This printable Christmas scavenger hunt is the perfect way to spread a little holiday cheer for your family this year! Simply print out the Christmas scavenger hunt riddles, hide throughout the house, then let your loved ones follow the clues to a gift or surprise at the end!
Who wouldn’t love a Christmas present scavenger hunt to find what Santa left them this year?
Old-School Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Some of my absolute favorite memories from Christmas mornings when I was growing up was when my parents would hide our big gifts at the end of a Christmas scavenger hunt. Sometimes they’d make it a little more complicated and send us around the neighborhood to different friends’ houses to get our clues.
One time it was even an Amazing Race themed scavenger hunt where we not only had to go around the neighbor but we had to complete challenges at each of the places – kind of like this superhero Amazing Race but a Christmas version.
But all of the Christmas scavenger hunt ideas had one thing in common – clues and riddles that we had to follow to eventually get to our final surprise (I know some people that put the first Elf on the Shelf note at the end too). And that’s one of the reasons a Christmas scavenger hunt will always be one of my favorite Christmas party games!
Free Printable Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Before the days of Pinterest and printables, my parents typically just wrote down their own rhymes and riddles. And most of the time, they folded that little piece of paper up, stuck it into a cut piece of toilet paper or paper towel roll, and wrapped those to find along the trail.
So many great memories of trying to get pieces of paper out of toilet paper rolls with ripping the clue.
You could totally still go with the wrapped toilet paper rolls with these clues inside but instead of having to come up with rhymes on your own,
I’ve put together 24 cards with Christmas Scavenger Hunt clues that will lead the person on the hunt around the house to find clues along the way – all culminating in one surprise at the end!
Update!
There are twelve cards that are specifically kid-friendly and 12 that are a bit more challenging (fill in the blank style) for older kids, teens, and adults.
If you need even more clues, you can get these ones PLUS 18 more clues (12 kid, 6 older/teen) in my shop here!
Christmas Scavenger Hunt Supplies
If you’re simply looking to set up a scavenger hunt with riddles, there really isn’t much you’ll need.
- Printable Christmas Scavenger Hunt clues (get them at the bottom of this post)
- Scissors
- Tape
- Gift for the end of the scavenger hunt
How to Set Up the Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Setting up the Christmas scavenger hunt is simple. Just follow the instructions below for a quick setup!
1 – Print out the scavenger hunt clues (get the free printable cards below), I recommend printing on white card stock to make the cards a bit more durable.
2 – Cut out the cards along the black lines. As you’re cutting, write the number of the card on the back of the card. The printouts go left right then down, so card #1 is the top left and card #2 is the top right.
I’ve included a free printable cheat sheet for where the cards will get placed and these numbers will help you when placing the cards! For the older kid/teen ones, they don’t have a specific order, but it’s easier to just go from start to end.
3 – Using the cheat sheet and the numbers on the cards, place the Christmas scavenger hunt clues in the correct locations around the house. You can either hide the cards (for adults or teens) or make them visible if you have younger kids like I do!
How the Christmas Scavenger Hunt Works
Now that the scavenger hunt is setup, completing the scavenger hunt is even easier!
Simply give the first clue card to the hunters and let them follow the clues to the end. If you want to make it a bit more fun, you could always put the clue card inside of:
- A large wrapped Christmas present filled with newspaper or something else to weigh it down (so they don’t know it’s just a piece of paper)
- A piece of toilet paper roll wrapped up (like my parents used to!)
- Their lunch box for school (if you’re doing it on a school day and not Christmas morning)
And if the final gift is something for the entire family, try putting this puzzle family Christmas gift at the end of the scavenger hunt instead of just a gift. Then they have to complete the puzzle to find out what the gift is!
Tip!
If you’re doing this with teens/adults, give them the option to use their cell phone if they get stuck on a clue. The clues are all based on Christmas song lyrics (used most of these Christmas songs) so if they can’t figure it out, they can use the lyrics to get the right place!
FAQs about This Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Will This Scavenger Hunt Work For My House/Family?
I’ve made the clues in this Christmas scavenger hunt generic enough that everything in them is most likely in your house. The clues lead to things like an oven, a car, a front door, and a pair of shoes. I specifically stayed away from doing anything too specific so they will work for anyone!
How Many Clues Are There?
There are two sets of 12 clues each – one is more kid-friendly and one is more for older kids/teens/adults. So a total of 24 clues!
Can I Shorten The Hunt?
The clues are written to go in order with all 12 clues but if you want to shorten the hunt, you can take out cards – the riddles on the card just won’t tie together as well.
For instance, one of the cards talks about sending them to an oven (where you’d bake cookies) and the clue in the oven mentions cookies. It’s not a big deal if you want to take cards out, just make sure you’re still putting them in the right location and the cards still make sense together.
Do You Have Blank Cards Or Editable Cards I Can Use?
Unfortunately, no. These are designed to be Christmas scavenger hunt clues – not blank cards. I purchased the icons from a designer and am unable to share them as blank cards without the full design.
Is This Christmas Scavenger Hunt For Adults Or Just Kids?
There are two versions of scavenger hunts clues included in the PDF – one that’s better for kids and one that’s for older kids through adults. The older version requires some thinking and filling in the blanks rather than just basic clues leading to something. You can see an example of the older clues below.
Download the Clues
Enter your first name and email address in the form below to get the printable PDF. You will receive a link to download the PDF to your email within minutes.
If you would rather not fill out the form, you can also purchase a copy of the clues in my shop here. The item in my shop also comes with a bonus set of 18 additional clues (12 kid-friendly, 6 older), for a total of 42 clues to choose from.
If you do not see the form below, click here to get to it.
If you do not see the email immediately after you fill out the form, make sure to check your promotions, spam, and junk folders!
The file will include:
- Instructions
- 12 clues for a kid-friendly scavenger hunt
- 12 clues for an older/teen/adult scavenger hunt
- Cheat sheets where each of the clues lead for both
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