How to Do a Halloween Scavenger Hunt for Kids
A Halloween scavenger hunt is pretty easy to put together, especially once everyone starts decorating for Halloween. We usually see pumpkins, spiderwebs, ghosts, and Halloween lights all over the place in October, so there’s already plenty for kids to look for.
You can do the hunt around your neighborhood, bring it along while trick or treating, or use it as one of the games at a Halloween party. All you really need is a list of things to find and something to take pictures with.
How to Do a Halloween Scavenger Hunt
First, decide if everyone is playing on their own or in teams. If you have a bigger group of kids, I’d probably do teams so you don’t have a bunch of kids running around trying to find the same thing.
Give everyone a list and have them take a picture whenever they find something on it. You can give them a certain amount of time to search or just keep going until you’re ready to head back.
At the end, go through the pictures and see what everyone found.
You can keep it as simple as that, or give different items points to make it more of a game.
What to Put on a Halloween Scavenger Hunt
This part doesn’t have to be complicated. Think about the things you normally see around Halloween and start there.
Here are some ideas:
- Pumpkin
- Halloween lights
- Ghost
- Fake spider
- Spiderweb
- Black cat
- Witch hat
- Broom
- Candy
- Bat
- Scarecrow
- Skeleton
- Trick or treat sign
- Jack o lantern
- Haunted house
- Vampire
- Zombie
- Monster costume
I’d mix really easy things with a few that might take some searching. If everything on the list is something they’ll find at the first house, the game will be over pretty quickly.
Try a Neighborhood Halloween Scavenger Hunt
The neighborhood version is probably the easiest because you don’t have to set anything up beforehand.
Once people start decorating their houses, take the kids for a walk and let them see what they can find. One house might have a giant spider while another has skeletons all over the yard.
This is also a good one to do before Halloween instead of waiting until October 31st.
Bring It Trick or Treating
You can also bring the list along when you go trick or treating.
I wouldn’t make this version too serious. The kids are obviously going to care more about getting candy than winning a scavenger hunt.
Just let them look for things as you walk from house to house. By the time you get home, you can see how many they managed to find without really stopping the trick or treating.
Turn It Into a Halloween Party Game
If you have a group of kids coming over, split them into teams and give each team the same list.
Set a time limit and send everyone out to search. An adult can go with each group if they’re leaving the yard.
When everyone comes back, check their pictures and add up their scores.
A little bag of Halloween candy makes an easy prize, although you definitely don’t need one.
Use Points to Make the Hunt More Fun
One thing I like about using points is that finding a pumpkin shouldn’t really count the same as finding something unusual.
You might make a pumpkin worth one point because they’re everywhere. A scarecrow could be worth three. Something harder to find, like a vampire or haunted house, could be worth even more.
It also means nobody has to find every single thing on the list. They can decide whether they want to grab a bunch of easy points or keep looking for the harder ones.
Printable Halloween Scavenger Hunt
If you don’t feel like making the list yourself, I made a printable version called the Halloween Spooky Hunt.
This one already has the point system worked out. There are things worth 1, 3, 5, and 10 points, with the harder finds worth more.
Kids take a photo of each thing they find and then add everything up at the end. The person or team with the most points wins.
Get the Halloween Scavenger Hunt Printable
Make a Night Out of It
The scavenger hunt doesn’t have to be the only thing you do.
You could go out and do the hunt first, come home for snacks, and then play Halloween trivia or charades. If the kids still have a ton of energy, throw in one of the more active games afterward.
And if you want several of the printable games ready to go, the scavenger hunt is also included in my Halloween Game Bundle with trivia, riddles, This or That, Emoji Pictionary, Scattergories, and more.
