Christmas Scavenger Hunt for Kids: Clues and 5 Ways to Play

How to set it up in 10 minutes

1. Pick the ending first. Decide where the hunt finishes and what is waiting there.
2. Choose the hiding places. Walk through the house and list spots that are safe for your child to reach.
3. Write each clue on a card. Each clue points to the next hiding place.
4. Hide them in reverse. Start at the end and work backward, so the order stays correct.
5. Hand over clue number one. Keep your list so you can help if someone gets stuck.

Stay away from the oven, stairs without a gate for toddlers, and anything high enough to need climbing.

16 rhyming clues for around the house

Choose the ones that fit your home and put them in any order.

1. Fridge: “I keep the milk and butter cold. Open my door, your clue I hold.”
2. Christmas tree: “I wear my lights and shiny balls. I’m the tallest green thing in these halls.”
3. Bathtub: “Bubbles, ducks and water too. Look inside me for your clue.”
4. Bookshelf: “My stories wait in tidy rows. Find a clue where reading goes.”
5. Front door mat: “Wipe your boots and stamp your feet. Look underneath this welcome seat.”
6. Laundry basket: “Dirty socks and shirts go here. Look inside, your clue is near.”
7. Sofa: “Family sits on me to rest. Check my cushions, do your best.”
8. Your child’s pillow: “You rest your head on me at night. Look beneath me, left or right.”
9. Shoe rack: “Left and right, we come in pairs. Look down low and not upstairs.”
10. Stocking: “I hang and wait for treats to fall. Reach inside me, big or small.”
11. Kitchen drawer with spoons: “Forks and spoons all live in me. Pull me open, then you’ll see.”
12. Toy box: “I hold your blocks, your cars, your bears. Look inside, the clue is there.”
13. Coat hooks: “Zip me up when it gets cold. In my pocket, a clue I hold.”
14. Front window: “I show the snow and passing cars. At night I let you see the stars.”
15. Dining table: “You eat your dinner here each night. Look underneath me, hold on tight.”
16. Final clue, under your bed or wherever the prize is: “You followed every clue so well. Look under your bed, I will not tell.”

Check each spot before you hide a card. There is no point sending a child to a window they cannot reach.

Four other ways to play

Picture hunt for ages 2–4

Draw or print six simple pictures: a star, a bell, a tree, something red, something green and a stocking. Children walk around the house and point to each one. There is nothing to hide, and they do not need to read. Stay close with younger toddlers.

Holiday lights hunt from the car

Make a checklist: a blue house, a star, a snowman, a candy cane, a reindeer, an inflatable, a wreath, a house with only white lights. Children check off what they spot as you drive around after dark. Keep it for the back seat, and let the driver focus on the road.

Outdoor winter walk

Great in daylight, with or without snow. Look for a pine cone, an evergreen branch, a red berry, a bird, a footprint and something that sparkles. Look, don’t touch, for berries, because some winter berries are poisonous to children.

Team hunt for a party

Give each team the same list of ten things to find or do, such as “find something shaped like a circle” or “sing one line of a carol.” The first team back with everything done wins. This one suits classroom parties and big family gatherings, because nobody has to wait for a turn.

Clues by age

Keep it fair with siblings

Give each child a color. Red clues are for one child and green clues for the other, with the same ending. This stops the older child from finding everything first. Or put them on one team and make the older child the reader and the younger the runner.

If you want more game ideas for the same afternoon, see my Christmas games guide and how to play Christmas bingo. For a daily activity through December, try these Advent activity ideas.

Ten minutes with some paper and tape gets you a half hour of busy, excited kids, and it costs nothing.