Scavenger hunt at home

Scavenger Hunt at Home - The Alternative Program for Home

You have prepared a scavenger hunt in the garden or in the city, but the weather forecast is throwing a spanner in the works? That's too bad. You had planned an ingenious city rally through the neighborhood! You have no idea what to do at the moment, but one thing is clear: an alternative program to the outdoor party is needed! With these 5 tips, you can move your scavenger hunt indoors and save the children's birthday party, for example.

Tip 1: For a scavenger hunt in the house, the right segmentation is the key!

Having a dozen small, bright children in the house is a big challenge! Even trying to gather the kids around the dinner table presents you with logistical difficulties. It's no different with the scavenger hunt inside. While you're doing them, any spare space in the house/apartment, no matter how small, is worth its weight in gold. So, if possible, spread your tasks throughout the house and every room you have available. If possible in your house, let the children change floors often. This way, they can get a good workout to compensate for the lack of mobility during a scavenger hunt at home.

The same applies to the size of the group: how many children do you send out? Letting everyone rush through the house together leads to chaos. After all, there is not enough space in every room for all the children to move around freely. Also, not every child would be equally involved in solving the tasks. So send out smaller groups to solve the tasks in different order. This way you prevent congestion and exclusion. And in addition, you bring a bit of competition into it. The kids will be top-motivated as they dash through your house.

Extra tip

Give the children the opportunity to get a piece of advice or a hint from you. For example, hand out a chocolate coin per team, which they can then redeem for a tip from you on the current task. That way, even if the task is difficult, the kids won't get frustrated if they don't get ahead right away.

Tip 2: Design scavenger hunt tasks at home with a lot of diversity!

Painting, handicrafts, learning a poem by heart, dancing one's own name, arithmetic tasks, search tasks or knowledge tasks. There are many creative ways to make the scavenger hunt at home an unforgettable experience by designing tasks. The Internet offers a wide variety of ideas and task types. Just look for the best tasks. Keep in mind that, by and large, the tasks should meet the following criteria. The tasks should...

• ...have different levels of difficulty (suitable for younger and older).
• ...be varied (not just knowledge or math questions).
• ... build on each other (only when one task is solved, you can go to the next).
• ... take longer than you would outdoors (since most of the walking is eliminated, the tasks may take more time than an outdoor scavenger hunt).

Tip 3: Give the "indoor scavenger hunt" a theme!

„The dreaded pirate Igmar Bonehead is probably the most notorious pirate of the Seven Seas. He has accumulated a huge treasure over the years. This is hidden in a secret place in his pirate crypt. But foolishly, the buccaneer has fallen into the net of the authorities. He is now released after a very long time in jail, but he has grown old and has unfortunately forgotten where he hid his treasure in the old days. Can you help him?“

You can captivate your little ones with a story like this or something similar and turn the scavenger hunt through the house into an adventure in a pirate's cove, a knight's castle or a fairyland. The tasks should then also be designed according to the theme, of course, so that the children can completely immerse themselves into the story.

Tip 4: Even at home, the scavenger hunt must have a winning prize!

This prize can be quite individually designed by you. Of course, it is best to give the treasure that certain something, too, according to the theme. Such a pirate treasure is then of course hidden in a chest or even buried ... for example, under pillows! In any case, make sure that the prize is not discovered prematurely. Only when the decisive clue has fallen should it be possible for the children to get hold of the treasure. The easiest way to do this is to provide the hiding place with a lock and the key is added to the last clue. Have consolation prizes ready for the losing team as well. That way, everyone will have a blast eating or playing with the delicious treasure at the end of the indoor scavenger hunt.

Tip 5: Last but not least, keep it safe!

Romping children do not pay attention to where they put their feet when they are fully immersed in the story of the indoor scavenger hunt. So every child should wear anti-slip socks or slippers. This will prevent most slip injuries. Likewise, your home should be childproof. If it is not, it is recommended to choose another apartment or house (for example, a friend’s house) for the celebration. Also, coordinate the contents of the treasure with the children's parents to plan for any eating habits or intolerances.

Organize a scavenger hunt yourself or book it?

Equipped with the above information, you have already taken a big step towards creating your scavenger hunt. However, you will have noticed that there are many things to consider and that developing your scavenger hunt takes a lot of time. There is also the question of whether the participants will like their scavenger hunt puzzles in the end. Therefore, it is worth considering whether you want to plan and organize the scavenger hunt yourself or whether you would prefer to use a tried and tested concept. In the following table, we compare the advantages and disadvantages of both options.