Scavenger Hunt in the Mall. Oh My!

Everyone loves going to the mall for shopping, right? No? Me either. Let’s make it fun, but doing a scavenger hunt.

• A scavenger hunt can be done by any type of group.
• You and the kids for the afternoon
• Your significant other and you before a nice dinner
• You and your gal pals
• Even you on a double or triple date.

How to do a Scavenger Hunt

Pick the biggest mall near you. I’d suggest doing it on a Saturday afternoon or early evening, because there’d be less chance of people thinking you are seriously weird and call security on you.

What do You Need for a Scavenger Hunt?

This is the simplest inventory list of any event I’ve ever thought of. Here’s everything you need:

• 2 people is all you need for a scavenger hunt, but the more you have, the funner it will be. I’d stop it at about 8 though.
• At least one brave soul for each group.
• A minimum of 1 cell phone for taking pictures and a timer.
• One person to hang out at the finish line to decide the winner.
• The list of tasks to do.
• The winning team gets a soda bought by the losing team.

How Long Will a Scavenger Hunt Take?

It depends on how many items/tasks on the list, how fast your team moves, and how cooperative they are with each other. I’d give the average no more than an hour, personally.

Tasks to Complete

Picture Tasks

• The Mannequin Challenge: Pose exactly like a store mannequin, with at least one team member in the photo.
• The Escalator: Capture a picture of someone facing the wrong way on an escalator, going up the down escalator, or someone who’s sitting on the stairs of the escalator. Yes, I’ve seen people sitting on the escalator while it was moving.
• Begging for Food: Get a picture of a team member receiving a food court free sample, either from the shop offering, or asking for one because “I can’t decide what I want to try”.
• The Security Guard: Introduce your team to a security guard and get a picture with them and several of your teammates, making a peace sign.
• Storefront Selfie: Take a selfie of your group in front of the most expensive store in the mall, like Rolex, an art gallery, Gucci, etc.
• The Stranger: Find a shopper wearing a hat, an animal print outfit, or sunglasses in the mall.
• The Moustache: Introduce yourself to an adult male with a beard or moustache, get their first name, and take a selfie with him.

The “Seek & Find” Checklist

• Food Court French Fry Count: Count how many specific restaurants in the food court sell French fries.
• The Dollar Item: Find and buy an item priced at under $2 at any store, but it can’t be food related.
• The High-End Tag: Write down the price of the single most expensive handbag you find, and the store you found it in.
• The Name: Go into any store, and ask for a business card.
• The Map: Ask the information booth at the mall for a paper map directory with the place where you are circled, because the screen ones are confusing.
• The Alphabet Run: Find 20 letters of the alphabet in store names. Only one letter can be used per store. Bonus point if you can find Q, X, Z.

Other Scavenger Hunts

You don’t like this list? There’s all kinds of scavenger hunts on the internet. Find one that appeals to you!

Have you ever done a scavenger hunt? What was the best part?