There are plenty of scavenger hunt ideas for adults that can bring fun and adventure to any Halloween party. Add a fun and frightening scavenger hunt to your celebration to entertain and amuse your guests.
Themed Halloween Scavenger Hunts
For people who like to throw theme parties, Halloween offers plenty of ideas to choose amongst. If you like to throw costume parties, Halloween is obviously the perfect occasion. Once you have all your friends all dressed up, it's fun to give them someplace to go. A scavenger hunt will give them a chance to show off their costumes while having fun searching for treasures.
Scavenger hunt parties are versatile and adaptable to almost any theme. Print these lists off and hand them out to your scavengers during your Halloween party:
If you need help downloading the lists, check out these helpful tips.
For those with a theme, coordinate clues and items with the theme being used. Decorate the main area, dress the part and have your guests carry items related to the theme. For example, for the Western theme, dress as a cowboy and hand guests red bandanas and baskets to use to collect their items. Have guests search for items such as a cowboy hat, hay, boots, horse, and more.
Map It Out First
The best part about scavenger hunt parties for adults is that all the real work is done ahead of time. It is a lot of work intially, but once the scavenger hunt is set up the host can use the search time setting up food and other fun things for the guests to do when they return.
Indoors or Out
The first thing the host has to work out is how far ranging the scavenger hunt will be. For apartment dwellers, the scavenger hunt will most certainly be outside the building or at the very least outside the apartment. For homeowners, the scavenger hunt can be limited to the house, the yard, or the entire neighborhood.
Nature of the Hunt
Once you have decided the area of the scavenger hunt, the next step is to figure out how you want guests to collect the treasures. There are as many different ways to approach the list of items to be found, as there are many ways to hide them. Decide if you want guests to retrieve actual items or if you want them to photograph the items. If you prefer the latter, give guests disposable or digital cameras to use to capture the images. Each team can get a camera to use.
Scavenger Hunt List
Be sure to tailor your list for the scavenger hunt to include Halloween-oriented items. Some basic items that can printed out as a list are:
- Pumpkins
- Black cat
- Spider
- Halloween candy
- People in specific costumes
- Glo-sticks
- Decorations
- Spooky eyes
Creepy Clues
Once you have the area worked out and the list of items to be found, the next step is to write out instructions. Clues are more fun than an outright list. A good way to work this out is to start with just simple named items and slowly move to clues so the list becomes more difficult as the game progresses. Bear in mind that while complicated may be fun, too complicated keeps the scavengers out all night. Some creepy clues to use are:
- I light up at night and often have a candle inside of my mouth. (Jack-o-lantern)
- If I cross your path, you may be destined for bad luck. (Black cat)
- I am often tangled up in a web of doom. (Spider)
- Tonight is not all fright and fear, a trick or treat is waiting near. (Halloween candy)
- I ride on a broom and stir up potions. (Witch)
Tips for a Successful Scavenger Hunt
Once your scavengers have returned, be sure to have a great welcome for them. Offer them some Halloween refreshments and give them an update on the other teams' progress. You can serve items such as:
- Hot food such as hot dogs, wings or pizza
- Cold beverages including Halloween-themed drinks
- Hot chocolate or coffee
You may want to offer prizes for specific categories such as:
- First team back
- Most creative interpretation of a clue
- Grand prize for the team that found the most
Make It Fun
Since a scavenger hunt is all about getting your guests to have fun, you will want to make it appropriate for all your guests. Don't make it so difficult that your guests will be searching for hours and getting frustrated finding their items. Make it simple and fun so that everyone is sure to enjoy searching for the items while enjoying the Halloween game.
