The short answer: a Christmas lights scavenger hunt is a list of things to spot while you drive or walk past holiday lights: a snowman, icicle lights, a house with only blue bulbs. Picture lists work for little ones; tricky lists and bingo keep big kids looking. Below is a list in three levels, the bingo rules, and a free printable car ride hunt with pictures.
Plan the night
Car or walk? A drive is best for little ones, cold nights and neighborhoods known for big displays. A walk is best for your own streets, where kids can take their time at every window. Many families do both: a short walk first, then the car for the famous houses.
Keep the route short. A loop you can finish before anyone gets tired is better than a long drive to one spectacular street. Just after dark on a weeknight is usually calmer than a Saturday.
Pack the kit: a clipboard and crayon for each child, a small book light for the reader, warm hats, and cocoa waiting at home. That's all.
The Christmas lights scavenger hunt list
Pick the level that fits your kids, or give each child a different one. Every find gets a check or a color-in. In the car, point and say it, no shouting, so the driver can focus.
Point and spot
- a house with lights
- a lit-up Christmas tree
- a star
- a snowman
- a reindeer
- Santa
- a candy cane
- a wreath
- a snowflake
- icicle lights
- a present
- a red bow
Look closer
- a house with only white lights
- a house with only blue lights
- lights that blink
- lights that change color
- a tree trunk wrapped in lights
- a lit-up path to a front door
- lights on a mailbox
- a star on a roof
- a Christmas tree in a window
- a blow-up decoration
- a nativity scene
- a menorah glowing in a window (during Hanukkah)
Rare finds
- lights flashing in time to music
- a reindeer pulling a sleigh
- lights that spell a word
- more than three blow-ups in one yard
- a dog out walking with a lighted collar
- a car or truck wearing lights
- a lit-up snowflake on a wall
- a snowman taller than a grown-up
- two houses that match
- a porch with a light-up archway
- a window with a person waving back
- the brightest house on the whole route
Want it with pictures, ready to clip to a clipboard? The full Sagestead hunt has three picture hunts for a car ride, an evening walk and a cozy night at home, two challenge lists and four bingo cards. See the full hunt →
How to play Christmas lights bingo in the car
- One card per child. Different cards stop copying; the same card turns it into a race.
- Spot it, say it, color it. The first child to call a find and point to it gets the square.
- Four in a row wins, across, down or corner to corner.
- Long drive? Play blackout: the whole card has to be colored before anyone wins.
- The passenger is the judge. A grown-up in the passenger seat settles disputes; the driver keeps driving.
Add a light count if you have a math fan: tally the houses by color (white, gold, blue, red and green, or rainbow) and draw the chart at home over cocoa.
Car and walking safety
- Everyone stays buckled for the whole ride, in the right car seat or booster, even when the car is creeping past a display.
- Take puffy winter coats off before buckling a child in; a thick coat leaves the straps too loose. Tuck the coat or a blanket over the straps instead.
- The driver drives and a helper reads. To stop and look, pull over fully in a safe spot, never in a travel lane.
- On foot, wear something bright or reflective and carry a flashlight or a glow stick. Stay on sidewalks and cross at corners; with no sidewalk, walk facing traffic.
- Look, don't touch. Light strands are plugged in and some bulbs get hot, and blow-ups have fans and cords. Stay off lawns, driveways and porches.
- No heads or arms out of windows, even at a crawl.
Make it a tradition
Pajamas and cocoa. Leave in pajamas and come home to cocoa, cooled a little before small hands hold it. It turns a drive into an event.
Vote on the best house. Everyone names a favorite on the way home, and the kids draw the winner before bed. Keep the drawings: after a few years they're a record of how your kids saw Christmas.
Same route, new list. Drive the same loop every year and swap in new finds. Kids love spotting what changed.
Free Christmas lights scavenger hunt with pictures and bingo
The Car Ride Lights Hunt and two Christmas lights bingo cards, straight from the full Sagestead pack, with a how-to page and car safety notes up front. Print it before you head out.
- A car ride picture hunt with 12 things to spot, no reading needed
- Two different Christmas lights bingo cards
- How to play and car safety on one page
