A printable birthday gift hunt for tweens and teens aged 11 and up. GIFT.TRACE combines escape room style codes and puzzles with the thrill of finding their birthday gifts, ending with a locked finale.
The story: Their gifts have been hidden, but the system that recorded the locations has been corrupted. As the Recovery Agent, they work through a stack of files to trace the missing locations and recover their gifts. Three yellow Recovery Code Files reveal the digits for a 3-digit lock; the final clue leads to the last gift, locked away.
For tweens & teens who have outgrown treasure maps but still love a surprise, it gives birthday gifts a different kind of reveal. Vouchers, tickets, cash or a small tech gift become part of a birthday mission.
What’s included
- 10 clue cards to choose from
- 3 Recovery Code Files and a final clue, plus a blank final card for your own location
- 3 hint cards for the toughest clues
- Two folded mission-card designs and a low-ink mission letter
- 2 gift tags
- Parent answers and hiding guide
- 2 optional hands-on swaps, used together: a code hidden in a balloon and a code frozen in ice
- UK A4 with UK English and US Letter with US English PDF versions
The puzzles include Morse code, mirror writing, maths code, a word search, sudoku, French/Spanish translation, letter rotation, riddles, an anagram, a map route, a card overlay and missing vowels. Some offer quick wins; others take more thinking, with hints available for the hardest three.
How to prepare and play
Print and cut the cards, then choose 5–10 clues that suit your home. Skip any locations that do not work for you. Hide the three Recovery Code Files, with a gift or treat at each other chosen location. Lock the main gift in a suitcase using the supplied 3-digit code.
Hand over the mission letter and selected clue cards. They can solve the clues in any order, recovering gifts and gathering the code digits for the locked finale. Keep the final clue back, then hand it over once the selected clue cards have been solved and all three Recovery Code Files found.
Locations include a dictionary, toilet roll, laundry basket, wardrobe or closet, recycling, fridge, bed, under the stairs, car glove box and BBQ or grill. You choose which locations to use.
What you’ll need
A printer, paper, scissors, a pen or pencil, access to a mirror, a suitcase with a resettable 3-digit lock (built-in or a padlock), your main gift and 2–7 smaller gifts or treats, depending on the number of clues you choose. Gifts, treats and equipment are not supplied.
An envelope for the final clue is optional. If you use the optional hands-on swaps, use both together. You’ll also need a red balloon, a freezer, an ice tray or small plastic container, paper, a pencil and sticky tape. Allow 24 hours for the frozen-code preparation.
A grown-up chooses the hiding spots, prepares and supervises the hunt. Check every location is safe and suitable for the player; the car clue needs an adult.
Printing and delivery
This is a digital download to print at home. UK A4 and US Letter versions are included; no physical kit is posted. Download after checkout, with a download link also sent by email.
Personal use
For personal, non-commercial family or party use only. You may print the kit for your own use. Do not resell, redistribute, share or repost the files, whether free or paid, in their original or edited form. Designs, puzzles and content © Gift Hunt Co. All rights reserved.
Explore our gift hunts for ages 11+ or browse all birthday gift hunts.
