# Christmas Gift Scavenger Hunt: 12 Clues to One Present By Tess Marlow · Last updated: October 18, 2026 It is Christmas morning, and you have one big present that you do not want to hand over in a second. A christmas gift scavenger hunt turns that present into twenty-five minutes of running around the house. Here are twelve clues that lead your child from the bedroom to the one gift, with the order to hide them in. **Quick answer:** - **Clues:** twelve cards, one per place, ending at the present. - **Order:** you hide the cards backwards, starting with card 12 next to the gift. - **Time:** plan for about 25 to 30 minutes of play, and 15 minutes to hide everything. - **Young kids:** use six cards with a picture on each, and read them aloud. - **No time to write twelve cards:** a [ready-made Christmas printable bundle](/go/creative-fabrica/?q=christmas+kids+printable+bundle) gives you the pictures and cards already drawn. ## Christmas Gift Scavenger Hunt: 12 Clues to One Present A christmas present scavenger hunt is simple. Your child reads a clue, finds a card, and the card names the next place. The twelfth card leads to the gift. Most clue lists give you a pile of rhymes and leave the planning to you. Nobody tells you which card to hide first, and that is where a hunt goes wrong. Below you get twelve clues, the hiding order and the minutes. If you would rather skip the writing, [a printable Christmas games bundle](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=10-christmas-games-bundle-3) includes a scavenger hunt page. ## How to Set Up a Gift Scavenger Hunt: Hide It Backwards The question I hear most is how to do a scavenger hunt for a christmas gift without losing the thread halfway. The answer is to build the hunt from the end. - Put the present in its final place. - Hide card 12 there, next to it. Card 12 names the place of the gift. - Hide card 11 in the place that card 12 names. - Go on like this down to card 1, which you keep in your hand. On the back of every card, write its number and a short note to yourself: “hide card 8 here”. Then you never stand in the hall wondering which card belongs where. A [set of printable Christmas cards](/go/creative-fabrica/?q=christmas+kids+printable+bundle) already leaves room for a note like that. Hide the cards from the last to the first. If you hide them in the order the child will find them, you will mix up two places and the hunt breaks at clue seven. ## How to Play: One Clue, One Place, One Next Card You hand your child card 1 and say go. The child reads the clue, runs to the place it names, and finds card 2 there. Nothing else is needed. - **One clue per card:** a short rhyme or two lines, with one place in it. - **One place per clue:** never two, or the child will search both and lose the thread. - **Your job:** stay near the middle of the house and give a hint after two minutes of searching. - **Finish:** the last card leads to the present, and the present is waiting. Walk the route once before the hunt. You will notice a card that sits where the dog sleeps, and you will move it. If you want more ways to run this game, read our [scavenger hunt lists by age](/scavenger-hunt-ideas-for-kids-12-lists-by-age-3-to-11/) and a [pack of Christmas game pages](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=merry-christmas-games-and-activities) for the extra rounds. ## Clues 1 to 3: Wake-Up Rooms These three clues stay in the rooms where you woke your child up, so the hunt starts before anyone has time to be grumpy. - **Clue 1, the pillow:** “Soft and white, I held your head all night. Look under me for a first delight.” - **Clue 2, the toothbrush:** “Brush, brush, minty and bright. Lift the cup that holds me tight.” - **Clue 3, the shoes:** “Left and right, they wait in line. Tip them up, the next clue is mine.” Put the card for clue 2 under the toothbrush cup. Tuck the card for clue 3 into a slipper. Keep each card flat, so your child can see it without pulling a drawer out. For a hunt with pictures, see [the Christmas printable bundles](/go/creative-fabrica/?q=christmas+kids+printable+bundle). ## Clues 4 to 6: Kitchen and Living Room Here your child moves downstairs. Keep these places easy to reach, and put the cards on low shelves where a four-year-old can see them. - **Clue 4, the fridge:** “Cold and tall, I hold the milk. Look on my door, a card is stuck.” - **Clue 5, the bread bin:** “Crumbs and toast, I hide the loaf. Lift my lid, the card is close.” - **Clue 6, the sofa:** “Cushions, blankets, a comfy place. Slide your hand in, find the next place.” If your rhymes do not scan, do not worry. Your child cares about the place, not the poetry. One of my groups preferred plain clues like “where we keep the milk”, so I wrote half the cards that way. For more Christmas ideas that run in a living room, see [Christmas activities sorted by how long they hold](/christmas-activities-for-kids-sorted-by-how-long-they-hold/) and a [set of separate Christmas games](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=christmas-games). ## Clues 7 to 9: Hall, Coats and Shoes The hall is the best part of the hunt for most children, and you will see why: it has so many places to look. - **Clue 7, the coat hooks:** “Hats and scarves hang in a row. Feel every pocket, high and low.” - **Clue 8, the shoe box:** “Boots and sneakers sleep in here. Open the lid, the next clue is near.” - **Clue 9, the umbrella:** “Rain or snow, I keep you dry. Look inside me, open wide.” This is the group of clues that most often goes wrong, because the hall is crowded. I put the cards in the pockets of coats nobody wears. Check that nobody uses the umbrella before the hunt starts. You can pair this with the [Christmas Eve evening plan](/christmas-eve-activities-for-kids-an-evening-in-5-blocks/) and a [pack of Christmas puzzles and mazes](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=merry-christmas-games-and-activities) for the calm hour afterwards. ## Clues 10 to 12: The Last Stop and the Present The last three clues bring the child to the tree and the