Indoor Scavenger & Treasure Hunts for Kids

Cold winters can make for long periods of indoor time for kids, and their parents. While we now have the diversion of the internet to keep kids occupied, my wife and I don’t want our kids spending all their free time online. We, kids included, like to play games to pass the time.

These games do not have to be stressful for anyone. They can range from the simple and traditional such as Go Fish or Chutes and Ladders, to more involved games like Monopoly. We also have a few DVD games, and these can be fun and easily enjoyed by all.

But, sometimes the kids just have too much energy to sit still and play a game. So, I started making up little scavenger hunts and treasure hunts for them to do around the house. These can also be done simply, and I thought I would share my methods with you.

Scavenger Hunt

1. Get sheets of paper (as many sheets as you have kids playing) and a pen. Simple, I know, but you have to start somewhere.
2. Walk around the house (WITHOUT the kids), from room to room, and look for small items. Make sure these are items you don’t mind the kids picking up and moving, as they will move them and are usually not gentle.
3. Write down a small description of the item on one of the sheets. You can use anything you see, such as a green elastic or a blue pencil or a round food, anything. Just be short and sweet.
4. Keep doing this, alternating through the lists you have, so that they have even amounts of items. You can add as many or as few as you like, there is no set limit. I usually do 10 items, but have done as much as 15 for one list.
5. Talk to the kids about whether they would rather have a Race Scavenger Hunt or a Point Scavenger Hunt.
6. Once you say “Go!”, the kids have to run around and find the items, bringing them to a set place, usually where you are waiting. Once the time is up, figure out the winner.
7. Have the kids put the items back where they found them. Make this a rule, otherwise you will end up with a big mess at the end.
8. You can play again by having the children switch lists, or start from step 1 again, making new lists.

For the Race game, you set a time limit, like 10 or 20 minutes. Once
that time has passed, whoever has the most items found off of their
list, wins.

For the Point game, you set a longer time, like 20 or 30 minutes.
Once that time has passed, you give points for each item they found off
of their list. One with the most points, wins.

Treasure Hunt

1. Get an item to mark as “the treasure”. We actually have a small chest that looks like a treasure chest, so we use that. But any item will do, a favorite toy or a snack or something. Also get some small pieces of paper to use for clues.
2. With the children in another place, hide the treasure. On a piece of paper, write a clue describing the place the treasure is hidden. Once, I hid the treasure chest in a small wastebasket. The clue I wrote was “This final clue leads to the treasure, better find it before Thursday morning!” My kids know trash day is Thursday, and they actually figured this clue out quite easily. You can make the clue as easy or as hard as you want, depending on the age of the child.
3. Now, you need to hide this clue in a different place. Wherever you chose, leave the clue sticking out a little so they can see it. Now, write a new clue describing this place.
4. Take this new clue to another spot, and repeat step 3.
5. Do this for as many or as few clues as you want. For a first game or for younger children, it might be easier to start with just 3, to give them a feel for how the game works.
6. When you are ready, either give them a verbal or written clue to send them on their hunt. If they are good at deducting, they will then follow your clues back, eventually finding the treasure in the last place.
7. Again, you can do this as many times as you want, just writing new clues for the new hiding places.

Most of all, have fun. The kids won’t remember all the details of the games, but they will remember the fun and the time spent with you. And who knows? Maybe one day they will be doing the same thing with their children, telling them about how much fun they had when their parents played with them!