# Christmas Scavenger Hunt: One Sheet, Indoors, Ages 4 to 9 By Tess Marlow · Last updated: October 17, 2026 It is raining, the walk is cancelled, and you have a four-year-old and a nine-year-old who both want a game right now. A christmas scavenger hunt fixes that, but most hunts come as a pile of clue cards you have to write and hide first. Here is one sheet that works indoors for ages four to nine, with twelve things to find and no preparation beyond a pen. **Quick answer:** - **One sheet:** twelve things from around your home, in three columns: four pictures, four words and four riddles. - **Ages:** 4 to 5 find the pictures, 6 to 7 add the words, 8 to 9 solve the riddles as well. - **Time:** plan for about ten minutes for the youngest and about twenty for the oldest. - **Rooms:** inside only, with nothing hidden and nothing to buy. - **No time to draw the sheet:** [a printable Christmas game bundle](/go/creative-fabrica/?q=christmas+kids+printable+bundle) has a scavenger hunt card ready to print. ## Christmas Scavenger Hunt on One Sheet: Indoors, Ages 4 to 9 A christmas scavenger hunt is a list of things to find, and the first child to tick them all wins, or everyone wins together. Most hunts online give you ten sheets of clues. You also get a map of the house and a list of hiding places. That is a lot to set up on a rainy afternoon. This hunt does not hide anything. You look for twelve things that are already in your home at Christmas: a star, a bell, a stocking, a bow. One sheet, one pen, one timer. If you would rather print a ready one, [a ten-game Christmas bundle](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=10-christmas-games-bundle-3) includes a scavenger hunt page. ## How to Make a Christmas Scavenger Hunt From One Sheet You need a sheet of paper, a pen and about five minutes. Draw two lines to make three columns, and write the twelve things in the order below. - **Column one, pictures:** a star, a bell, a candy cane, a round ornament. Draw each one small, with a box beside it for a tick. - **Column two, words:** stocking, bow, card, mitten. Write them in clear capital letters. - **Column three, riddles:** four short lines, for example “I wear lights and a star in the corner” for the tree, or “I glow without a flame” for a battery candle. Print a copy for each child or draw them on the back of an envelope. If drawing is the part you dread, [an editable Christmas game page](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=christmas-game-bundle-2-editable) lets you change the items on a ready layout. ## How to Play a Christmas Scavenger Hunt Indoors This is an indoor christmas scavenger hunt for kids, so every rule below assumes four walls and a warm floor. Hand out the sheets, say go, and let the children walk, not run, from room to room. When they find a thing, they tick the box and, for the older ones, say where it was. The rules fit on one card. - **Look, do not take:** children touch nothing breakable, they point and tick, or carry only the soft things like the mitten. - **Walk:** no running on the stairs, and a grown-up stays in the middle room. - **Finish:** the hunt ends when the timer rings or when everyone has ticked their column. A small prize helps, but a hot chocolate when the timer rings does the job. While the last child finishes, [a Christmas activity book](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=christmas-activity-book-for-kids-18) keeps the early finishers busy. You keep a mixed group together by giving everyone the same things to find, not the same way to find them. ## The One-Sheet List: 12 Things to Find Inside You can copy this table onto the sheet as it is. Here is the full list. Every item is something a home has at Christmas, so you do not need to hide a single one. | Column | Things to find | For ages | | Pictures | Star, bell, candy cane, round ornament | 4 to 5 | | Words | Stocking, bow, card, mitten | 6 to 7 | | Riddles | Tree, battery candle, wreath, snowflake | 8 to 9 | If a home does not have one of the items, swap it for something close. A red sock stands in for a stocking and a paper star for the star. For another quick game with the same pen-and-paper setup, try [free Christmas bingo](/christmas-bingo-printable-free/). ## Ages 4 to 5: Hunt by Picture You are the guide here. Children of four and five often cannot read, so the first column is drawn. Give them the picture column only, four items, and sit with them for the first one. Point at the picture, say its name and ask where in the room it could be. You will see them look up, down and behind the door, which is exactly the searching you want. Ten minutes is plenty. If you want more for this age, [a printable Christmas game card](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=10-christmas-games-bundle-3) works as a second round. ## Ages 6 to 7: Hunt by Word You can step back a little now. Six and seven-year-olds are learning to read, so the word column suits them. They search for the four words first and then take on the four pictures as a bonus, eight items in all. Let them read the words aloud before they start. A word that sounds out slowly, like stocking, becomes a small victory when they find it. Plan for about fifteen minutes, and let them check off the pictures with a younger sibling if one is nearby. ## Ages 8 to 9: Hunt by Clue You will not need to help much. Eight and nine-year-olds want a puzzle. The riddle column gives them that: four short lines, each pointing at something in the house. They also take the words and pictures, so the full twelve are theirs. Write the riddles in a rhyme if you can, because they remember a rhyme and enjoy finding it. A treasure-style twist works at this age too: the last riddle points to where a small treat waits. Allow about twenty minutes. [A Christmas game page with a scavenger hunt](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=christmas-game-bundle-2-editable) gives them one more to solve. ## Mixed Ages: Three Rules So Nobody Wins Too Fast You need the rules before the first race. When