The Christmas Present Hunt

What Happens

Santa could not fit the biggest present under the tree this year, so he hid it somewhere in your house and left a trail of riddles to it instead. Each riddle sends them to the next. Every riddle card carries one gold letter, and when they have them all, the letters make Santa's secret word.

You are the Escape Master, and the word is for you. The riddles do not lead to the present. They lead to the word, and the word, said out loud to you, is what gets them the sealed envelope with the last clue inside. Nobody stumbles on the present halfway round, and the ending happens in front of you, where you can see their faces.

Twenty-four riddles in two sets. Rhymes to read out loud for five to eight (I wear a star and lights on my head...), and proper riddles for nine and up (What has needles but never sews?). Every one points at one place in an ordinary house, and the answer key says where to tuck the next card. Six blank cards for riddles of your own.

Three lengths, three secret words. Five cards for the youngest, six for most families, eight for a long morning. For nine and up the letters come in a muddle, and working out the word is the last puzzle.

Thirteen pages to print on plain paper, and about fifteen minutes the night before: choose the places, write a letter on each card, walk the route, hide the present. With a letter from Santa that has a space for their name, a board to collect the gold letters on, and a certificate for the finder.

For one to six players, five and up. It works on Christmas morning, on Christmas Eve, or on any day there is one present too big to wrap.