Halloween Scavenger Hunt

Living in Texas, the cooler weather that we begin to experience in the fall inspires us to want to get outdoors more. In the weeks leading up to Halloween it's a great time to get a group of family or friends together and ride around looking at Halloween decorations.

I have hosted several Scavenger Hunts for my daughter and her friends for birthday parties and we have always found them to be a lot of fun. One Christmas, I created a Holiday Scavenger Hunt that incorporated a scavenger hunt with looking at Christmas lights and decorations around town. So, I thought it would be fun to do that for Halloween as well.

I have made a list of situations to look for that you can check off when riding around as well as a list of items to find. The situations are where you are looking for a house that has a specific item on the list. You can simply check it off or write down the address next to the item. With so many people having camera phones you could also require the participants to take a photo as proof of finding the situations on the list.

You can do this in several different ways. You can compete against one or more other groups in separate vehicles or it can simply be something you do on your own with friends or family just for fun where you're not actually competing against anyone. If you’re in a rural area incorporating a hayride into this could be fun as well.

Whichever way you decide, print out this list and head out for some spooky and entertaining Halloween fun.

Please remember to buckle up and drive safely. Make sure the driver is a responsible driver and keeps everyone safe. You might even consider switching out drivers partway through the night to give the driver a chance to look around more too.

Find a house that:

• Has more than 5 ghosts displayed
• Has a Halloween scene that includes a witch
• Used only white lights to decorate their house
• Has more than one tree strung with lights in their yard
• Has their mailbox decorated for Halloween
• Utilized colored or clear icicle lights on the house eaves
• Has the roof of their house decorated for Halloween
• Has more than three inflatable Halloween decorations in their yard
• Has at least 3 bats in their yard
• Has a real carved pumpkin that is lit up
• Has an uncarved pumpkin
• Has Halloween or spooky music playing
• Has at least two decorations that have motorized-movement
• A house with no decorations with a house on both sides that does have decorations
• Has a skeleton
• Has a vampire or Dracula
• Depicts blood in some way
• Has used a blacklight in their decorations
• Has created a large spider web for a larger than life spider
• Has a witch's cauldron
• Has an artificial carved pumpkin
• Has a licensed character such as Mickey Mouse, Hello Kitty, Spongebob, etc.
• Has created a haunted house to walk through
• Has created a lit pathway to their front door
• Has "Keep Out" posted
• Has "Enter if You Dare" posted
• You are able to see that they have decorated the inside of their house as well

These items are intended to be items that you find while you're out. If you're competing against another team, these items will usually be the things that allow one team to do better than the other. If you're not competing against another group, you could skip these items, but it still may be fun to see if you can at least find them even if you don't collect them.

• Something small and wooden
• One artificial flower
• Orange button
• Something small and old
• Napkin with a logo on it
• Spork
• Either an orange, black or purple Crayon
• Packet of ketchup or hot sauce
• Red straw
• Small toy
• Something small and broken
• One piece of unopened Halloween candy
• Something with the word "October" on it
• The names of three scary movies (no sequels)
• Do at least one good deed for a stranger while you're out
• An un-inflated balloon that is either black or orange
• A rubberband