How to Plan a Scavenger Hunt

05.05.2020 | 3 min read

If your family is growing bored of normal go-to activities, you can mix things up a bit by planning your very own scavenger hunt!

Scavenger hunts can be as long or short as you like and can be done indoors, outdoors or a combination of both. They can involve finding items or just following clues to the next spot. You can create a hunt that is kid-friendly or opt for a more difficult set of clues for adults. It really is whatever you decide.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Choose your location(s) and time of day.

Decide where you would be okay with the participants going and plan accordingly. You may not want your little ones going near fragile items, but going to the toy bin is fair game. Likewise, if the scavenger hunt is for adults, you may want to have more challenging locations. Time of day and weather are important if you’re opting to have an outdoor hunt.

2. Decide what type of scavenger hunt you want to do.

You can make a list of items you want participants to find and have the search be a free-for-all or you can set up clues to lead them in a certain order.

3. Create your lists.

If you want to have items brought to you, generate a list of the objects to give to scavenger hunt competitors. If you want them to follow clues, create the list of hints and the coordinating locations.

4. Hide the clues and/or objects.

Make sure they’re not in plain sight.

5. Give each team the list of objects and/or clues.

If you’re giving clues, make sure each person’s are in a different order so they don’t follow each other around.

6. First one to complete all the clues and grab the final object wins!

Scavenger hunts are a great way to exercise your body and mind. If you want to add a little more fun, you can have each clue require an activity. For example: “The whole family likes to cook dinner here, do a ten second dance to show your own cheer.”

You can also add an exciting twist by giving your scavenger hunt a theme. Are your participants children turned pirates? Or are they adults turned superheroes? You can cater your clues to go with the theme.

If you’re hoping to include friends or family that don’t live in the same house, you can coordinate a scavenger hunt race via video conferencing. Follow the same steps above, but make sure you’re coordinating with someone who lives in the other homes to get everything set up there too.

Happy hunting!