In my recent post, “Don’t Let Fear Drive”, one of the suggestions that I made to change your focus from one of fear and worry, to one of happiness and fun, was creating your own scavenger hunt. After I wrote this, I realized that some people may not know how to create a scavenger hunt, and others may not want to spend the time, or have the time, to create their own. So, I’ve created 3 different scavenger hunts for you to try.
Each one is a little different, depending on your situation, where you live, and who you’re doing it with. There is one that you can do at home, inside or outside, or at a park; one that you can drive around your town and do; and one that is for date night. The first two are suitable for anyone, and the third one is for couples (still PG, but geared towards adults).
Each of these scavenger hunts can be downloaded for free below.
They are designed to be changed up to suit your needs, if necessary. On each one, there are 30 different clues. 20 is probably a good number for most people, but I wanted to give you some extra clues, in case you don’t have one or two of the items around you. (When you see the lists, this will make more sense.)
Any of the scavenger hunts can be done with those that live with you, with other groups, and even with other people virtually. To do them virtually, you would simply get each group to take pictures as they go. Have a designated person in each group to send the pictures to the other participants. For example, if your family and three other families were participating, each group would pick one person to send and receive pictures. That person could still participate in the hunt, but they would also be responsible for keeping up with everyone else’s progress. Whichever group finishes in the allotted time, or finds all of the clues first, is the winner.
You could make it more interesting and say that the winning group gets a gift card to a local restaurant or Amazon, tickets to a theme park or the movies, or something that they can look forward to.
Everyone who is participating could chip in a little money to purchase the prize. You could also do an inexpensive, or a “white elephant” type prize, or something for free. The winners could get a pack of toilet paper, a post on their Facebook or Instagram saying they won, or something like that. If someone within the groups is crafty, they could make a trophy of some sort for the winner.
If you are doing it with the people you live with, then you can still compete against each other, either individually, in pairs, boys vs. girls, etc. Or you can do the hunt as a group and work together. You could set levels of “prizes” to make things more fun. Say, if we find 10 of the items, we get a pizza party; if we find 20 then we get a pizza party and a movie; if we find all of the items then we get a pizza party with a movie and ice cream. Something like that.
Your imagination is truly the limit when it comes to how to do and enjoy these scavenger hunts.
There is only one rules that I suggest you follow, to make it more fun: 1) the items that you find must be physical items, pictures on a billboard, sign, advertisement, etc. No pictures on phones or computers.
How long you spend doing the scavenger hunt depends on how much time you have.
Some people set a time of 30 minutes, and see how many items on the list they can find within this time. For the list of things to find as you drive around, I would probably do a minimum of an hour. I say this because you would have drive time in between each item.
You could also break each list up into 10 items a piece, set a 30-minute time limit, and spread the hunt out over a few different days.
Another idea would be to plan a scavenger hunt as an afternoon activity, and search until you find all of the items on the list.
How ever you choose to do it, have fun!!!
Spending some time doing something fun will help to relieve stress by taking your mind off of current events, and allowing you to change your focus to something more positive.
Post pictures of yourselves doing one of the scavenger hunts on our Facebook page, or of some of the items that you found.
If you enjoy doing these scavenger hunts be sure to let me know so that I can create more fun things like them. Check out our free downloadable “Awareness Month Calendar” as well. It gives you something to search for every day for a month. On each day you’re given something to look for as you go throughout your day. For example, hearts, the color red, dogs, the word “kindness”, etc. For each day you look for one thing and see how many times you can find it. Doing this helps you to be more aware of your surroundings, and to see the little things that you might otherwise miss.
The scavenger hunts will do the same thing. In seeking out the items on the list, you never know what else you may find.
There is a button at the top of each list, to download it for free.
Home Scavenger Hunt
1) Something that pours water
2) A flower that is white
3) What is the 4th planet from the Sun? Find something that is the same color.
4) A utensil that can stir food
5) A flathead screwdriver
6) Tape
7) Paint
8) A photo from a holiday or special event
9) A refrigerator magnet
10) Headphones or Earbuds
11) A blue pen
12) A souvenir from your last vacation
13) Something given to you by someone that doesn’t live with you
14) A ball you would play sports with: baseball, volleyball, basketball, golf ball, football, etc.
15) Something with your name on it
16) What was Walt Disney’s middle name? Find the letter that it starts with.
17) A bell
18) Something orange
19) What is 25.0000 degrees N, 71.0000 degrees W? Find something in your house that is the same shape
20) What is the 5th largest country by land size, not population? Find something that has the same colors as their flag.
21) Something in the shape of a heart
22) A handwritten letter or card
23) A blue pair of shoes
24) A pair of crazy socks, socks with a pattern
25) A smiley face
26) The word “adventure”
27) How old is The Grinch that Stole Christmas? Find that number.
28) A rock that is shaped like a heart
29) A spiderweb
30) What year was Yellowstone National Park established? Add those numbers together and find the sum total number (ex. if it was 1945, add 1+9+4+5=19, find the number 19)
Driving Around Town Scavenger Hunt
1) A bridge
2) A tree that is blooming
3) Purple flowers
4) A stick figure family sticker
5) Water
6) A train
7) A swing set
8) A dog
9) A bicycle
10) A fire truck
11) An abandoned building
12) The number 72
13) A white fence
14) A historical marker
15) A “Speed Limit 45” sign
16) A door painted red
17) A fire hydrant
18) The word “explore”
19) Graffiti
20) A car the same make and color as yours
21) A local restaurant sign, not a chain
22) A flag
23) An arrow
24) A boat
25) A sign shaped like a triangle
26) A cemetery
27) A carwash
28) A piece of furniture sitting on the side of the road
29) Garden Gnome
30) Personalized License Plate
Date Night Scavenger Hunt
1) What was the first movie you saw together? Find a word from the title of that movie.
2) What year did you meet? Add those numbers together and find the final number (ex. 2010, 2+0+1+0=3, find the number 3)
3) A heart shape
4) Red flowers
5) A dessert – either real, or on a sign, or a label
6) Where did you meet? Find something related to that place.
7) Each of you find something that is the other person’s favorite color.
8) Something that the other person bought for you
9) Find the word “Love”
10) A photo of the two of you together – printed or in a frame, not on your phone or computer
11) The moon
12) An item with your favorite sports team on it
13) A food from your favorite restaurant (it doesn’t have to be cooked, ex. if you like Olive Garden, it can be pasta)
14) Something smooth
15) Where would your dream vacation be? Find something related to that place.
16) Something you got from a special event
17) Your favorite game to play together
18) Something that keeps you warm
19) Fire – in a fireplace, a candle, a bonfire, etc.
20) A silver key
21) Something round and metal
22) An article of clothing with buttons
23) A song that you both enjoy
24) An arrow
25) A musical instrument
26) Something that glows in the dark
27) Your favorite smells
28) The number 8, a.k.a. an infinity symbol
29) Something the size of each of your hands
30) A penguin, otter, seahorse, or owl
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