a four-year-old and a nine-year-old play together, the older one wins every race. These three rules keep it fair. - **Same things, different clues:** everyone looks for the same twelve things, the youngest by picture, the oldest by riddle. - **Team score:** count the ticks together, not one against another. - **Helper job:** the older child may give a hint to the younger one, never the answer. With these rules, you have one game and one winner: the whole group. A bigger party can use the same list with teams, and the [Christmas party games for kids](/christmas-party-games-for-kids-10-games-no-prep-needed/) give you something for between rounds. ## How Long a Christmas Scavenger Hunt Takes You set the clock, not the children. Plan for about ten minutes with children of four and five, about fifteen with six and seven, and about twenty with eight and nine. Those are planning numbers, not promises: a rainy day with a slow reader takes longer. If it runs long, stop the timer at twelve minutes for the youngest and let them count what they found. If it runs short, hand the finished child a blank sheet and ask them to write a clue list for you. [A Christmas activity book](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=christmas-activity-book-for-kids-18) is another way to use the spare minutes. ## From Checklist to Treasure Hunt With the Same Sheet This sheet is a checklist: the children walk around and tick. To make a christmas treasure hunt from it, hide a clue at each item instead of just listing it. The first riddle sends the child to the tree, where the second riddle waits under a branch. The same twelve things then become a trail. A christmas present scavenger hunt works the same way: the last clue points to the wrapped present, and the children open it together. Start with the checklist, and turn it into a trail only when the children have asked for more. ### [10 Christmas Games Bundle](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=10-christmas-games-bundle-3) Ten games, including a Scavenger Hunt, Naughty or Nice and Christmas Around the World, as printable cards in JPG and PDF. [Get the 10 Christmas Games Bundle →](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=10-christmas-games-bundle-3) ### [Christmas Game Bundle #2 – Editable](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=christmas-game-bundle-2-editable) Four games, including a Scavenger Hunt, as four Canva pages with answers, so you can change the items to your own. [Get Christmas Game Bundle #2 →](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=christmas-game-bundle-2-editable) ### [Christmas Activity Book for Kids](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=christmas-activity-book-for-kids-18) Colouring pages and brain-boosting activities for preschoolers, kindergarteners and older kids, for the minutes after the hunt. [Get the Christmas Activity Book →](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=christmas-activity-book-for-kids-18) ## Printable Scavenger Hunt Sheet Instead of Drawing Your Own A christmas scavenger hunt printable saves the drawing step, and that is its only job. The list above is free, and you can draw it in five minutes. The part that takes longer is the pictures: a four-year-old needs a star that looks like a star, and a quick sketch is not always clear to them. A ready printable gives you drawn items and a clean layout. You print it, hand it out and play. Look at the listing for the page size and the licence before you print for a group, and check whether the items can be edited. For the rest of the Christmas evening, [easy Christmas games for family that need one sheet](/easy-christmas-games-for-family-9-that-need-one-sheet/) keep the same one-page idea. Where a free list stops ### A printable Christmas scavenger hunt, ready to play The list above fits one sheet. When you want the pictures drawn for you, a printable game bundle puts a scavenger hunt in your hand in a minute. - Print once, play the same afternoon - Check each listing for the page size and licence [See the printable Christmas bundles →](/go/creative-fabrica/?q=christmas+kids+printable+bundle) More: [Christmas activities for kids](/christmas-activities-for-kids-sorted-by-how-long-they-hold/), [Christmas Eve activities for kids](/christmas-eve-activities-for-kids-an-evening-in-5-blocks/) and [all Christmas scavenger hunts](/category/christmas-scavenger-hunt/). ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is a christmas scavenger hunt? It is a game where children look for a list of Christmas things. You can hide them as a trail or, as here, find what is already in the house. A [printable page](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=christmas-game-bundle-2-editable) works too. ### How to play christmas scavenger hunt? Give each child a sheet, set a timer and let them walk from room to room ticking the things they find. The hunt ends when the timer rings or when everyone has ticked their column. ### How to do a christmas scavenger hunt for kids? Pick twelve things from your home, split them into pictures, words and riddles, and give each child the column that matches their age. ### What are the best christmas scavenger hunt ideas? The best ones need no hiding and no shopping: star, bell, candy cane, ornament, stocking, bow, card and mitten, plus four riddles for the older children. ### How do you do a christmas scavenger hunt with a present? Turn the checklist into a trail: hide a riddle at each item, and let the last riddle point to the wrapped present. ## Key Takeaways - One sheet, twelve things from around your home: four pictures, four words, four riddles. - Ages 4 to 5 take the pictures, 6 to 7 add the words, 8 to 9 add the riddles. - Plan for about ten, fifteen and twenty minutes by age. - Give a mixed group the same things to find and a team score. - For the pictures drawn for you: [a ten-game Christmas bundle](/go/creative-fabrica/?p=10-christmas-games-bundle-3) includes a scavenger hunt. *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.*