12 Days of Christmas Scavenger Hunt Clues

All 36 clues

Easy rhymes 12

A partridge sat in a pear tree, they say. Look where the fruit is kept today. Day 1: the fruit bowl. Set the gift among the fruit.
Two turtle doves stay side by side. Look where a pair of mittens hide. Day 2: the mittens or gloves. Tuck it inside one of a pair.
Three French hens have eggs to lay. Open the fridge, where eggs are put away. Day 3: the egg carton in the refrigerator. Lay it on top of the carton.
Four calling birds are calling you. Look where the phones charge: it's there for you. Day 4: where the phones charge. Lay it beside the charger.
Five golden rings, all shiny and round! Look where the ring of keys is found. Day 5: the key hook or the key bowl. Hang it low, or set it beside the bowl.
Six geese a-laying need a nest. Look in the place where your own head rests. Day 6: your pillow. Slide it under the pillow.
Seven swans a-swimming glide. Find the bathtub and look inside. Day 7: the bathtub. Set it in the dry tub.

Show all 36 clues (29 more)

Easy rhymes, continued

Eight maids a-milking fill a pail. Milk goes on cereal: follow that trail. Day 8: the cereal box. Stand it behind the box.
Nine ladies dancing twirl and spin. Find the mirror they practice in. Day 9: a mirror a child can reach. Tape it to a lower corner.
Ten lords a-leaping bounce about. Lift a couch cushion and pull it out. Day 10: the couch cushions. Tuck it under a cushion.
Eleven pipers piping play. A roll of wrapping paper hides it today. Day 11: the wrapping paper. Slide it inside the cardboard tube.
Twelve drummers drumming, rat-a-tat-tat! The pots and pans hide the last, like that. Day 12: the pots and pans cupboard. Set it inside the biggest pot.

Riddles 12

A partridge needs a tree. I grow in a pot indoors and get watered each week. Day 1: a houseplant. Stand it against the pot.
Two turtle doves make a pair. So do we, left and right, waiting by the door. Day 2: the shoes by the door. Push it into the toe of one shoe.
Three French hens scratch for corn. Yours comes in a bag and goes pop. Day 3: the popcorn, on its pantry shelf. Lean it against the bag.
Four calling birds wake the house. So do I, when my numbers reach the hour. Day 4: the alarm clock. Set it beside the clock.
Five gold rings. I ring too, each time a visitor presses me. Day 5: the doorbell. Hide it indoors, just inside the front door.
Six geese a-laying float on a pond. I float too, yellow, at bath time. Day 6: the rubber duck or the bath toys. Set it in the toy basket.
Seven swans a-swimming dry off in the sun. You dry off with me. Day 7: the towels. Fold it into the top towel.
Eight maids a-milking fill pails. I fill with cocoa and have one handle. Day 8: the mugs. Stand it inside a mug set out on the counter.
Nine ladies dancing need a tune. Ask me for a song and I play it. Day 9: the speaker or the radio. Lay it on top.
Ten lords a-leaping go up in jumps. You go up me one step at a time. Day 10: the stairs. Set it on the bottom stair. With no stairs, use a step stool.
Eleven pipers piping blow through pipes. Water runs through mine at a turn. Day 11: the bathroom sink. Lean it behind the faucet, dry.
Twelve drummers drumming tap a drum. Tap my lid: cookies live inside. Day 12: the cookie tin or the cookie jar. Set it beside the tin.

