Christmas Scavenger Hunt Ideas for Work

How it works

These Christmas scavenger hunt ideas for work stay inside the building and cost nothing: decorated desks to find, colleagues to ask, the party table, team photos and things to make from office supplies.

Read the full guide

Deal a list for the party

The page opens on a mix of every kind of task. The menu under the button narrows it to Decorated desks and halls, Find a colleague who, Break room and party table, Team photos or Quick makes. Press Pick 10 new tasks until the list suits your floor, then Print a sheet per team.

Questions anyone can answer

The colleague questions are about the season at work: a decoration, a tune, a paper snowflake. None asks about faith, family or how anyone spends the holidays, and each was screened against the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's list of protected characteristics. Ask only people who are playing; anyone may pass.

Tips

As office Christmas party scavenger hunt ideas, the Break room and party table tasks need the food laid out first.
Common finds score 1 point and rare ones 3. Mix departments in teams of three or four.

Questions and answers

How do you run a Christmas scavenger hunt at work?

Print one sheet per team and set a finish time. Teams tick finds, collect initials and take photos, then add up their points. Everything stays inside the building and nothing is bought.

Are these Christmas scavenger hunt ideas for workplace teams of any size?

Yes. A small office shares one floor and one list. A large one deals a different list for each floor, since desks and decorations differ, and compares points at the party.

What if not everyone at work celebrates Christmas?

The tasks are about decorations, paper, food on a table and team photos, not about belief. No task shows a nativity or asks what anyone does at home, and every colleague question is opt-in.

Can a remote team play?

Part of it. The photo and make tasks work from any desk. For a team on a video call, the virtual list has a Christmas call set.

All 90 tasks

Decorated desks and halls 18

A bow tied on something that is not a present 1 point. A plant, a stapler, a door handle. Write what.
A calendar counting down the days 2 points. Write the number it shows today.
A candy cane hooked on something that is not a tree 1 point. Write what it hangs on.
A desk with its lights switched on 1 point. Tick it from the aisle. Touch nothing on the desk.
A door wrapped like a present 3 points. Paper and a bow both. Write the room.
A mug with a snowman on it 2 points. On a desk or a shelf. Leave it where it is.
A paper chain longer than a desk 2 points. Judge it by eye. Do not take it down to measure.
A paper snowflake with six points 2 points. Count the points. Five or eight scores nothing.
A poinsettia 2 points. The plant with red leaves round small yellow centers. A paper one scores 1.
A poster or a sign-up sheet for the party 1 point. Write the time the party starts.
A reindeer with a red nose 1 point. Drawn, printed or stuffed. Write which.
A snow globe 3 points. Ask before you shake it.
A stocking hung on a chair or a cubicle wall 2 points. Look, do not reach inside.
A string of lights with one bulb out 3 points. Point to the dark bulb for the judge.
A tree small enough to stand on a desk 1 point. Write what tops it.
A window with paper cutouts stuck to it 2 points. Write one shape.
A wreath on a door 1 point. Write whose door, or which room.
Tinsel round a monitor 1 point. Write the color of the tinsel.

Find a colleague who 18

Find a colleague who can balance a candy cane on one finger 2 points. For a slow count of five. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who can cut a paper snowflake with six points 3 points. They cut it from scrap paper; you keep it as proof. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who can draw a reindeer while you count to ten 2 points. They draw it on your sheet. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who can fold a paper star 3 points. From one sheet of scrap paper. You keep the star. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who can hum a winter tune your team can name 2 points. Ask only people who are playing. Your team writes the title. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who can name four of the reindeer in the old poem 2 points. Write the four names. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who can name three films with snow in them 2 points. Write the three titles. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who can say a line of a winter song from memory 2 points. Said or sung, their choice. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who can tie a bow that stays tied 2 points. On a pen, with string or ribbon. Shake it once to test. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who can turn a sticky note into a paper chain link 1 point. They make one; you start a chain with it. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who can wrap a stapler in scrap paper 3 points. Neatly enough that the judge cannot tell what is inside. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who helped put up the office decorations 1 point. Write which one they hung. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who knows how many workdays are left this year 1 point. Check the answer on a calendar together. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who knows where the decorations are stored all year 2 points. They tell you; nobody has to open the cupboard. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who owns a mug with a winter picture on it 1 point. Write what the picture shows. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague who would pick snow over sunshine this week 1 point. Write their one-line reason. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague with a decoration on their desk this week 1 point. Write what it is. They initial your sheet, or pass.
Find a colleague with a string of lights at their desk 2 points. Write the color of the lights. They initial your sheet, or pass.