gift. The final card names the place, not the gift, so the surprise stays intact. - **Clue 10, the tree:** “Lights and tinsel, shining bright. Look near the star for your next sight.” - **Clue 11, the gift sack:** “Red and round, I wait for you. Reach inside, the last card is due.” - **Clue 12, the hiding place:** “You followed every clue so well. Look in the closet, under the bell.” Pick the final place by the size of the gift. A small gift goes in a coat pocket or a sock. A big one stays where it already lives, and you let card 12 name the room. For a smaller game with the same idea, see [10 Christmas party games that need no prep](/christmas-party-games-for-kids-10-games-no-prep-needed/) and a [Christmas bundle with ready-made hunts](/go/creative-fabrica/?q=christmas+kids+printable+bundle). ## Gift Hunt for Kids Who Cannot Read Yet A four- or five-year-old cannot read a rhyme, and a hunt that depends on reading ends in tears. You change two things for the youngest. - **Picture, not words:** draw a fridge, a pillow or a shoe on the card, so your child matches the picture to the room. - **Six clues, not twelve:** take every second card and keep the route short. - **A reader beside you:** read the clue aloud while the child holds the card and points to the place. The picture card is where you will struggle most, because drawing twelve fridges takes an evening. That is the moment to open [a bundle of drawn Christmas pages](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=10-christmas-games-bundle-3) and cut out what you need. For other pages for the youngest, see [printable activities for kids by attention span](/printable-activities-for-kids-20-sheets-by-attention-span/). ## How Long a Gift Scavenger Hunt Takes Plan for about 25 to 30 minutes of play. Your child spends two to three minutes on each clue, and twelve clues add up to that. - **Hiding the cards:** about 15 minutes, with the cards written in advance. - **Playing, twelve clues:** 25 to 30 minutes. - **Playing, six clues:** about 12 to 15 minutes, which suits a small child. If the hunt runs longer, your child is stuck on one card, so give a hint. If it runs shorter, the places were too easy. Either way, a [collection of Christmas games](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=christmas-games) fills the time while the grown-ups drink their coffee. ## One Present, Any Size: Where to Hide It The last card should name a place, because the present decides the place. Here is how you match them. A creative twist is a cash gift or a gift card in an envelope, which fits the small-gift rule. - **Small gift:** in an envelope, a sock, or a coat pocket near the tree. - **Medium gift:** in a bag inside a closet, with card 12 pointing to the closet. - **Large gift:** where it already stands, under a blanket, with card 12 naming the room. Never write the name of the gift on the last card. If your child reads “bike in the garage”, no surprise is left. You can also use this idea for a [family evening of charades](/ideas-for-christmas-charades/) after the hunt, and a [printable Christmas game set](/go/creative-fabrica/?q=christmas+kids+printable+bundle) for the same table. ## Printable Clue Cards Instead of Writing Your Own You can copy the twelve clues from this page in a minute. The slow part is turning them into twelve neat cards, and for a child who cannot read, into twelve pictures. A free list stops here, because it is text only. Where a free list stops ### Christmas cards, already drawn A printable Christmas bundle gives you pictures and card layouts you print once and cut. Check in the listing that the file format suits your printer and whether you can print copies. - Pictures drawn for the youngest - Print once, hide the same evening [See the Christmas printable bundles →](/go/creative-fabrica/?q=christmas+kids+printable+bundle) More: [Christmas scavenger hunt](/category/christmas-scavenger-hunt/), [Christmas games for kids](/category/christmas-games-for-kids/) and [a free Christmas bingo](/christmas-bingo-printable-free/). ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How to do a scavenger hunt for a christmas gift? Hide the gift first, then hide the clue that names its place, and work back to clue 1. You hand clue 1 to the child. A [printable bundle](/go/creative-fabrica/?q=christmas+kids+printable+bundle) saves you the writing. ### What are good christmas gift scavenger hunt clues? Good clues name one household place each: a pillow, a fridge, a coat hook, the tree. Keep them short and use a rhyme only when it comes easily. ### What is a christmas gift scavenger hunt for kids? It is a chain of cards that leads a child through the house to a present. For kids, I use twelve cards for readers and six picture cards for small children. ### Can a christmas gift hunt work for teens or adults? Yes. Use harder riddles, such as “where the coffee lives”, and go outside to the car or the shed. The hiding order stays the same. ### How many clues should a christmas gift hunt have? Twelve is a good number for a child who reads, because it fills about half an hour. Six is enough for a child of four or five. ### Is there a free printable christmas gift scavenger hunt? You can copy the twelve clues on this page onto plain cards for free. For pictures and a neat layout, pick up a [Christmas games bundle](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=10-christmas-games-bundle-3). ## Key Takeaways - Twelve clues, one place each, ending at one present. - Hide the cards backwards, starting with card 12 next to the gift. - Plan for 25 to 30 minutes of play and 15 minutes to hide. - Small children get six picture cards and a reader. - For cards already drawn, see [a Christmas printable bundle](/go/creative-fabrica/?q=christmas+kids+printable+bundle). *About the author: Hi, I’m Tess. I taught preschool for nine years and now make the printables I used to photocopy at 7am. Every game here has been played with a real group of kids before it goes up, and I tell you how long it actually held their attention, not how long it should have.*