FREE Elf on Shelf Scavenger Hunt Printables! (2024)

Have fun this holiday season with this FREE Elf on Shelf Scavenger Hunt printables and answers. Make your kids have to think to find their Elf!

If you have young kids, then an Elf on the Shelf has probably become a Christmas tradition in your home. My kiddos have finally outgrown the mischievous elf (which is lucky because ours was not good about going to the North Pole every night..womp womp…)

I have given you quite a few other Elf on the Shelf printables and Elf note cards, but today I have an Elf on Shelf scavenger hunt to kick your elf hiding up a notch!

Using these scavenger hunt clues is also an easy way to give you some elf on the shelf ideas, since sometimes coming up with where to hide the magical scout elves is the hardest part!

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How to do an Elf on Shelf Scavenger Hunt

If you don’t know about the magic of the Elf on the shelf holiday tradition, each Christmas season they arrive at your house the day after Thanksgiving (Or December 1st) with an elf arrival letter and report your kid’s behavior back to Santa at the North Pole every night. Then the boy or girl elf returns back to the house.

This is why the Elf moves every night and kids love to search for their Elf the next morning. The elf helps to keep the child on the nice list since most kids will know the elf is watching and use their best manners!

Parents love the Elf since it’s a great way to keep young children on their best behavior through the holiday season! If you are just getting started and need a new Elf, Amazon has a lot of different versions of the Elf (AKA Santa’s helper 🙂

And if you want extra eyes on your kiddo, making a Santa Cam ornament is a great idea too!

Instead of just hiding the Elf and having your children look around the house for them, this time we are going to have them use their brains a little bit!

The following 12 different scavenger hunt clues can be left on a kitchen table or a designated spot for your kids to find in the morning. Then they will have to solve the riddle to find out where the elf has hidden.

There is an answer key to the printable cards included in case you get stumped on some of the answers too, lol! I know we are all crazy busy Moms this time of year and don’t have time to think sometimes!

There is also a blank Elf scavenger hunt printable for you to make up your own clue for a specific place in your house.

You can use one clue at a time or use multiple! Have your kids read the first clue that will lead them to a place where there is the next clue to make it even more fun!

Here are where the clues included in the free scavenger hunt printables will lead your child (where the magical Elf needs to be!)

1. Pillow
2. Microwave
3. Umbrella
4. Clothes dryer
5. Doormat
6. Fireplace
7. Toaster
8. Clock
9. Bathtub
10. Mirror
11. Door
12. Chair

You can have as much fun as you want coming up with crazy scenes or trouble that the Elf got into at each of the end places. Grab our free printable Elf props to use!

And as I said there are blank clues, so fill in your own to lead to places like the Christmas tree, stockings, or in a pile of candy canes!

Or use them when creating Elf scenes like these.

In case you are in need of another fun activity this time of year, make sure to grab our 12 Days of Christmas family ideas printable.

Elf on Shelf Scavenger Hunt Free Printable Download

As with all my free printables, these are for personal use only! Please no selling or redistributing of PDF files or digital downloads. Thank you!

Simply click on the instant download button below and the elf Christmas scavenger hunt PDF file will automatically download or pop up in a new window to download.

Simply print the free printable Elf scavenger hunt on regular copy paper on any home printer, cut the cards apart, and have fun with the scavenger hunt clues!

If your kids are huge Elf on the Shelf fans, you can find all kinds of games and activities here.

Thanks for stopping by and have a Merry Christmas!