We celebrated Christmas at our house early this year since we would be out of town on the 25th. Aiden regularly asks us if we can have a treasure hunt, he loves drawing maps, and when we were outside we’d sometimes hide his toys throughout the yard for him to find. So for Christmas he got a treasure hunt. There were no presents under the tree, except for Andrew’s gift to me which a was a Google home already setup to play Christmas music for our morning.
I used one of their Peppa Pig puzzles and wrote on the back.
We hid a few little items with some of the clues, and after finding the unicorn poppers they made Andrew coffee.
“Daddy can’t function without this brew, he’ll need a cup before your next clue.”
“Hickory, dickory, dock, the mouse ran up the _________.” was their next clue and I taped suckers to the clock as well.
From there they found 2 more clues…
“Wanting more? I’d suggest you check the front door.”
“Rubber ducky, you’re the one. You make _______ time so much fun!”
In the bathtub was Andrew’s gift with a clue: “Give this gift to dad and your next clue will be had.”
And inside Andrew’s gift was the clue “To find a gift for you, look for a clue in your shoe.” We hid little cars in their shoes to add to their V-tech tracks.
The shoe clue read “There are stockings hung by the chimney with care. You’ll find your next clue and treats hidden there.”
“Is that all the clues? No, it’s not. Look where the popcorn gets hot.”
Next they found the gifts they’d picked for each other in the microwave.
“Where do we keep food cold so it doesn’t get smelly and old?” This clue also came with a few new-to-us accessories to add to their Little People house/boat/school.
“Diddley doo, diddley dee, the clue is where you pee.”
“I hope this fun and you think it’s neat. Look under the place you sit and eat.”
“This next one’s easy, take a look. You’ll find this clue in a book.”
“In the laundry hamper goes smelly clothes. Find the last clue by following your nose.” This where we finally hid their gifts from us which came with the note “Congratulations! The hunt is done. You’ve found every clue, now go have fun.” Everyone loved it, even Oliver who I didn’t think would care, followed Aiden all over the house excitedly. I think a standard has been set. Aiden’s already asked “Can we do this again next year, but make it harder, like without the clues?”
Aiden picked out a Peppa Duplo set for Oliver and helped him put it together.
We also went out for brunch and our chiropractor’s office was doing free adjustments and Christmas activities.
Here’s the treasure hunt clues in PDF.
This family in our neighborhood goes above and beyond every year. We regularly stop to watch it. From Oliver’s commentary you can tell it’s exciting.