Last year, our family started a new tradition that quickly became a staple of our holiday celebrations – a Christmas scavenger hunt!

We always give our kids a themed Christmas advent calendar with little toys and treasures. We love the LEGO ones the most! But, for the longest time we just handed them to the kids unceremoniously on December first.

But, last year, I decided to try doing a little Christmas scavenger hunt for them. When they came downstairs the morning of December 1st, they got their first clue. They went on a little hunt around the house and were led to their advent calendars wrapped like gifts! Doing it this way made the entire thing feel a lot more special. Plus, the kids had the best time with it. So, it has become something we’ll do year after year!

I’m certainly not the most creative when it comes to making up clues for scavenger hunts. But this year I decided to try my hand at coming up with my own. These scavenger hunt clues would be great for a family with young children, or with a combination like ours where you have one reader and one non-reader. Our kids are 7 and 3, so I didn’t give any clues they’d need to think too hard about. That’ll be saved for years when they’re a little older! For now, the fun is just in running around the house to get the clues and less in solving the riddles.

In future years when the boys are teens, I can totally see us getting really fancy. Things like hiding clues around the neighborhood, with more complicated instructions. I’d love for this to grow into a treasure hunt the entire family can have some fun with. Because, who doesn’t love scavenger hunts? But, for now, we’re keeping things simple and I’m showing you how with a FREE printable Christmas scavenger hunt!

That’s right – I made some free little printable Christmas scavenger hunt clues to share with you for this activity! There are only 9 clues, so it’s perfect for a year like this when December 1st is on a school day. Because, you’ll probably be doing a scavenger hunt in the morning before rushing the kids off to school. We all know there’s limited time for that!

Of course, you don’t have to do this scavenger hunt with advent calendars. You could have any gift you want at the end of the scavenger hunt! It would also be a fun way to deliver Christmas pajamas, or even a big, special gift on Christmas morning!

Christmas Scavenger Hunt Ideas

graphic showcasing the cards for DIY printable Christmas scavenger hunt

If you want to download and print the cards yourself, just CLICK HERE for the free PDF and hit print. They’re sized to fit in a small envelope if you’d like to tuck them in one before you hide them. I’d recommend printing them on card stock so they last a little better (but if I’m being honest, I printed mine on regular printer paper!).

I tried to write the clues to be vague enough that they could fit pretty much any family’s situation – but if you’d rather come up with your own clues, there is also a blank set of cards on the second page so you can write in whatever you’d like!

Christmas Scavenger Hunt Clues

Here’s a quick rundown of what the clues are so you can see them before you commit to printing them:

  • Follow the clues for a gift when you’re done! Where Santa leaves toys, you’ll find clue #1.
  • Clue #2 may be harder to find, you’ll have to look under the place we last dined.
  • For clue #3, just Look for some treats in the place where we keep our cold eats!
  • You’re doing great, just a few more to go. You’ll find clue #4 where bath water flows.
  • Hope this card isn’t too wet – you’re not done yet! For your next clue, you’ll have to peek inside a shoe.
  • Clue #6 is simple, and that’s not a lie! You’ll find it where your clothes get dry.
  • Clue number 7 might be the best – you’ll find it where we watch movies and rest!
  • Clue number 8 will your last – just head to the garage and don’t run too fast!
  • You’re almost done, the final gift is near, just check on mom’s bed and you’ll find it, my dear!

It’s certainly nothing fancy, but it’s going to be a great fit for us this year. The clues are simple enough that the kids can easily work together to find them, and they’re going to have a great time with it!

Click here for the FREE Christmas scavenger hunt printable

If you need some advent calendar ideas, here are a few that ship quickly and should make it to you before 12/1!

If you try it out, be sure to let us know! We’d love to hear how it goes for you.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *