Treasure hunts are a great way to keep the kids entertained at home. But with so many conflicting priorities right now, sitting down to think of a great list may seem like too much work. So we’ve pulled together 3 lists that you can download, print and give them straight to the kids.
1. Magazine treasure hunt
Grab some old magazines or newspapers, set the kids up with a pair of scissors and see how long it takes them to find all these things.
If you’re out of magazines, we’re happy to send you a couple of back copies of Family Travel magazine and a printed version of this treasure hunt to get you started. Just fill in your details here, and we’ll pop the pack in the post.
2. Around the house treasure hunt
This easy and inexpensive treasure hunt can be done around the house, using objects you already have at home.
3. After dark treasure hunts
As the days get shorter and we spend more time indoors, here these after dark treasure hunts make for lots of family fun. There are free printables (thanks to the Dating Divas), which means that the set up is quick (just print and cut), but the activities will provide hours of fun.
The printable includes 3 different scavenger hunt challenges, each with their own challenge and task.
The Puzzle
Players race to find pieces to a puzzle. Once all of the pieces have been collected, put the different parts together to create a picture with a message.
Set up
- Hide the pieces of the particular challenge in a specified area. You can hide the pieces as is or, consider attaching the pieces to glow sticks and then hide them (might be a little easier to find, too!).
- Read the instructions (included in the printable PDF) to the group and send them off in search of the pieces.
- Hunters can go completely in the dark or (especially if there are little ones involved), you might want to hunt with torches.
Word Scramble
In this treasure hunt, you’ll search for cards with individual letters (there are 20 letters in total). Once you’ve found all of the letters, unscramble them to reveal a message.
Symbol Decoder
In this game, kids race to find symbols cards. There are 12 total symbols to find, and once they have found them all use the printable decoder to reveal a secret message.
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Janeece Keller is the founder and editor of Family Travel. She mostly travels with her husband and two young kids. She has a large blended family that lives in Australia and Europe. She has visited 52 countries and lived on 3 continents. From camping to luxury resorts Janeece tries to make sure her family has diverse holiday experiences each year. She is an avid hiker and ocean swimmer who loves good food, margaritas and heading off the beaten path.