This Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt is a fun and FREE holiday activity that the whole family will enjoy! Grab the free printable Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt list, hop in the car and find as many outside decorations on the list as you can! If this hunt doesn’t get you in the holiday spirit, I don’t know what will!

red and green christmas lights on a house

My family has quite a few Christmas traditions, from baking and decorating cut-out sugar cookies and Christmas morning brunch to our annual trip to see a Christmas show, like the Nutcracker or the Rockettes. All are quite special, but my favorite is loading up in the car with our cups full of hot cocoa (and coffee for me), plenty of homemade chex mix, our favorite Christmas cookies and dressed appropriately in our festive holiday pj’s to scout out Christmas lights around town.

We have such a blast every year checking off items from our printable Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt (get yours below!). And all of the homemade treats we bring along makes it all the more special! Moments like these are what the holidays are all about. Our holiday traditions are what gets me so excited about this time of year. If you don’t currently have a Christmas tradition with your family, you should SERIOUSLY consider a Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt. My kids get SO excited about it!

going on a Christmas lights scavenger house and seeing a house with lots of lights

How to do a Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt

A Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt is super easy to plan and great for all ages, from toddlers to teenagers! It’s such a great family activity!

Here’s how we like to do our Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt:

Plan a time

My family has a long-standing tradition of going on a drive to look at Christmas lights every Christmas Eve, but you could also do a walking Christmas light hunt. If it’s not too cold where you live, why not walk around a well-decorated neighborhood looking for Christmas lights? This is a great way to get some exercise (and wear out your kids on Christmas Eve!).

Christmas lights on a house

Print the free Christmas Lights Scavenger hunt list

Below you’ll find two convenient printables for your very own Christmas lights scavenger hunt. You choose – print both or just take one! I print one list for each child, so they can each mark off from their own list as we go. And because there is so much to see, we have one rule – you may only check off one item per house. I hope your family has as much fun with this festive hunt as mine does!

DOWNLOAD HERE AND THEN SIMPLY PRINT! HAVE FUN!

christmas light scavenger hunt printable

DOWNLOAD HERE AND THEN SIMPLY PRINT! HAVE FUN!

printable Christmas lights scavenger hunt

Bring hot chocolate and Christmas cookies!

This is totally optional but HIGHLY recommended! Another Christmas tradition is to have a Christmas cookie baking day, usually Christmas Eve or the day before and then we can take an assortment of our own homemade Christmas cookies on the scavenger hunt, like these colorful M&M Sprinkle Christmas Cookies or my personal favorite Kris Kringle Christmas Cookies.

christmas cookies with sprinkles and m&ms

Have prizes for the winner

Honestly, this isn’t something I ever do, but it is a fun idea and makes for a little extra competition! If you have older kids, you can up the ante and offer a prize for the person that finds the most items on the list.

Prizes could include:

  • coffee gift card or any gift card
  • cash
  • one week off of chores
  • getting to open the first present on Christmas Day
  • deciding on the Christmas movie that the family will watch

Make your own Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt

If you don’t want to use either of the free printables, you can easily customize your own scavenger hunt list! Here are some great ideas for how to turn this fun Christmas scavenger hunt activity into an art project (to keep your kids busy for even longer!):

  • Have your kids cut pictures out of the December issue of a magazine or printed from the internet and glue them to a piece of card stock or construction paper. Then, when you go on your family scavenger hunt, they have to find the items in the pictures.
  • Let kids draw their own pictures of Christmas items like Santa and reindeer to find during the scavenger hunt.
  • Have kids write out their own list of scavenger hunt items. This is a great way for them to get some extra writing practice, too!

Things to include on your Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt list

  • Santa
  • angel
  • Baby Jesus
  • nativity scene
  • candy cane
  • deer
  • sleigh
  • dancing lights
  • snowflake lights
  • Santa’s mailbox
  • sign that says “The North Pole”
  • The Grinch
  • Charlie Brown and Snoopy
  • fake snow
  • a Disney character
  • penguin
  • polar bear
  • reindeer
  • gingerbread house
  • elf
  • toy soldier
  • train
  • giant inflatable
  • snowman
  • Christmas tree decorated with white lights
  • Christmas tree decorated with multicolor lights
  • snow globe
  • poinsettia

I hope your family LOVES this fun and easy Christmas activity as much as my family does! Merry Christmas!