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Safety first: Always supervise little ones, and skip small parts for kids who still put things in their mouths. Please read our play safety notes before you start.
Key takeaways
- Two hunts in one free PDF: 12 picture cards for ages 3 to 5 who cannot read yet, and 12 rhyming clue cards for ages 5 to 8.
- The clue cards work as a chain. Each card tells the child where the next one is hidden, and the last card has a blank line for the grown-up to write the prize spot.
- Setup is about 5 minutes: print 7 pages, cut the cards, hide them in the order printed in small type on each card.
- A one-page found-it sheet turns the picture hunt into a classroom or party game. Print one per child.
- Prizes are a sticker, a book or a bath toy, not candy. Small prizes and candy canes stay out of reach of children under 3.
In this post22 sections
- Get the free Christmas scavenger hunt printable (what is in the set)
- How to set up an indoor Christmas scavenger hunt in 5 minutes
- Christmas scavenger hunt for preschoolers (picture cards, ages 3 to 5)
- 1. Match the card to the real thing
- 2. Hide the cards, find the pictures
- 3. Sticker the found-it sheet
- Christmas scavenger hunt clues for kids who can read (ages 5 to 8)
- 4. Run the 12-card chain
- 5. Write your own clues for the second week
- 6. Mixed-age siblings: run both hunts at once
- Outdoor and Christmas lights scavenger hunt version
- 7. The lights-walk hunt
- 8. Daylight backyard hunt with the picture cards
- Christmas scavenger hunt ideas for a classroom or party
- 9. Classroom picture hunt
- 10. Party relay with the clue chain
- Prizes that are not candy (and a supervision note on small parts)
- Make it reusable: clipboards, dry-erase pockets and storage
- 11. Slide the sheets into dry-erase pockets
- 12. Store the set with the decorations
- More Christmas printables and the Christmas Activity Pack
- FAQ
Get the free Christmas scavenger hunt printable (what is in the set)
The download is 7 pages on US Letter paper. Page 1 is the how-to with a safety note. Pages 2 and 3 hold the 12 picture cards for pre-readers: a star, an ornament, a candy cane, a stocking, a wreath, a bell, a gift, a tree, a snowman, a reindeer, a gingerbread cookie and a mitten. Every card has a big simple drawing, the word underneath for the grown-up to read out, and a circle for a sticker or a check mark.
Pages 4 and 5 hold the 12 rhyming clue cards for readers. Each clue points to a spot found in almost every home: the fridge, a pillow, a shoe, the bathtub, a coat pocket, under the kitchen table, a bookshelf, the sock drawer, a windowsill, under the tree, a stocking, and a final prize spot you fill in yourself. Page 6 is a one-page found-it sheet with all 12 pictures, for classrooms and parties. Page 7 is a grown-up page about the full Christmas Activity Pack, which has its own 16-prompt indoor hunt, bingo and I spy.
Download the free Christmas scavenger hunt cards (PDF, 7 pages). No sign-up needed. Teachers may print copies for their own class. The drawings are simple flat shapes with thick outlines, so they print fine in black and white if you want to save ink.
How to set up an indoor Christmas scavenger hunt in 5 minutes
You need the printed pages, scissors, a roll of painter's tape and one small prize. Cardstock is nicer but plain paper works. Pick one hunt for the day: the picture hunt for a child who does not read yet, the clue chain for a reader, or both at once for siblings (more on that below).
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Christmas scavenger hunt for preschoolers (picture cards, ages 3 to 5)
Pre-readers do not need to be left out of the hunt, they just need pictures instead of words. These three ways to use the picture cards go from easiest to most involved. All three keep a grown-up in the room, mostly because the fun objects in a decorated house (glass ornaments, candy canes, small figures) are exactly the things a 3 year old wants to put in their mouth. If your child cannot read yet, our guide to scavenger hunts for preschoolers who cannot read shows six picture-clue methods and how long to run the hunt by age.
1Match the card to the real thing
Hand your child one card at a time and say the word. They walk the house to find a real one: the star on top of the tree, a stocking on the hook, the wreath on the door. When they point to it, they get a sticker on the card. Hold the card up next to the object so they can see the match. For a 3 year old, four or five cards is a full game. Save the rest for tomorrow.
Ages: 3 to 5.
Prep: 5 minutes to print and cut.
Mess: none.
Supplies: picture cards, a sheet of stickers, a clipboard if you have one.
Safety: stay beside your child. Glass ornaments, hooks and candy canes are not for small hands, so the rule is point, do not grab.
