Last updated on at 10:49 am
If you’re looking to add more fun and excitement to your Christmas celebration, then make sure to include games in your list of things to do. And when it comes to games, nothing is more exciting than a Christmas Scavenger Hunt.
What is a Christmas Scavenger Hunt game?
A Christmas Scavenger Hunt is a game where participants are given a list of clues, riddles, or hints that lead them to hidden or specific items around the house or other locations. The goal is to find all the items or solve all the clues within a set time limit.
Why a Christmas Scavenger Hunt?
A Christmas Scavenger Hunt is a fun and festive activity that can add excitement and a sense of adventure to your holiday celebrations. The idea of looking for things when you don’t know where to look and the suspense of finding them is thrilling.
A Christmas Scavenger Hunt is also versatile. You can tailor it according to age groups, social relationships, theme, location, etc. You can do a scavenging hunt just for kids or only for adults, within your family or among your co-workers, limit the search just at home or extend it within the neighborhood, etc.
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Christmas Scavenger Hunt Games
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How to Do a Scavenger Hunt for Christmas?
Here’s how you can organize a Christmas Scavenger Hunt plus some tips to ensure its success.
Set Your Purpose
Determine what you want to achieve with your Christmas Scavenger Hunt. Whether it’s for plain old fun or you want to get more out of the experience, be sure to design your hunt in accordance with your end goal. For example, if you want your family to be closer at the end of the hunt, then create activities that help strengthen family bonds.
Plan, Plan, Plan
Plan diligently. Once you’ve planned everything down to a T, putting them in motion is easy-peasy.
Theme
Part of planning is determining the theme or story for your scavenger hunt. For Christmas, you can make it holiday-related, such as searching for presents, ornaments, or other Christmas decorations.
Participants
Decide who will be participating in the scavenger hunt. You can organize it for family members, friends, or even coworkers as a team-building activity.
Set the Rules
Make the rules that govern your Christmas Scavenger Hunt and be sure every participant is aware of them. Rules include location and time limits. Time limits add a sense of urgency and excitement. Depending on the complexity and number of clues, you can make it last anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours.
As the host, you can either guide participants through the hunt or leave the clues in designated locations and let them explore independently.
List Items
Make a list of the items that need to be found. Maybe some Christmas decorations, gifts, even food. To spice things up, you can add surprise rewards for some items that are successfully found.
Clues and Clue Cards
Create a list of clues, riddles, or hints that lead participants from one location or item to the next. These clues can be related to Christmas songs, movies, or traditions.
Your clue cards are where you’ll be writing down the clues. They don’t have to be such literary masterpieces, but being creative makes the hunt more challenging and enjoyable. Using wordplay or making them rhyme would add more fun and excitement when trying to decode them.
Plan where to leave your clue cards for a strategic game flow.
What are some good clues for a scavenger hunt?
Some good clues for a scavenger hunt should be creative and challenging enough to make the game fun. For a Christmas scavenger hunt, some festive ideas for clues include rhyming clues, Christmas song lyrics, Christmas movie references, holiday food and drinks, “hidden in decorations”, and seasonal characters.
Find Locations
Set the location and the route. These can be indoors, outdoors, or a combination of both, depending on your preference and the weather. Map it to avoid anyone getting lost. It’s not difficult if you limit the hunt to just within the backyard, but if you’re doing it within the neighborhood, then parameters should be set to avoid confusion. Also ensure that the locations and clues are safe and suitable for all participants.
Prizes
Consider offering small prizes or rewards for the participants who complete the scavenger hunt successfully. It should be something short of epic to make the game exciting and keep the players motivated to give their best. Examples would be Christmas-themed gifts or treats.
Choosing a Winner
Determine how to choose a winner. This might be as easy as declaring the one who finished the hunt first or going the more unusual route by basing it on some point system instead. It all depends on you.
Spice It Up
Give your Christmas Scavenger Hunt game some dimensions by adding tasks in some portions. For instance, you can ask them to perform something when they find some particular clues. The idea is to break the monotony and make it more fun.
Surprise Rewards
Add some additional rewards to keep participants motivated to continue the quest. It would also spice up things.
Proving
Decide how the players will prove that they finished the task. Of course, showing the things they collected (if possible) would be one, but employing other creative means would be fun. Making them take photos is one good example.
Debrief
After the scavenger hunt is completed, gather everyone together to discuss the experience and share stories about the clues and the items found.
Get Help
To avoid getting overwhelmed with planning your Christmas Scavenger Hunt, try asking for help from family members and other participants. I’m sure someone’s bound to be happy to share the load. Maybe they can pitch in some items, make the clue cards, etc.
Get Ready for Contingencies
Try to foresee what could possibly go wrong and prepare for it. Maybe prepare extra items in case the original ones get damaged or lost.
Final Thoughts
A Christmas scavenger hunt is a wonderful way to create lasting holiday memories and engage in a bit of friendly competition. It’s an excellent activity for bringing people together not only during Christmas, but also during other family gatherings, another holiday party, or as a team-building exercise in the workplace.
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Sounds like fun
Oh, so much fun!