Christmas Scavenger Hunt: 6 Free Printable Sheets

December can be long for children who are waiting for the big day, and a Christmas scavenger hunt turns the wait into a game. This set has six printable sheets: a picture list, a big-picture page for preschoolers, clue cards with an answer page, two bingo cards and a write-it-down hunt. The pictures show things most homes have in December, such as a tree, a star, a stocking, a candle and a bell, so the hunt works in a living room, a classroom or a party hall. Each Christmas scavenger hunt sheet works indoors or outside.

Quick answer: print the picture list, give each child a pencil and set a timer for 15 minutes. Children find each decoration, tick the box and report back. The big-picture page suits ages 3 to 5, and the clue cards suit ages 6 and up.

Christmas scavenger hunt printable (PDF)

Six sheets, each a PDF. Click a picture to open it. The clue cards PDF has two pages: the clues and the answer key.

Which sheet suits which holiday moment?

How to set up the hunt at home or at school

Start the Christmas scavenger hunt in one room, then open up the whole house once children get the idea.

1. Choose the rooms. The living room and the hallway are enough, and a classroom works well too.
2. Add a few extras. Hang a bell on a door handle or tuck a small ornament on a shelf, so every picture has a match.
3. Hand out the sheets. Give each child a pencil and something firm to lean on.
4. Start the clock. Ten to fifteen minutes suits most groups, and the winner is the child who ticks the most boxes.
5. Talk about the finds. Ask each child to show or describe what they found for every tick.

Christmas scavenger hunt ideas for kids

• Advent hunt: use one clue card each day in December and hide a tiny treat or a note at the answer.
• Tree hunt: stand around the tree and find a star, a bell, a candy cane and a bow on its branches.
• Photo hunt: older children take a photo of each find with a phone or tablet, with an adult nearby.
• Team race: two teams share one picture list and race to complete it first.
• Kindness hunt: on the write-it-down sheet, add a line for one kind thing to do for someone today.

Gentle rules for a calm holiday game

A Christmas scavenger hunt is quiet fun, but holiday rooms hold breakable decorations, candles and hot drinks. Tell children to look and point, not to touch ornaments, and use battery candles instead of flames. If a picture on the list is not in your house, children can skip it or draw something that fits. A hunt that ends with everyone laughing is better than one that ends with a perfect score. Keep the Christmas scavenger hunt short for younger children, around ten minutes.

What children practice in a holiday hunt

A Christmas scavenger hunt also builds observation and early reading skills.

• Vocabulary: naming holiday objects, such as wreath, stocking and ornament.
• Listening: following a clue and remembering the answer while they search.
• Fine motor skills: holding a pencil to tick the boxes and write on the lines.
• Sharing: taking turns to point out finds and agreeing on what counts.

How these sheets are made

Every sheet is generated by a program from lists we wrote for this page: the picture lists, the bingo cards and the clues are original. The pictures are Noto Emoji artwork from Google, used under the Apache License 2.0; the project is on GitHub. A credit line is printed on every page.

Hide a small treat at the end of the Christmas scavenger hunt to make the last find extra exciting.

More holiday games and hunts

• Thanksgiving scavenger hunt and fall scavenger hunt.
• Indoor scavenger hunt and outdoor scavenger hunt.
• Christmas I Spy printables and winter I Spy.
• Classroom bingo and picture bingo for kids.
• Printable mazes.
• Charades for kids.
• Every puzzle and brain teaser on PrintSheetLab.

Last updated: October 2026