2Hide the cards, find the pictures
Tape the 12 cards around two rooms at your child's eye level: on the fridge door, a cabinet, the arm of the couch, a door frame. Your child collects them into a basket and you name each picture as it comes back. This is the version to use when the house is not decorated yet, or in a grandparent's house with nothing at child height. It also burns off a lot of energy in a small apartment.
Ages: 3 to 5.
Prep: 5 minutes.
Mess: none, but painter's tape only, since regular tape pulls paint.
Supplies: picture cards, painter's tape, a basket or bag.
Safety: tape the cards low and away from the stove, stairs and the tree stand.
3Sticker the found-it sheet
Page 6 puts all 12 pictures on one sheet with a circle beside each. Your child carries the sheet on a clipboard and adds a sticker, a check mark or a dot of marker as each thing is found. This is the one to print for a playdate, because every child gets their own sheet and nobody has to share cards. Christmas sticker sheets with 100 or more small stickers cost a few dollars and last the whole month.
Ages: 3 to 6.
Prep: 2 minutes.
Mess: low. Stickers end up on the table.
Supplies: found-it sheet, stickers or a washable marker, clipboard.
Safety: small stickers are a choking risk for children under 3. Older siblings peel, toddlers press.
One pack covers the hunt, the found-it sheets and a month of reward charts.
Christmas scavenger hunt clues for kids who can read (ages 5 to 8)
The clue cards are the classic hunt: one rhyme leads to the next hiding spot until the prize. The 12 clues are written for a kindergartner who reads slowly, so each is two short lines with easy words. Here is the full list, with where each card hides, so you can check your house before you print.
| Card | Clue (what the child reads) | Hide the next card |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Your hunt starts now, so here is the plan: look where the milk stays cold, if you can. | In the fridge |
| 2 | Where you lay down your sleepy head, peek under the pillow on your bed. | Under a pillow |
| 3 | Boots and sneakers stand in a row. Look inside one shoe, that is where I go. | In a shoe by the door |
| 4 | Rub-a-dub-dub, splish and splash. Check by the bathtub, quick as a flash. | Beside the bathtub |
| 5 | Coats and jackets hang in a line. Reach in your pocket for the next sign. | In a coat pocket |
| 6 | Where the family sits when dinner is made, look under the table where the clue is laid. | Under the kitchen table |
| 7 | Stories and pictures, so many to read. Beside your favorite book is the clue you need. | On the bookshelf |
| 8 | Socks live in pairs, a left and a right. Open the drawer where they sleep at night. | In the sock drawer |
| 9 | Look through the glass to see if it snows. On the windowsill your next clue goes. | On a windowsill |
| 10 | Green and tall with lights that glow, look near the bottom where the presents go. | Under the tree |
| 11 | Hung with care on a hook or the wall, reach in your stocking, it is not far at all. | In a stocking |
| 12 | You followed each rhyme and found every clue. Look in the ______ for a prize just for you! | The prize spot you write in |
4Run the 12-card chain
A 5 year old reads the card with you, says where it points and runs. A 7 year old wants to do it alone, so stand back and only step in when a card is really stuck. If a spot does not exist in your home (no stocking yet, no windowsill), pull that card and tape the one before it to point somewhere else with a marker. Twelve spots take about 15 minutes, which is long enough to feel like an event and short enough that the prize still matters.
Ages: 5 to 8.
Prep: 5 minutes to hide.
Mess: none.
Supplies: 12 clue cards, tape, one prize.
Safety: skip hiding spots near the stove, the tree stand or anything that tips. The bathtub clue means beside the tub, not in it.
5Write your own clues for the second week
After one run, kids know the route, so the cards lose their surprise. Flip them over. The backs are blank, and a 7 year old can write new clues for you or a sibling in five minutes: "I am cold and I hum" for the fridge, "I hold your teeth cleaner" for the bathroom cup. Writing clues is quietly good reading practice, and kids will happily do it on a day they would refuse a worksheet.
Ages: 6 to 8.
Prep: none.
Mess: none.
Supplies: the used clue cards, a pencil.
Safety: none.
6Mixed-age siblings: run both hunts at once
The usual Christmas scavenger hunt fight is a reader who sprints ahead and a preschooler who cries. Give the reader the clue chain and the preschooler the picture cards, in different rooms, with the same prize spot at the end. Both finish within a few minutes of each other and nobody won. If they insist on being a team, the reader reads each clue aloud and the little one gets to pull the card out of the hiding spot.
Ages: 3 to 8 together.
Prep: 8 minutes for both sets.
Mess: none.
Supplies: both card sets, two prizes or one shared one.
