 12 puzzles in it—I used 7 and saved the rest for later. I put a puzzle together, flipped it over (use a sheet pan or large piece of cardboard) and wrote out the clue. I decorated it with a Christmas tree. Then, I took it apart and divided the pieces between four bags (for my four children). I wrapped and put names on them for Christmas morning. Even though they open the present with the puzzle pieces during the morning, they don’t start the scavenger hunt until all the other presents are opened and we’ve had breakfast.
In 2020, I didn’t hide a lot of clues, but the few I did were all puzzles. I put them in plastic baggies with a note to myself about where to hide it. It took extra time for the kids to put together a picture that they didn’t even know what it would turn out to be!