As the oppressive heat of summer becomes a distant memory, and we welcome the cool, crisp fall weather, it's a perfect time for some family fun outside. And what better way to get outside and bond than a good old-fashioned scavenger hunt?
Whether in your neighborhood, at a local park, or on a hike, all you need is a mission and a little competitive spirit. Fall is ripe with themes for providing those missions, and the possibilities of what you can hunt down are endless. You can either hunt for a list of different items or different varieties of the same item and go for quantity. Here are some deals to get you started:
1. General Nature Hunt
Include things on the list like a brown leaf, some grass, pine needles, pine cones, grass, and twigs.
2. Acorn Hunt
Give everyone a bag and see who can gather the most. Beware the squirrels!
3. Leave No Leaf Unturned Hunt
How many red, yellow, orange, etc. can they collect? Make fun leaf art with the loot.
4. Rock Quest
Big ones, little ones, shiny ones, colorful ones. Go to a pond and skip them when you're finished.
5. Mall Hunt
When the weather gets a little too cold or rainy, head to your local mall and search out a list of items like a ketchup packet, square of toilet paper from a restroom, a perfume sample stick etc. Just make sure there's an adult on each team.
6. Photo Scavenger Hunt
Give each team a digital camera or camera phone and set off in search of a predetermined set of shots (e.g. an airplane in flight, a great Halloween display, a pretty wreath on someone's door, etc.).
What fun fall scavenger hunts would you add to the list?
Image via JustyCinMd/Flickr
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Comments 49
We did a mall hunt with our kids. We put them on teams and gave each team the same amount of money. They had to go get as many items as they could to share will all of them. The items could not be just for a girl or just for a boy. They also had to try to spend evenery penny they had.
They loved it!
What good ideas! My kids would love any one of these.
We've only done leaf and pinecone, acorn,... ones. My dd loves it though.
We need to go do this with our son, thanks for the ideas! All we have done is go geocaching, which is more like a treasure hunt.
road kill hunt? lol We have lots of those all over here lol I
Local
Assign each team a different series of objects that they can find within a short distance of your home. Ideas include napkins from a nearby fast-food joint, a bank deposit slip, a Chinese restaurant menu and a photocopy of a hand. Or, lend a video camera to each team so they can return with footage of themselves helping someone pump gas at a local service station, standing near a community monument and riding a tricycle.
Bachelorette
Host a bachelorette party where each scavenger team finds something old, new, borrowed and blue, in keeping with bridal traditions. The website Bachelorette Wedding Ideas suggests assigning players to locate and photograph a man who resembles the groom. Have your friends snap photos of the entire team on a dance floor, in front of a bridal boutique and inside a phone booth as they make a prank call to the groom. Expect each group to return with photographic proof that they asked a stranger for his telephone number.
My daughter loves going on Nature Hunts around our yard