Christmas Scavenger Hunt for Kids

Each clue card points to a spot in the house, such as the fridge, the bathtub or under the tree. The kids find the next card there, and the last one leads to the present. You pick the hiding spots yourself, and the clues work in any order, so you can leave out any that don't match your home.

There are two sets of clues. Little Elves cards are short rhymes for ages 4 to 7. Big Kids cards are "What am I?" riddles for ages 8 to 12. When siblings of different ages play together, each can follow their own trail. Children who can't read yet get a picture hunt with 16 things to find and a colors hunt.

The Christmas lights hunt is for outside: 20 sights to spot on an evening walk or drive, plus a points version where each sight is worth 1 to 5 points, for older kids and teams. A grown-up comes along.

• Cover and a how-to page for grown-ups, with a guide to which hunt suits which child
• 12 Little Elves rhyming clue cards (ages 4 to 7)
• 12 Big Kids riddle cards (ages 8 to 12)
• 6 blank clue cards, an answer key for all 24 clues and a planner for the hiding spots
• Christmas picture hunt (16 things, no reading) and colors hunt (8 colors, 4 finds)
• Christmas lights hunt with 20 sights, and a points challenge version
• "You Found It!" treasure sign and a Treasure Hunt Champion certificate

Choose Actual size (100%) when printing. Clue cards on card stock hold up better in small hands. Every child gets a copy of the picture hunt and the lights hunt. You can also keep a single copy in a sheet protector and use a dry-erase marker.