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I didn’t expect Life Between Weekends to turn into a scavenger hunt blog, but the feedback I’ve been getting is: KEEP THE IDEAS COMING! (So urgently, in fact, that all caps is required.) Well, as someone whose wild nights in high school involved organizing group scavenger hunts—yup, I am not even joking a little about that—I’m happy to oblige. The latest edition? Backyard scavenger hunt ideas that will help you look at your own space in a whole new way.

How to Host a Backyard Scavenger Hunt:

Gather your crew, divide everyone into groups (or have them search individually), hand out this list, and set a timer for 20 minutes. Try to find as many items as you can, either by taking photos of them or physically collecting them. In the end, you’ll appoint a judge, assigning one point for every item found, and three points for the most creative find for each category. Whoever has the most points wins…bragging rights? A pool of money? A cookie? I’ll let you decide that.

How to plan a hunt via Zoom:

Send everyone the list and let them go into their own backyards for 20 to 30 minutes, setting a time for everyone to log onto Zoom (or the video chat service of your choice) and share their findings. Easy as that!

Our Top 25 Backyard Scavenger Hunt Ideas:

Ready, set, search for…

  1. The best part of backyard cookouts
  2. A leaf that looks like something else (be it a celeb, an animal, anything)
  3. A cloud that looks like something else
  4. A bottle cap
  5. A flower
  6. A weed
  7. Something that reminds you of summer
  8. Something that reminds you of winter
  9. Something that reminds you of childhood
  10. A rock that’s larger than your fist
  11. A pebble that’s smaller than a dime
  12. An acorn
  13. A twig
  14. Something that doesn’t belong outside (like a pen, a cup, etc.)
  15. Water
  16. A squirrel
  17. An ant
  18. An anthill
  19. Bark
  20. A clover (bonus points if it’s four-leaf!)
  21. A lizard
  22. A feather
  23. A pinecone
  24. A spiderweb
  25. Something with a cool texture or pattern

Lead photo by Jennifer Marcus on Unsplash

Posted in Fun