By the tree 12

A partridge in a pear tree? Ours is pine! Look on a low branch for a sign. Day 1: the Christmas tree. Hang it on a low branch.
Two turtle doves, a perfect pair. Two stockings hang: look in there. Day 2: the stockings. Drop it into one.
Three French hens say bonjour at the door. Check the doormat on the floor. Day 3: the doormat, indoors. Slide it under one corner.
Four calling birds chirp, tweet and chat. Where is the TV remote? Look under that. Day 4: the TV remote. Lay the remote on top of it.
Five golden rings! One ring is green. The wreath is the biggest you've seen. Day 5: the wreath. Tuck it into the lowest part, where a child can reach.
Six geese a-laying, feathers so light. Squeeze the couch pillow: is it in tight? Day 6: a throw pillow. Tuck it behind the pillow.
Seven swans a-swimming, necks held high. The tall lamp has one too: look nearby. Day 7: the floor lamp. Lean it against the base.
Eight maids a-milking, pails in a row. Santa's milk and cookies: that's where to go. Day 8: the plate of cookies and the glass of milk. Set one out for the hunt if Santa's is not out yet.
Nine ladies dancing glide and sway. Peek under the rug where they danced today. Day 9: the rug. Slide it under one corner.
Ten lords a-leaping, hop, hop, hop! The footstool is their favorite stop. Day 10: the footstool, or the coffee table. Tape it underneath.
Eleven pipers piping, loud and proud. Behind the curtain they hide from the crowd. Day 11: the curtain. Tape it to the hem.
Twelve drummers drumming, loud and clear! Drum on the biggest box: the end is here. Day 12: the biggest wrapped box under the tree. This is the last stop.

How this list was compiled: An original list of October 2026: three clues for each of the twelve gifts of the carol The Twelve Days of Christmas, 36 in all. Twelve are rhymes that name a hiding place around the house, twelve are riddles that leave the place to be worked out, and twelve are rhymes for the room with the Christmas tree and the front door. Nothing was copied from another clue list. The twelve gifts and their order are the ones of Frederic Austin's arrangement of 1909, the form sung today, as given in the Wikipedia article The Twelve Days of Christmas (song) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Days_of_Christmas_(song), read on 13 October 2026). The same article is the source for the page's other facts: the earliest known printing of the words, in London in 1780, has four colly birds and a different order for the last four gifts, and the twelve days run from Christmas Day to 5 January. The carol is traditional. Only the names of its gifts are used here, and no verse is quoted. Every hiding place is one a child reaches from the floor: no stove, oven, fireplace, garage or road, and no clue asks anyone to climb. Licence: own work

How it works

Each of these 12 Days of Christmas scavenger hunt clues turns one gift from the carol into a hiding place: the pear tree becomes the fruit bowl, the calling birds the phone charger, the drummers the pots and pans.

Read the full guide

One gift a day, or one evening

For a gift a day, cut the strips apart and hand over one each morning; the small gift waits where the clue points. For a 12 days of Christmas treasure hunt in one evening, hide strip 2 where strip 1 leads, and so on, and put the present where the drummers send the hunters.

Three sets of twelve

Easy rhymes names each place outright, for ages 4 to 8. Riddles leaves the place to work out: the doorbell for five gold rings. By the tree stays in the room with the tree and by the front door. All 36 clues lays out three for each day: take away the two you do not want. Press Print this list.

Print a second copy to keep whole: every clue has a box to tick when its gift is found.
Keep the printed page of hiding places: by day nine, nobody remembers where day ten's gift went.

Questions and answers

What small gifts go with the 12 days of Christmas?

Play on the carol: a pear, a pair of socks, chocolate eggs for the hens and the geese, five bangles for the rings, bubble bath for the swans, cocoa for the maids, a jump rope for the lords, a whistle and a toy drum.

When should a 12 days of Christmas hunt start?

In the carol the twelve days begin on Christmas Day and end on 5 January. For a hunt that leads up to Christmas, start on 13 December: the twelfth clue then lands on Christmas Eve.

Is it calling birds or colly birds?

Both have been sung. The earliest known printing, of 1780, has four colly birds, a regional word for coal-black. Calling birds comes from Frederic Austin's arrangement of 1909, which also fixed the order of the last four gifts used here.

Do the clues work for teens and adults?

Yes. Choose Riddles: each names its gift and leaves the place unsaid, such as the alarm clock for four calling birds or the stairs for ten lords a-leaping.