Family Fun Night – Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt (with printable)

So in the final rush of Christmas preparation…this post didn’t make it out as early as I had wanted it to.  But I do hope it is just in time for you to enjoy over the next few nights…now that school is out and there is greater flexibility to enjoy some family fun!  So what is it you ask. Well…last weekend, with warm cups of hot chocolate piled high with marshmallows, we loaded up into the car and headed out on our annual Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt.  And once again it proved to be a  fun and memorable night for the Scott Family!

[Credit for featured photo above: Michael Kappel via Compfight cc]

I think it was three years ago I had this Pinterest-inspired idea to go on a Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt. The girls and I were excited. However, my Resident Gardener was quite reluctant about going and kind of  poo-pooed the idea…bah-humbug! But he went…although not too thrilled about it. Well guess who got into the evening activity the most and who wouldn’t stop until we found every last item on our list. You guessed it…that reluctant participant of a daddy.

So the next year when I suggested it, he was totally on board…and now we are on year three. I now consider it a family tradition.  There is nothing like all being piled into the car together with the single-minded mission to enjoy people’s Christmas decorations while trying to mark all the items off our list.   We laugh!  We shout out what we find! We are a team!  We have fun! We make memories! It’s a good night!

So, how do you have a successful Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt?  Pretty simple really. All you really need is a car, a copy of the printed Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt list for all participants, some pens and each other…and away you go!

• The first year we just jumped in the car and went. It was a hit!
• Last year, we added to-go cups of hot chocolate.  Another hit!

• This year we invited another family along to share in this Scott Family tradition…because sometimes it’s fun to experience old traditions from a new perspective or with a twist.  Again…it was a hit!

• Next year we just might go in our pajamas…or maybe even show up on a friend’s doorstep to kidnap them for an hour to go on the adventure with us.  And I have no doubt it will be another hit!

Always trying to make it super easy for you to execute the ideas we share, I’ve provided our scavenger hunt list as a printable just for you (click here or on the image to the right).  I hope you’ll print it out and get outside to have some family fun this week!

But don’t limit your list to what we put down…please add to it. And I’d love to hear about the wackiest yard decoration you spot…or the greatest number of inflatables in one yard…another game we play while we’re out.  This year we saw a ginormous inflatable dinosaur with a Santa hat on….not sure what that has to do with Christmas, but there it was in all its glory!  And we sure got a good laugh over that one!

So on a cold night this week…when you want to get out and have some fun on the cheap…you now know what to do.  What a great way to get away and enjoy the outside without getting too cold…while enjoying the beautiful, festive, and tacky decorations people have chosen to adorn their yards with. And gathering together as a family to do it – we’re all about having fun, making memories and redeeming family time.

So go for it!  I’m pretty sure it will be a hit with your family too!

[UPDATE: If you want to check out the RYG Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt for 2015, click here.]

Merry! Merry!