An advent treasure hunt with your children’s names.
From December 1 to 24, one clue card a day leads your child to a small surprise somewhere at home. Every card has their name, and each child gets clues that fit their age.
Personalized advent treasure huntAges 4 to 12Sold on Etsy
13.90 € on Etsy
For 1 to 4 children aged 4 to 12: 24 clue cards, a Day 24 letter and a separate guide for you, ready to download a few minutes after your payment goes through. Each file in A4 and US Letter.
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- Clues for each child’s age. Picture clues at 4 to 6, rhyme riddles at 7 to 9, secret codes at 10 to 12, all in one hunt.
- A separate guide for you. It says where to hide each card and what to put there, with the answers to the codes, so the children do not see it.
- Checked before you get it. A second, separate program checks that every day has its card, every spot is one you chose and every code solves to the right answer.
How your hunt is made.
Four boxes on the Etsy order page; only the first one is required. After that, your hunt is built automatically as soon as the payment goes through.
- Type names and ages. 1 to 4 children aged 4 to 12, name and age, with a comma between. For example: Emma 5, Leo 8.
- Pick hiding spots, if you like. Type 12 or more numbers from the Hiding Spot Menu, or leave the box empty and we use 16 everyday spots.
- Choose the letter and how siblings play. The Day 24 letter comes from Holly the Elf or from Santa. Siblings take turns, each on their own days, or play together with the clues for the youngest.
- Download it a few minutes later. Open arling.sk/case, choose Advent treasure hunt, and enter your Etsy order number and the first name of your first child (or your own surname from the order). Four PDF files are waiting there.
Three kinds of clues, one hunt.
Each card says whose day it is and has a clue made for that child’s age. Day 24 is for everyone.
- Ages 4 to 6
- Picture clue: a drawing and one short sentence a grown-up can read aloud.
- Ages 7 to 9
- Rhyme riddle: a little poem that describes the hiding spot.
- Ages 10 to 12
- Secret code: letter shift, mirror writing or a number code, with the key on the card.
- Siblings
- Take turns, each child on their own days, or choose Together and everyone follows the clues for the youngest.
A guide that tells you where to hide every card.
The Grown-ups Guide is a separate file of 3 pages, so the children do not see it.
- Before December 1. Print the clue cards and the guide, and cut out the 24 cards. About 20 minutes, by our estimate.
- On the evening of November 30. Hide the first small surprise and the Day 2 card at the Day 1 spot from your guide.
- On December 1. Give your child the Day 1 card. Its clue leads to that spot.
- Every evening after that. Hide what your guide lists for the next day’s spot, for example a treat and the Day 3 card. A few minutes, by our estimate.
Surprises are not included. The guide suggests ideas: stickers, a note, a small toy, a coloring page, or an activity such as cocoa together tonight.
Pick 12 or more spots, or leave it to us.
The Hiding Spot Menu has 50 places in five parts of a home. With fewer than 24 spots, some are used twice, never two days in a row.
Leave the box empty and we use 16 everyday spots: under your pillow, under the blanket at the foot of your bed, inside a slipper, folded in your pajamas, with your favorite stuffed animal, in your sock drawer, in the pocket of your winter coat, inside your winter hat, inside a mitten or glove, inside a boot by the door, inside one of your shoes, rolled up in a scarf, under a couch cushion, inside a big picture book, on the seat of a dining chair pushed under the table, and in the toy box.
Every spot in the menu was chosen to be at floor or child height, but homes differ: pick the bread basket, the cereal box or the cookie tin only if your child can reach it without climbing, and please check each spot in your own home.
What you get.
Two files, each in A4 and in US Letter, on our download page a few minutes after your payment goes through.
-
Clue cards for the children
A few minutes after your payment goes through, at arling.sk/case
7 pages
A4 and US Letter -
Grown-ups Guide for you
In the same place, as a separate file
3 pages
A4 and US Letter
- 1The cover, with your children’s names
- 2How to play, written for the children
- 3 to 624 cards to cut out, 6 per page, with cutting lines
- 7The Day 24 letter from Holly the Elf or from Santa
Right after you pay, your Etsy download also has a 2-page Start here file with the steps and the Hiding Spot Menu. Print at 100 percent scale. You may print the files as often as you need for your own family; please do not resell them. It is a digital download, and nothing is shipped.