Safety: a grown-up follows the younger child. The older child's spots (bathtub, windowsill) are not toddler spots.
Outdoor and Christmas lights scavenger hunt version
The same found-it sheet works outside. Most of the 12 pictures show up on a walk through any decorated neighborhood: a star, a wreath, a snowman, a reindeer, a tree, a gift, a bell, a candy cane and a stocking are all common yard and window decorations. Clip the sheet to a clipboard, hand over a crayon and go after dinner when the lights are on.
7The lights-walk hunt
Give each child a found-it sheet and a small flashlight so they can see the sheet in the dark. Walk three or four blocks and let them call out finds. The flashlight does more for the mood than the sheet does, so get one per kid. Back home, count the stickers and have cocoa. This one also works from the car in a slow lights-neighborhood crawl, with a grown-up marking the sheet for a toddler in the car seat.
Ages: 3 to 8.
Prep: 2 minutes.
Mess: none.
Supplies: found-it sheet, clipboard, crayon, mini flashlight, warm layers.
Safety: hold hands at every crossing and keep kids on the sidewalk side away from the street. Flashlights with small button batteries stay with the grown-up.
One per child for the lights walk; they also fill a stocking later.
8Daylight backyard hunt with the picture cards
Tape the picture cards to the fence, a tree trunk, the slide and the back door, then send kids out to collect them. Snow makes it better, since footprints lead to the cards. In a warm climate, hide them in bushes and planters. This is the version for a sugar-high afternoon when you need everyone outside for 20 minutes.
Ages: 3 to 8.
Prep: 5 minutes.
Mess: wet cards if it is snowing. Slip them into zip bags first.
Supplies: picture cards, painter's tape, zip bags.
Safety: stay in a fenced yard or within sight; no cards near the grill or a frozen pond.
Christmas scavenger hunt ideas for a classroom or party
Teachers may print this set for their own class. The found-it sheet is the classroom piece, since it gives 20 kids 20 identical sheets and the picture cards become the things to find. For a party at home, the clue chain works as a team game. If you need prizes for a whole class, the bulk gifts for preschool students post has small items under a dollar each.
9Classroom picture hunt
Print the 12 picture cards twice and tape 24 cards around the room before the children arrive, some easy and some half hidden under a chair or behind the reading corner shelf. Each child gets a found-it sheet and a crayon. They check off each picture as they spot it, no collecting, so the cards stay up for the next group. Twenty minutes fills the awkward slot before a holiday party or the last afternoon before break.
Ages: 3 to 7, preschool through first grade.
Prep: 10 minutes.
Mess: none.
Supplies: 24 cards, 1 sheet per child, crayons, clipboards or a hard book to lean on.
Safety: the walking-not-running rule, and nothing taped above shoulder height.
Lets a hunt happen standing up; they come out again for every printable this winter.
10Party relay with the clue chain
Split the party into two teams. Each team gets the same 12 clues but hidden on different sides of the house (so two copies of the set, with a colored dot on the back of each). Teams run the chain together, and the first to reach the prize spot wins a shared prize like a tin of cocoa packets. Keep teams to four kids or fewer, or the youngest ones never get to hold a card.
Ages: 5 to 8.
Prep: 10 minutes to hide two sets.
Mess: none.
Supplies: two printed clue sets, tape, two prizes.
Safety: no running on stairs. Put the stair-adjacent spots (coat pocket, shoes) on the ground floor only.
Prizes that are not candy (and a supervision note on small parts)
The prize is the reason a 5 year old keeps going at card 9, but it does not have to be sugar. The best prizes for a Christmas scavenger hunt are small, fit in a stocking and get used that same day. The lists in stocking stuffers for ages 3 to 5 and advent calendar fillers that are not candy are full of them, and these are the ones that work best at the end of a hunt.
Non-candy prize ideas by age
Make it reusable: clipboards, dry-erase pockets and storage
Printed cards on plain paper last one hunt. With two cheap additions they last through December and come out again next year, which matters once your child asks for the hunt every single day after the first one.
11Slide the sheets into dry-erase pockets
Dry-erase pockets are clear plastic sleeves sized for a letter sheet. Slide the found-it sheet in, hand over a dry-erase marker, and the sheet wipes clean for the next child or the next day. A pack of 6 to 10 covers a playdate. They also save every other printable on this site: chore charts, bingo boards and the countdown chart in the paid pack all fit.
Ages: 3 to 8.
Prep: 1 minute.
Mess: low. Dry-erase marker wipes off hands with water.
Supplies: dry-erase pockets, dry-erase markers, the printed sheet.
Safety: marker caps are small. Keep them with the grown-up for children under 3.
