Cut out 10 or more Christmas trees from construction paper and number them in order. These will be used to write your clues on. You will then create clues for each “tree” and hide them in the proper location.
Example: Have the first clue read “The next clue can be found where the dog eats his lunch.” then hide the next clue by the dog bowl, or “The next clue can be found by the brush for your teeth” then have the next clue hidden in the bathroom. That next clue will lead them to another location for another clue and so on. Send the kids all over the house finding clues until the last one leads them to their present.
The clues can be as hard or easy as you want them to be, depending on your children’s ages. If you have a wide range of ages make some of the clues harder for the older kids and others easier for the younger ones. Just make sure the older ones know to let the little ones answer when they can.
You can make a set of clues for each child and have them each take a turn finding their gifts together, or one set of clues for a family present everyone can enjoy.
The kids will have a blast running about finding the clues and will make gift opening more about the family working together and less about the actual presents. It is a great addition to any family tradition year after year since the clues can get harder as the kids get older. This is also good for any special gift you may want to give an adult since you can make it just for them (many Christmas day wedding rings have been found this way!)