Names and privacy.
You type the names and ages in the first box on Etsy. This is what happens to them.
- Names
- Up to 20 letters each, in the Latin alphabet; accents are fine.
- Something missing
- If an age or a name is missing, or you typed fewer than 12 spot numbers, no file is made yet: the download page tells you what is missing, you type it again there, and the hunt is built right away.
- One correction
- Once your hunt is ready, you can still correct your answers once on the same page.
- Privacy
- We use the names and ages only to build your hunt. Your files contain them and are deleted automatically 30 days after they are ready; if you order before December, they stay until at least December 27. Please save your files. More in section 8b of our privacy policy.
Who it is for, and who it is not for.
A good pick if
- you have 1 to 4 children aged 4 to 12 who would love one small surprise to find every day from December 1 to 24
- you are happy to print, cut out the cards and hide one surprise each evening
- your children are different ages: a 5 year old gets picture clues and a 10 year old gets secret codes
Not the right pick if
- you want a printed calendar shipped to you; this is a printable PDF, and nothing is shipped
- you want illustrated characters and a story on every page; the cards are clean, with simple line icons
- nobody can hide the next card in the evening; the hunt works only when a grown-up does that
- your children are younger than 4 or older than 12
- you need another language; the text is in English
You need a printer, A4 or US Letter paper, scissors, and small surprises of your own.
Before you buy.
When and where do I get my files?
Right after you pay, your Etsy download has a 2-page Start here file with the steps and the Hiding Spot Menu. A few minutes after your payment goes through, your hunt is ready at arling.sk/case: choose Advent treasure hunt, enter your Etsy order number and the first name of your first child (or your own surname from the order), and download four PDF files. The files are on our page, not in an Etsy message. The order number is in Purchases and reviews on Etsy and in the receipt email from Etsy.
Do I have to choose the hiding spots?
No. The hiding spot box is optional. Type 12 or more numbers from the Hiding Spot Menu, or leave it empty and we use 16 everyday spots, such as under your pillow, inside a slipper or in the toy box. Your guide lists the spot for every day.
My children are different ages. How does that work?
Choose Take turns and each child gets their own days, with clues for their age. Or choose Together and everyone follows the clues for the youngest. Day 24 is for everyone.
What if I make a mistake in the boxes?
If an age or a name is missing, or you typed fewer than 12 spot numbers, no file is made yet: the download page tells you what is missing, you type it again there, and the hunt is built right away. Once it is ready, you can still correct your answers once on the same page.
Are the surprises included?
No. This is a digital download and nothing is shipped. The guide suggests small surprises: stickers, a note, a small toy, a coloring page, or an activity such as cocoa together tonight.
What happens to my children’s names?
We use the names and ages only to build your hunt. Your files contain them and are deleted automatically 30 days after they are ready; if you order before December, they stay until at least December 27. Please save your files. The details are in section 8b of our privacy policy.
24 days, one clue at a time.
Clue cards with your children’s names and a guide for you, ready a few minutes after you pay.
13.90 € on Etsy
Buy on EtsyIn the EU, Etsy adds local VAT (23 percent in Slovakia), and elsewhere it may add local tax; Etsy shows the final total before you pay.
- Already bought it? Download your hunt with your Etsy order number.
- A gift for grown-ups? A Christmas murder mystery with your friends as witnesses.
Colophon
- Publisher
- ARLing s. r. o., Ivanská cesta 32E, 821 04 Bratislava, Slovakia. Company ID 56583486, VAT ID SK2122352100.
- Who makes it
- Andrej in Bratislava looks after the products and the support. Texts and puzzles were created with the help of AI tools. Every page is drawn in code; no AI images are used.
- Where you buy
- On Etsy, in our shop ARLingStudio. Etsy takes the payment and sends the receipt. The Start here file is in your Etsy download right away, and your hunt is ready at arling.sk/case a few minutes after your payment goes through. Nothing is shipped.
- Questions
- Before you buy, write to support@arling.sk. After you buy, message us on Etsy (ARLingStudio); we reply within one working day.