Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt!

Last night the Selph fam enjoyed a favorite Christmas tradition... our Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt! It was a fun evening once again and this year the kids even asked about it last week and wanted to know if we were going to do it! I smiled big as I replied well of course we are! Terrell told them they made my Christmas. Hahaha! 

(The early years of this tradition were a little dicey with crying babies or toddlers and little people who weren't impressed with my idea. Ha! So them asking about it this year and showing a lot of excitement was pretty special. We've come a long way since my little idea of this tradition was born. =))

We start with an early bath time and an earlier supper before getting the boys in some Christmas pjs. Then we make pictures in front of the tree!

A look back at our very first year of the tradition back in 2011. Austin was huge. Ha! 

2012

2013

2014

2015

And now back to the present. =) Three excited boys!

After pictures we load up with a bowl of snacks, a blanket, and our bingo sheets, pencils, and clipboards. This year we forgot flashlights so we drove around with our inside lights on most of the evening. 

The boys had from the time we left our house until the time we got into town to eat their snacks. 

These cards were leftover from last year but next year I'm going to print new cards in color. You don't have to do BINGO... you can do a checklist sheet or just a variety of pictures you're trying to find, etc. 

 

Once we got into our little downtown, Terrell parked and I took up the snack bowls and passed out the clipboards and pencils. Then the BINGO quest and scavenger hunt began. =) 

We don't really do down, across, diagonal, we just go for the black out. This year was tough! We found several right away but then had a hard time finding our last few. 

The boys loved the search though! Layton scribbled all over his little sheet and kept saying, I found Ho Ho! Or I found the Christmas tree! I FOUND THE CANDY CANE!! Haha! He was just looking at his sheet but it still counted. =)

Layton eventually got tired and a little ill and the big boys got tired too, so after driving ALL OVER our small town we finished up the hunt back in our own neighborhood and found a few more items to mark off our sheets. Granna's and Papa's house is our fave!

The only items we couldn't find were bells, a polar bear, and the word Noel. So we'll be on the hunt for those things this week when we're out and about. It was a fun night for the whole fam! 

As the boys grow we may have to make the hunt more challenging or attempt it on foot or throw in some twists, but as long as they still enjoy it we're going to keep it up. And even if they outgrow it one day, we'll probably still do it. =) Growing up we used to call this FFF.... Forced Family Fun! And a little FFF never hurt anyone. It's actually good for you!! Haha!

We're enjoying our Christmas Break lots at our house and my boys are counting down something serious. Happy Tuesday before Christmas!