Break room and party table 18

A bowl of pretzels or popcorn 1 point. Write which.
A candy cane still in its wrapper 1 point. Write its colors.
A cookie shaped like a star 1 point. Tick it on the plate. Eating it is up to you.
A cookie with sprinkles in two colors 1 point. Write both colors.
A dish with a name card standing beside it 2 points. Write what the card says.
A gingerbread person with every arm and leg still on 2 points. Check before somebody bites.
A homemade dish and the name of who made it 2 points. Ask round the table. The cook may stay a secret, and then it scores 1.
A marshmallow 1 point. In a cup, in a bowl or on a stick.
A paper napkin or plate with a winter pattern 1 point. Write the pattern.
A pot, a jug or a flask of hot cocoa 2 points. Write which it is. Steam is a bonus, not a point.
A serving spoon standing in the wrong dish 3 points. Write both dishes. Put the spoon back where it belongs.
A stack of clean cups: count them without touching 2 points. Two teammates count and must agree.
A tablecloth in red, green or gold 1 point. Paper or cloth.
A tin with a winter scene on its lid 2 points. Write what the scene shows.
An orange or a clementine on the party table 2 points. Whole or in segments.
The first plate on the table to be emptied 1 point. Write what the team thinks was on it.
The smell of cinnamon 3 points. Two teammates must agree where it comes from. Write the dish.
Something on the table shaped like a tree 2 points. Food, napkin or decoration. Write what it is.

Team photos 18

A team photo with a paper snowflake over every face 2 points. Own team only. Cut the snowflakes from scrap paper.
Every teammate holding something red or green, no two alike 2 points. Own team only. Things from your own desks.
Every teammate pointing at the same decoration 1 point. Own team only. From as far apart as the room allows.
Every teammate under one paper chain 2 points. Own team only. Make the chain or borrow one with a yes.
Every teammate's hands round one mug 1 point. Own team only. An empty mug.
Your team as a choir with staplers for microphones 2 points. Own team only. Mouths open, eyes on the conductor.
Your team as a sleigh and its reindeer 3 points. Own team only. One rider, the rest pulling. Nobody is lifted.
Your team as a string of lights with one bulb out 2 points. Own team only. The judge must be able to tell which of you is out.
Your team as a tree, with one of you as the star 2 points. Own team only. Everyone stays on the floor: the star reaches up.
Your team as a wrapped present with a bow on top 3 points. Own team only. Hands make the bow. Nobody is wrapped in anything.
Your team as the scene inside a snow globe 3 points. Own team only. Hold still while one of you pretends to shake it.
Your team beside the best-decorated desk on the floor 2 points. Only with a yes from the desk's owner, who may join the photo or stay out.
Your team frozen as a row of snowmen 1 point. Own team only. Stick arms out, no smiling.
Your team looking up as if snow has started falling indoors 1 point. Own team only. Surprise on every face.
Your team passing a parcel made of scrap paper down a line 2 points. Own team only. Catch it mid-pass.
Your team spelling ICE with your arms 2 points. Own team only. One letter each; a fourth teammate is the snow.
Your team throwing scrap-paper snowballs at the same moment 3 points. Own team only. All of them in the air in one shot. Pick every one up.
Your team's shoes in a ring round a candy cane 1 point. Feet only. No faces needed.

Quick makes 18

A bow made from a strip of scrap paper 1 point. Stick it on a teammate's monitor.
A card for another team, signed by all of you 1 point. Deliver it before the finish time.
A four-line rhyme about the printer 3 points. Read it aloud to the judge. It has to rhyme.
A garland of rubber bands as long as a desk 2 points. Looped together, not knotted, so they come apart again.
A gift tag for the office plant 1 point. To the plant, from the team. Lean it on the pot.
A new verse about your team for a winter song 3 points. Four lines. Sing or say it to the judge.
A paper chain of 20 links 2 points. Scrap paper and tape. The judge counts.
A paper scarf for the back of a chair 2 points. Scrap paper, with a pattern drawn on it.
A paper snowflake cut with no more than five snips 3 points. One teammate counts the snips out loud.
A reindeer drawn by the whole team, one line each 1 point. Pass the pen round until it is done.
A sign with your team's name and a winter word in it 1 point. Stand it on a desk for the rest of the day.
A sleigh that carries a stapler across a desk 3 points. Built from supplies. It must move the stapler the width of the desk without tipping.
A snow globe drawn on a sticky note 1 point. With your own building inside it.
A snowman built from office supplies 2 points. It must stand by itself. Put the supplies back afterward.
A star folded from one sheet of paper 3 points. No scissors and no tape.
A tower of paper cups taller than a keyboard is long 2 points. Clean, empty cups. Stack them back afterward.
A tree made of sticky notes on a wall 2 points. Take it down afterward, or ask to leave it up.
A wreath made of paper clips 2 points. Linked in a ring big enough to fit over a mug.

How this list was compiled

Written for this page by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-09-30: original scored tasks for teams in a decorated workplace in December. Nothing was copied from another list. Every task stays inside the building, buys nothing, takes nothing from another person's desk and involves no drink stronger than cocoa. Points are our judgment: common things score 1, rare ones 3. Every 'find a colleague who' task was checked on 2026-09-30 against the protected characteristics listed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at https://www.eeoc.gov/employers/small-business/3-who-protected-employment-discrimination: race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation and transgender status), national origin, age (40 or older), disability and genetic information (including family medical history). The colleague tasks are about the season at work (a decoration, a tune, a paper snowflake) and never about faith, observance, family or how anyone spends the holidays; each is opt-in, and the colleague initials the sheet or passes. No task shows a nativity or an act of worship. Licence: own work