seasonal · scavenger hunt · free printable
Free Printable Christmas Scavenger Hunt
The hour between waking up and being allowed near the tree finally has a job.
Made by the PaperCarnival team · Updated
24 things to find · a fresh sheet for every child · US Letter & A4
- A bell
- A stripey candy cane
- Something you can eat
- A decoration older than you
- A candle
- A pair of warm socks
- A star
- Something gold
- A snowflake pattern
- Something that jingles
- Fairy lights
- Something red and green
The longest hour of the year is the one on Christmas morning between children waking up and being allowed anywhere near the tree. A hunt fills it without anyone having to be entertaining at six in the morning.
This one gives each child twelve things to find, drawn from a list of twenty four, so cousins hunting the same house end up in different rooms. The items are the ordinary furniture of the day: something that jingles, a card that arrived in the post, a decoration older than you are, something that smells of cinnamon.
Print a stack the night before and leave them with pencils. Say the rule once, nothing opened and nothing shaken, and the list never asks them to go near a present anyway. If your house has its own decorations worth finding, open the hunt in the generator and write them in.
The things to find
Every item on the list, or edit the list in the generator
- Something red and green
- A candle
- A star
- Something with glitter on it
- A bow or a ribbon
- Something that jingles
- A card with a robin on it
- A pinecone
- Something that smells of cinnamon
- Fairy lights
- Something wrapped
- A pair of warm socks
- A stripey candy cane
- Something shaped like a tree
- A snowflake pattern
- Something gold
- A card that arrived in the post
- Something you can eat
- A decoration older than you
- Something soft and white
- A bell
- Something that has to be plugged in
- A wooden decoration
- Something homemade
Ways to run it
The wait before presents
The hour between waking up and being allowed downstairs is the longest hour of the year. This is what fills it.
Nothing unwrapped
One rule, said once. Find it, tick it, leave it. Nothing gets opened, shaken, or moved.
The visiting-relatives version
Run it at someone else's house. Children who do not know the rooms find it harder and stay busy far longer.
Questions
Does every child get a different sheet?
Yes, a different twelve of the twenty four items, which matters most when several cousins are hunting the same house.
Will it work in a house that is not decorated much?
Mostly. Items like something gold, warm socks, something homemade and something you can eat are findable anywhere, and you can swap the rest in the generator.
Is it safe around wrapped presents?
Set the rule before they start: nothing opened, nothing shaken, nothing moved. The list never asks them to touch a present.
Can I add our own decorations?
Yes. Open it in the generator and write in the ornament your family always argues about.