Christmas parties come with built-in props: lights, jumpers, a tree, a table full of food, relatives you see once a year. A photo scavenger hunt turns all of it into a game. It needs no setup, works for any age, and leaves you with something better than the usual photo of everyone squinting at the camera.
How a Christmas photo scavenger hunt works
- Teams of two to five, or solo for a small group.
- One list of things to photograph. Fifteen to twenty items is plenty for an hour.
- A time limit: 30 minutes indoors, an hour if you're heading outside.
- Points per item, more for the hard ones, and a bonus for the funniest photo.
- Pick your listTap the ideas you like, then add your own.
- Print one QR codeEach scan deals a task, and photos go straight to one gallery.
- Count the pointsScroll the gallery together at the end and crown the winners.
For adults and friends
Tap the ideas you like and we'll put them on your board.
- A stranger in a Santa hat
- Your team recreating a famous Christmas film scene
- The most over-decorated window you can find
- Someone wearing tinsel as a scarf
- A toast with five glasses in the frame
- Your best impression of the Grinch
- Two people under the mistletoe (a high five counts)
- A Christmas song lyric spelled out on something
- The worst Christmas jumper in the room
- A photo that looks like a Christmas card
For family Christmas
- Three generations in one photo
- The oldest ornament on the tree
- Grandma or grandpa's best dance move
- Someone asleep after dinner
- The kids' table, from the kids' height
- A gift wrapped by the worst wrapper in the family
- Every family member's feet in socks
- The tallest stack of presents
- Somebody laughing at their own joke
- Your family as reindeer, antlers optional
For the office Christmas party
- A selfie with someone from another team
- The newest and the longest-serving colleague together
- Someone you only know from video calls
- The most festive desk
- Your team spelling a word with their bodies
- A colleague mid-laugh
- The boss in a party hat
- The best-dressed person at the party
- Your team photo, Christmas-card style
- A toast to the year
More games for the work party are in 20 office Christmas party games.
Out and about: the Christmas market and the town
- The biggest gingerbread heart at the market
- A team selfie with a mug of mulled wine or hot chocolate
- The most impressive Christmas tree in town
- A street musician playing a carol
- A dog in a Christmas outfit
- A snowman, or the closest thing to one
- Your team on a carousel
- The longest queue at a food stall
- A shop window that would win a prize
- Something red, something green and something gold in one photo
Points, rules and prizes
Keep the rules short enough to read out in one breath:
| Photo | Points | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 1 | The oldest ornament on the tree |
| Needs a stranger or a plan | 3 | A stranger in a Santa hat |
| Whole team in the photo | 5 | Your team as a film scene |
| Funniest photo of the night | +5 | The room votes at the end |
- Ask before you photograph strangers, and skip anyone who says no.
- Back at the start by the deadline, or lose five points.
- Prizes: the last chocolate in the advent calendar, first pick of the leftovers, or the right to choose next year's film.
A paper list or a QR code?
For six people around a table, a paper list and a group chat are all you need. Over about fifteen, the photos end up scattered across fifteen phones and half of them never get sent. That's what a photo challenge fixes: print one QR code, each scan deals the next task, and every photo lands in one gallery you scroll together at the end and keep as a ZIP. Guests need no app and no account.
- Test run: free. 5 tasks, one photo each, to see how it works.
- Standard: €79, paid once. Up to 100 tasks and unlimited photos, all downloadable in full resolution.
- A full refund if it falls flat. Fewer than 20 guest photos? Email us within three months and we refund the whole amount. See the refund policy.
Frequently asked questions
What do you put on a Christmas photo scavenger hunt?
Things that are easy to find but fun to photograph at Christmas: decorations, jumpers, food, family moments, and a few harder items that need a stranger or the whole team, such as a stranger in a Santa hat or a recreated film scene.
How long should a Christmas scavenger hunt last?
30 minutes indoors and about an hour outside, for example at a Christmas market. Fifteen to twenty items fill that time without anyone giving up.
How do you play a Christmas photo scavenger hunt with adults?
In teams of two to five, with points for each photo and a bonus for the funniest. Adult lists can be cheekier (mistletoe, the worst jumper, a Grinch impression), as long as nobody has to embarrass a stranger.
Can the whole family play, including grandparents?
Yes. Mixed teams of kids and grandparents work best: the kids run, the grandparents know where the oldest ornament is. With a QR code, any phone can take part without installing anything.
How do you collect everyone's photos?
Either a group chat, which works for a small group, or a photo challenge: one printed QR code, and every photo goes into one shared gallery that you can download as a ZIP.
Start your Christmas photo hunt
Pick your ideas, print one QR code, and every photo lands in one gallery. Free to try, with a full refund on paid plans if fewer than 20 photos come in.
Start for free