Christmas Scavenger Hunt Template

We have many Christmas traditions at our home, some of which are less ‘traditional’ than others.

One of my personal favorites is wrapping. Not just the frantic rush on Christmas Eve after the kiddos have done down, paper strewn everywhere, passing the scissors back and forth, rationing the tape wrapping—but capital “W”, Wrapping. The kind that starts days or even weeks before the big day. The kind that usually involves booby-traps, duct tape and, if the child has been really naughty, perhaps a bag of concrete.

A few years ago I decided that it was time to shake things up a little, add something that makes Christmas morning last just a little longer, something to break the monotony of ripping paper and kids hovering protectively over their spoils.

Our Christmas Scavenger Hunt

Here’s how it works.

1. Take a gift, any gift, but usually we chose their most special gift. Hide it.
2. Now, make a trail of riddles on cards—riddles to take them on a scavenger hunt for their gift. You can make your own template or use ours for free (download link). Depending on the age of the child (or even adult) you can make it as challenging or as simple as you like.
3. Lastly, place the initial card (starting the Hunt) in an envelope addressed to the child and place it under, or in the tree.

Here’s an example of how it looked one year in our home.

Card one (in the Christmas Tree, addressed to the child)
“Merry Christmas ya little squirt, you have one more gift so make sure to stay alert. Pay attention close and follow the clues, otherwise you might miss your last gift and have the blues. The first place I might start looking is where your Dad does all the cooking.”
Card two (placed in the oven)
“Glad you came quick, it was getting a little stuffy in here—why not try looking behind the place that sees' a lot of rear(s)."
Card three (behind the toilet)
“Make sure and wash your hands, in fact I might wash them twice. At this point you might be wondering if you’ve been naughty, not nice. The next clue isn’t found here, nor is it found there, but it might be found in your underwear.”
Card four (child's underwear drawer)
“I’ve heard all your wants and all of your wishes, why not try looking in the place that washes the dishes.”
Card five (dishwasher)
“Now that we’re cleaned up, and ready to go, next try looking where we watch all the shows.”
Card six (behind the television)
“Don’t give up yet, you are almost there—take a deep breath, a deep breath of air. You’ve done really good, you’ve made it so far, for the last clue, look where we park the car."

Last gift was in the garage. One year though, that last clue led to a shovel in the backyard…yeah, sometimes we really take it far, haha.

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We hope you have a very Merry Christmas, whatever your traditions.
 Download our free template for the Gift Treasure Hunt here. (.zip file, 5mb)