One pack makes every printable on this site reusable.
12Store the set with the decorations
Print on cardstock, cut the cards, and keep both sets in one labeled envelope or a quart zip bag. Put the envelope in the ornament box when the tree comes down. Next year the hunt is a tradition instead of a thing you have to remember to print, and a 4 year old who did the picture hunt this year is ready for the clue chain. If you laminate, round the corners so they do not scratch.
Ages: any.
Prep: 5 minutes once.
Mess: none.
Supplies: cardstock, a large envelope or zip bag, a marker.
Safety: none.
Stiff cards that survive a dozen hunts and a year in the ornament box.
More Christmas printables and the Christmas Activity Pack
If the hunt is a hit, the free Christmas printables set adds bingo, a word search and coloring pages, and the kindness advent calendar cards give you one small act a day. For the hunt as part of a bigger December plan, the Christmas countdown ideas post slots it in as Day 14, and low-prep Christmas activities at home covers the rest of the month.
The paid Christmas Activity Pack is the 34-page version of all of this for ages 3 to 8: a 24-day activity countdown, 6 bingo boards with caller cards, an indoor scavenger hunt with 16 picture prompts, an I spy counting page, 2 word searches, 12 kindness cards and 6 coloring pages, with a grown-up page of age tweaks and an answer key.
Supplies for the Christmas scavenger hunt
- Most used
White cardstock, 110 lb, letter size
Typically $10 to $20 per pack
Cards that last past one hunt.
Check price on Amazon for White cardstock, 110 lb, letter size -
Kids clipboards, letter size, 6 pack
Typically $12 to $22
For the found-it sheet, standing up or outside.
Check price on Amazon for Kids clipboards, letter size, 6 pack -
Dry-erase pockets, letter size, 10 pack
Typically $10 to $16
Wipe-clean sheets for siblings and classrooms.
Check price on Amazon for Dry-erase pockets, letter size, 10 pack -
Washable dry-erase markers, fine tip
Typically $6 to $12
Check marks that wipe off the pockets and the kid.
Check price on Amazon for Washable dry-erase markers, fine tip -
Christmas sticker sheets for kids, 500+ pack
Typically $6 to $12
The found-it reward for pre-readers.
Check price on Amazon for Christmas sticker sheets for kids, 500+ pack -
Kids mini LED flashlights, 4 pack
Typically $10 to $18
One per child for the lights walk.
Check price on Amazon for Kids mini LED flashlights, 4 pack -
Painter's tape, 1 inch
Typically $5 to $9
Holds cards on walls and fridges without pulling paint.
Check price on Amazon for Painter's tape, 1 inch -
Bath crayons for kids
Typically $6 to $10
A prize that gets used the same night.
Check price on Amazon for Bath crayons for kids
Frequently asked questions
How do you do a Christmas scavenger hunt for kids indoors?
Print the clue cards, read the small grey line on each card to see where it hides, and tuck cards 2 to 12 in those spots (fridge, pillow, shoe, bathtub, coat pocket and so on). Write the prize spot on card 12, put the prize there, then hand card 1 to your child. It takes about 5 minutes to set up and 15 to 20 minutes to play.
What are good Christmas scavenger hunt clues for kids?
Short two-line rhymes that point to one obvious spot work best for ages 5 to 8: "Where you lay down your sleepy head, peek under the pillow on your bed." The 12 clues in this free set cover the fridge, a shoe, the bathtub, a coat pocket, under the table, the bookshelf, the sock drawer, a windowsill, under the tree and a stocking.
How do you make a scavenger hunt for preschoolers who cannot read?
Use pictures instead of words. The free set has 12 picture cards (star, stocking, candy cane, wreath and so on). Say the word, let your child find the real thing around the house, and add a sticker to the card. Four or five cards is a full game for a 3 year old.
What do you give as a prize for a Christmas scavenger hunt?
Something small that gets used the same day: a bath crayon set, a mini flashlight, a sheet of stickers, a small book or a coupon for a pajama movie night. Candy is not needed. Keep small prizes away from children under 3 because of choking risk.
Can I use this Christmas scavenger hunt in a classroom?
Yes. Teachers may print the set for their own class. Tape two copies of the picture cards around the room and give each child the one-page found-it sheet and a crayon to check off each picture they spot. It runs about 20 minutes for preschool through first grade.
How long does a Christmas scavenger hunt take?
The 12-card clue chain takes 15 to 20 minutes in a typical house. The picture hunt takes 10 to 15 minutes, or less for a 3 year old if you stop at five cards. Setup is about 5 minutes for either.
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