Our 2023 Christmas Scavenger Hunt

One of our kids’ very favorite holiday traditions is the Christmas scavenger hunt. We started doing this little game four years ago, and it was an instant winner for us. For the last few years, I’ve been making and sharing my own clues for the scavenger hunt, and today is the big day!

Over the years, I’ve heard from many of you who have picked up this tradition too. I love hearing from you after you’ve used my clues! This is genuinely the easiest way to seriously impress your kids with your holiday spirit. I promise they’ll have a blast every time.

How the Christmas Scavenger Hunt Works

We use our scavenger hunt to give a small gift to our kids each year. You can do anything, but we always use it for their personal advent calendars! We love giving each of them a LEGO Advent Calendar (because everyone in this house is LEGO obsessed). You could do it with candy advent calendars, a new pair of Christmas pajamas, or even just some candy canes!

We always do our Christmas Scavenger Hunt on December 1st, mostly because it ties into the advent calendars. But, if you aren’t gifting those, you could do it anytime during the month of December. It would even be really fun if Santa left a scavenger hunt on Christmas morning that the entire family can participate in!

Setup is incredibly easy – I just set it up the night before once the kids are in bed. I print out the clue cards and hide each in their proper spot. The first clue goes in that day’s envelope for our activity advent calendar.

The kids work together to find the clues – if you have more than two clue hunters, you might want to designate a system to make sure everyone gets to participate. But, ours share pretty nicely and do a good job working as a team.

The 2023 Christmas Scavenger Hunt Clues

Now, let’s get to the fun part! Here’s a rundown of the clues for this year. There’s no list of items or supplies you’ll need, because this requires zero supplies other than a few pieces of paper. You’re welcome.

Here are the clues:

• CLUE ONE: “Today, let’s hunt for a Christmas surprise! Your first clue can be found near the art supplies.”
• CLUE TWO: “Great job! I can tell you’re going to do great. For your next clue, you’ll need to look under a plate.”
• CLUE THREE: “What a great game this is. Are you having fun? This next clue can be found in what you’d wear for a run.”
• CLUE FOUR: “You’re getting so close, but we’re not there yet. Now go look in a sink…I hope the clue isn’t wet!”
• CLUE FIVE: “Are you feeling tired yet? We have a few more to go. Your next clue is under the Christmas tree’s glow.”
• CLUE SIX: “I’m having a blast, and that’s not a lie! The next clue can be found where we get our clothes dry.”
• CLUE SEVEN: “This game is my favorite, it brings lots of joy. You’ll find a new clue sitting next to some toys!”
• CLUE EIGHT: “Only one clue to go! And it’s very very cold. To grab it, you’ll want to be fast and be bold!”
• CLUE NINE: “It’s time for your prize! You are all done with looking. Your prize can be found where we do all our cooking.”

They’re all super easy clues that most ages can handle just fine, and they’re general enough that they should work in any home!

FREE Printable Christmas Scavenger Hunt

And now, what you’ve all been waiting for. The printable Christmas scavenger hunt clues! You can click the button below to download the clues, then just print them out, cut out the cards, and get ready to have some fun!

As always, I’ve also included a set of blank cards in the download. So, if you’d rather come up with your own clues (or if some of mine don’t work), you can use that too!

I can’t wait to hear how this fun little tradition works for you! It’s my favorite way to spread a little holiday cheer to kick off the season, and the kids always have the best time with it.

More Christmas Scavenger Hunt Ideas

Want to see some of the clues from previous ear