Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt for a Walk or Drive

A hunt with “find a giant purple penguin” on every card can end with a car full of disappointed lookouts. Before you leave, give the group three kinds of things to spot: a color, a shape and a place someone chose to hang lights. Even a street with just a few decorated windows can deliver all three.

Holiday dates for planning

Christmas Day date reference

For Christmas Day in 2027, the holiday date is Saturday, December 25, 2027; the federal observed date is Friday, December 24, 2027.

Try the nine-square hunt tonight

Draw a three-by-three grid on paper. Put red lights, a star, a lit tree across the first row. Put a wreath, two colors together, a glowing window across the second. Finish with a repeating pattern, a curved shape, lights above a doorway. For a neighborhood with fewer decorated houses, let one display count for several squares. A star in a window can earn both finds if the group agrees before leaving.

A player who spots something gives a clue instead of immediately calling its name: “Look above the blue door. It has five points.” Let a partner find it before marking the square. Stop after one row for a short game or collect one find from each row to encourage looking in different directions.

Choose a walking or passenger route

For a walk, choose familiar public paths and a clear turnaround point. Keep the group together. Let an adult handle crossings and choose where the group can safely stop to look. Observe decorations from the public path. Nobody needs to approach a door or touch a display.

For a drive, the passengers handle every part of the game. Hand the cards out before departure and give the driver the route in advance. If a child misses a display, invite them to describe the next one. A guess such as “the lights made a big arch” counts even if nobody names the exact house.

Keep it playable from one window

Use paper shapes to decorate three parts of a window, or draw three miniature shopfronts on separate sheets. Give each designer a color, a shape and one secret detail to include. Swap lookout cards and find those details from a chair. A child who loves a challenge can make a clue based on position, such as “above the wreath and below the star.”

Finish by asking everyone to sketch the display they remember best. Compare sketches before looking again. That difference between what two people noticed often makes a better souvenir than a completed grid. For a room-to-room activity, use the indoor Christmas scavenger hunt guide instead.

A printable for this activity

Christmas Lights Hunt Cards is a $0.99 six-page kit with three different lookout cards, a blank neighborhood card, a sketch page and host directions.

Optional supplies

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Crayola 24-color crayons help younger lookouts draw a sighting or design the window version at home.