Guest Author - Aurora M. Brown
Outdoor Christmas scavenger hunts can be quite fun, and they offer an excellent way to entertain your guests at Christmas. Whether you live in an area packed with snow or without any at all, this scavenger hunt offers a great Christmas activity.
This scavenger hunt can be structured the normal way: you give people a piece of paper and a pen and they begin to search for items. The person who identifies/brings back the most items, wins. However, there are several ways you can do this outdoors.
You can do it with a pen and paper, or put a new twist on it and have people bring their digital cameras/Polaroids and take pictures of certain items they can't bring back with them. For example, lets say you paint an image on a rock or draw Rudolph on a tree (with water based markers, of course!); you can't bring them back, but a digital camera, camera phone or Polaroid can get the job done.
The setting can be the backyard, the neighborhood, a park--essentially anywhere your guest can find the designated items. Another twist that is often fun is create a detailed outdoor treasure hunt, where people follow clues to the 'treasure.' A different sort of hunt, it is nevertheless fun outside.
So what does the host or hostess get from an outdoor scavenger hunt? Time to take care of the last minute details, put your feet up and have a nip of spiced eggnog or just a well needed respite from guests and energetic kids. The scavenger hunt can take as long as you plan, though keep in mind that some guests may be quicker than you think. To make it last, have several prizes: one small, one medium and one large. Thus, even if that clever person finds one prize, they may keep looking for the others.
The prize(s)can be anything you want, from a small bag of gourmet candy to a gift certificate, movie ticket, or other number of options. A scavenger hunt is great for all ages, kids and adults alike. You can even do teams, where its the kids against the adults, guys against girls and so forth. The point is to get creative and enjoy entertaining your guests!
