Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt - Different Ways to Play this Fun Game

Do you need some ideas for organizing a Thanksgiving scavenger hunt?

Thanksgiving, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of every November in the US, is a day set aside for family and friends. Traditionally, there is a lot of food and a time to express gratitude and thankfulness for love and the abundance of God's blessings. It is also a day of games - and not just football.

A Thanksgiving scavenger hunt is also popular in many homes and among youth and church organizations. Originally, a person hired to remove unwanted trash from the streets, and then anyone who collected things no one else wanted, was known as the scavenger. The word means to collect or the collector. In the mid 20th century, the hunt for specific objects by following clues became known as the popular game of today.

The actual history of the scavenger hunt as the popular game is not altogether clear except that it originated in the US. Today, the game does not even involve collecting as much as it does locating specific items. Usually, students or family members work as a team, using their skills in observing to look for items and mark it on their list.

Sometimes, lists will be made up of random things and, other times, such as for a Thanksgiving scavenger hunt, they will all be related to a subject such as Thanksgiving and all that goes with it - squirrels, pumpkins and acorns as well as Indians and pilgrims. This is accomplished by dividing the participants into even groups with each group looking for the items on your list.

Because the themes of Thanksgiving are so diverse, when you organize Thanksgiving scavenger hunts, you may choose several categories and give each group a different theme. Before sending groups off, make sure everyone understands the rules, has a list, and knows their designated area to look in. They will also need a time frame. Whoever finishes their list first is the winner.

Over the years, scavenger hunts have been conducted in several manners. Some people just go find what is on their list, while other groups play a version known as Destination Unknown, where the players must look for a series of clues that will lead them to their items.

Still another version of the game has the groups (because of space or the hour they are playing) scour an overloaded tray or a treasure chest full of items for 60 seconds and then get together with their teammates to remember everything they saw. The team with the most details is, of course, the winner. These are some ideas you could use when organizing a Thanksgiving scavenger hunt.

Another increasingly popular version of the scavenger hunt is for a video message to be played before a group of people giving clues as to the theme for the night. For instance, the video person might tell the group to work together to find the one thing in the garden that rhymes with G-U-M. Answer - mum.

When that is accomplished, he will come on again with the next clue: No garden would be without this item that rhymes with B-L-A-D-E. Then you might try a fruit and a vegetable and a finished food, such as dressing, rolls or pie. Clues would lead them to the abundance of a Thanksgiving dinner.

Do you now have some Thanksgiving scavenger hunt ideas you may want to utilize?

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