Whittaker Scavenger Hunt - 2006 -- Around Blue Ridge

by Lauren Whittaker
(Atlanta, GA)

Every year my family gathers at a cabin in the mountains of Georgia for Thanksgiving. We break into two teams (usually guys vs. girls) and go into a nearby town, trying to see which team can gather the most items. Each team is forbidden to spend money and encouraged to interact with store keepers (who usually love being involved in the game).

At the end of the day we gather back at the cabin and compare lists as well as funny stories as we eat chili and cornbread that has been cooking all day in the slow cooker. The Scavenger Hunt has become the highlight of our yearly Thanksgiving holiday. It started when my children were in high school and they often invited friends to spend the Scavenger Hunt Day with us. The memories are priceless!

1. Pink or blue hair rubber band.
2. Safety Pin
3. Yellow Pen with company Logo
4. Purple Pen with company Logo
5. Sock with toe patches (used)
6. Empty Cheerwine can
7. Cancelled stamp
8. Piece of junk mail
9. Cassette tape
10. TV Guide for Thanksgiving Day
11. Movie Ticket
12. Picture of local person's driver's license who has the same first name as a team member
13. Pumpkin
14. Picture of a guy with a mullet haircut
15. Halloween decoration
16. Birthday card (used)
17. Cross
18. Styrofoam cup
19. Sewing kit
20. Newspaper ad with the price of $599.99 on it
21. Empty oil can/bottle
22. Picture of a live bride and groom in their wedding attire.
23. Picture of the biggest diamond ring you can find on a woman's hand plus the story of how she received it. (Make sure you find out how many carats it is.)
24. Book of matches
25. Hair comb that is not black
26. Multi-colored shoe lace
27. Photo of two strangers in bare feet
28. Q-tip
29. Tweezers
30. Pink lipstick
31. Orange candle
32. Clock
33. Sudoku puzzle
34. Comic strip from the newspaper
35. Coat hanger
36. Puzzle piece
37. Picture of a person walking their dog who is the opposite (i.e., large man with small dog.)
38. Picture of a fish
39. Flag
40. Tennis ball
41. Dog toy
42. Non-white napkin
43. Coupon that expired more than six months ago
44. Trash bag twist tie
45. Odd sized envelope
46. Non-white tissue
47. Brown paper bag
48. Macaroni colored crayon
49. Picture of a black cat
50. 9-volt battery
51. Business card with a southern name like "Bubba" or "Bobby Joe" or "Emma Sue"
52. Take-Out Menu
53. Picture of one group member cleaning someone's car windshield
54. Empty toilet paper roll
55. Button that is not black, brown or white
56. Feather
57. Something you can see through
58. Empty film canister
59. Picture of at least two members on a swingset
60. Piece of green paper
61. Cartoon character Band-Aid
62. Cherry cough drop
63. Chop sticks
64. Green dental floss
65. Calendar page from 2005
66. 1954 Penny
67. Map
68. Picture of at least two members in bathroom stall
69. Paperback book with a copyright at least 20 years old
70. Picture of at least one member kissing a stranger's baby.
71. Magnet
72. Clean diaper (dirty diaper = immediate forfeiture!)
73. Magnet
74. ATM Receipt
75. Pointsetta flower
76. Fan
77. Fish hook
78. Parking ticket (picture okay if someone needs to keep their ticket!)
79. Picture of Winnie the Pooh
80. Picture of someone's diploma
81. A die from a dice game
82. Picture of someone's hand with weird nail polish
83. A pencil or paper etching of a police or firefighter's badge.
84. A photo of a team member being handcuffed by a police officer.
85. Floppy disk that is not black.
86. Recipe from a local restaurant
87. Picture of a license plate from Kansas.
88. Golf tee
89. Hair barret
90. Rain poncho
91. Wet nap
92. Plastic spoon
93. Flexible straw
94. Hotel soap
95. Tree-shaped air freshner
96. Four-leaf clover
97. Maple leaf
98. Sponge
99. Tootsie roll
100. Picture of two team members holding a stranger off the ground.

Our teams are so competitive that it's rare we don't get all the items on our 100-item list. The stories of how they managed to get things is what makes our evenings so much fun. (One year we had to get a photo of someone on the team crossing an old lady across the street. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get someone who you THINK is old to agree to let you walk them across a street?) The goal is to have fun!

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