Printable Christmas treasure hunt clues for kids
Short, easy rhymes for children aged 4 to 7, about places they already know: the sock drawer, the toy box, the tree. Below are 3 of the 24 clues, free to read and use, and a guide to running the hunt.
The clues are AI-generated. The 3 sample clues on this page are fixed examples: every visitor sees the same three, and every buyer gets the same clues. The full pack costs $9 and is a digital download: nothing is shipped, you print the cards at home.
3 free sample clues from the Kids 4-7 edition
These three clues are taken word for word from the Kids 4-7 edition. Copy them onto paper and try them today.
At night your sleepy head lies here,
all soft and squishy, near your ear.
Lift me up and take a peep,
a clue is where you fall asleep.
Answer: Under your pillow
Stripy, spotty, red and blue,
your toes get warm with one or two.
Find where your socks all go to hide,
the clue is stuck on the outside.
Answer: Front of the sock drawer
I sparkle bright with lights so fine,
I'm green and smell of fresh, cool pine.
Look in my branches, low not high,
a clue is hanging there, nearby.
Answer: Low branches of the Christmas tree
How to run a Christmas treasure hunt for young children
A treasure hunt for four to seven year olds works best when it is short on reading and long on running about. Each card in the Kids 4-7 edition is a four-line rhyme about something a small child already knows: the drawer where the socks live, the box where the crayons stay, the tree with the lights on. If your child is not reading yet, read the rhyme aloud and let them shout the answer.
- Open the Kids 4-7 file in a web browser, print it and cut along the dashed lines. The cards are laid out four per sheet.
- Keep card 1 in your pocket. Hide card 2 at the place card 1 points to, card 3 at the place card 2 points to, and so on. The answer key lists every place in order, so you never have to solve your own hunt.
- Put the present, or a small treat, at the place the last card points to. In this edition card 24 leads to the Christmas stocking.
- Give card 1 to your child and follow a few steps behind.
How many cards to use
Twenty-four stops is a long hunt for a five year old. Eight to twelve cards is plenty for one morning: pick the ones you want, lay them out in the order you will use, and hide each card at the place the card before it points to. The other way to use all 24 is one card each morning from 1 to 24 December, with a sweet or a sticker waiting at that day's place.
Hiding-place ideas at child height
Most places in this edition are at child height. Some to start with:
- Soft places: under a pillow, under a sofa cushion, folded inside a bathroom towel.
- Places to stick or rest a card: the front of the sock drawer, the top of the toy box, under the crayon box, under the backpack.
- Places to crouch: under the kitchen table, under the bed, under the doormat.
- Places to spot: the low branches of the tree, beside the hallway mirror, behind the curtains.
Leave a corner of the card showing. At this age the fun is in finding it quickly, not in a hard search. A piece of tape helps under a table or on a wall.
Safety
An adult hides every card. One clue in this edition names the fridge: that card is stuck on the front of the door, and the fridge stays shut. Never hide a card inside an appliance. Small paper cards are not for children under 3, so keep them away from baby brothers and sisters, and collect any cards left over when the hunt is done.
What is in the $9 pack
One payment of $9 (USD) gets all six editions. It is a digital download: nothing is shipped, and you print the cards at home.
- 6 print-ready HTML files, one per edition: Kids 4-7, Kids 8-12, Teens, Partner, Grandparents, and Family (all ages). Each file is a web page that you open in a web browser and print from there.
- 24 printable clue cards in each edition, numbered 1 to 24 and laid out 4 per sheet with dashed cut lines.
- 4 blank cards in each edition for writing your own clues.
- An answer key in each edition: the clue number, the hiding place it points to, and what to hide there.
- A cover, a how-to-play section and a safety note in each edition.
- A README text file: what is in the pack, how to print, two ways to play, and safety notes.
The name is added by hand. The cover and every card carry a blank "For:" line: print first, then write the name with a pen.
Each edition is laid out for 10 sheets of A4 or US Letter paper. That layout was not test-printed. If a sheet of cards spills onto an extra page, set the print scale to 95%.
The clues are in English. Black-and-white printing is fine.
Get the pack on Gumroad: $9, digital download
AI disclosure
The clues are AI-generated. They are not written individually for each buyer: every copy of an edition contains the same 24 clues. You write the name yourself, by hand, on the "For:" line of the printed cards.
Price and refunds
The price is $9 (USD), paid once on Gumroad, for a digital download. Refunds follow Gumroad's refund policy.
Privacy
This site has no forms, no cookies and no scripts, and it collects nothing. Payment and buyer data are handled by Gumroad. Details are on the privacy page.