Peppermint Town’s Christmas Escape Room!

The festive season is upon us, and I have a fun new Christmas escape room for the young adventurers out there! I have set this Kids’ Christmas Escape Room in the whimsical Peppermint Town. The graphics in the game are super cute. 

The Quest to Save Christmas:

Santa needs your kids’ help to restore the lost magic of Christmas! Set against the backdrop of the delightful Peppermint Town, this escape room game immerses young players into an adventure filled with puzzles, clues, and the quest to discover the magic word that will bring back the holiday cheer.

Who Play This Escape Room?

The game is aimed at kids between 7-10 ish age range. Anyone can play, but older kids will definitely solve the puzzles quicker, and younger kids will need some help. This is a fun light hearted game to play over the festive period. It isn’t going to be too difficult that the kids are going to lose interest. I would say that kids over the age of 11 will find this fairly easy to complete so if you are short on time say half an hour or so this would suit them well. You can of course make the game more interesting by adding in the extra lock clues that are included in the game kit and by hiding puzzle pieces.

How long does the game take to set up?

This really depends on you and how you plan on playing. Set aside 25-30 minutes if you are only cutting out all the game material and just laying the game material around your room. I usually spend about an 45 mins setting up my rooms. I do include locked boxes, I hide clues and I will often have props and things to set up. Use you descretion though. Game play will be about 45-60 minutes. I love the set up process so for me even if It takes me an hour and the kids only play for 45 minutes I really enjoy the whole process I know it’s not for everyone. At lest if you are grabbing the game kit the puzzle creation and ideas are already done for you.

What Puzzles are in the Game?

You will find nine main Christmas escape room puzzles to solve. Each puzzle will require different skills, and some are more easy to solve than others. I like to set different levels to challenge and also keep the kids engaged in the activity.

Each of the puzzles is identified with a house from Peppermint Town. Some of the other game material is not identified, so players must figure out which pieces go together. This is where it’s fun to hide some of the game material inside boxes or scatter them around the room.

Jingle Bell Cottage Puzzle:

This is a simple puzzle that requires colour recognition. The players must find baubles and place them in the correct area of a Christmas tree. When all the baubles are in the correct place, the players will reveal their fist number.

For this puzzle, instead of preparing the baubles in advance of the game, leave this for the players to cut out (saves you time too!). First however, they must find the key to unlock a pair of scissors you have locked shut. It’s really simple, but these extra layers really add to the fun of setting up an escape room at home.

Cocoa Cafe Puzzle:

In the first part of the puzzle, players will need to put together a simple picture that has been cut into pieces. When assembled, they will find a simple sum to solve. But the sum is only shown as pictures of hot chocolate drinks taken from the cocoa cafe menu. They must then find the cost of each item to work out the next number. You can create a hot cocoa bar as part of your game. I have a printable kit to create a DIY hot cocoa bar. Go check it out.

Peppermint Swirl Lodge Puzzle:

The players follow the path through a simple maze to find the correct order of images. These images are also found in strips that will make a paperchain. There are extra printables in the kit so you can create a large paperchain. This is a very simple puzzle and would be great to let the youngest players figure it out. This one can be made more challenging simply by having the players find the paper chain.

Toy Factory Puzzle:

This is pattern recognition which is not difficult on its own. What makes this fun is the players need to search the room to find the next pieces of the pattern. I created the images into gift tags so they can be tied to a Christmas tree, small gifts or just to objects around the room.

You can attach the gift tags to fake-wrapped gift boxes and place them under the Christmas tree. You can even have the kids open the gifts where they find further clues for other puzzles or perhaps some fun activities to do after the game. Colouring pages, puzzle books etc.

Peppermint Frosting Lodge Puzzle:

I like this puzzle as the players need to rotate a peppermint lolly to read different letters on a dial. This puzzle comes in two halves the dial and the message in code. I would definitely lock one-half of this puzzle inside a box. And use one of the lock puzzles included in the kit as an extra layer.

Mushroom Manor Puzzle:

The players simply need to follow the candy cane path. First, however, they need to arrange the matching squares in the same order as shown on the main picture. This puzzle requires logic as the players need to arrange squares in a set order.

Ginger “n” Spice Bakery Puzzle:

The players are shown a recipe with instructions to find the ingredients. I have included pictures of the ingredients that you can hide inside your escape room, but if you feeling adventurous, use the tags included in the kit to attach to real ingredients for players to find.

CandyCane Post Office Puzzle:

This is my favourite little puzzle; the players navigate around a board following the direction the Christmas hats point to. The instruction pages is similar looking to the hats board, but instead of hats, there are letters. The two clues work together to reveal the next number players need.

Final Reveal Puzzle:

For the final reveal, each of the numbers the players find during the game is used. There is a simple calculation to be solved. In turn the answer they get reveals symbols that need to be decoded with the elf alphabet.

Creating a Festive Escape Room Experience at Home:

Parents, so you want to bring the thrill of an escape room into your living room? You’ve got some puzzle ideas but what next? With the kit, it’s easy as I try to give plenty of tips inside the game guide. But if you are planning your own Christmas escape game, here are some tips you can use to transform your home into a magical escape room adventure:

1. Hide and Seek: Hide clues in different rooms, behind paintings, under pillows, or inside festive decorations. (keep note of where you hide stuff…you will forget lol)
2. Locks and Keys: Introduce real or DIY locks and keys to unlock secret compartments or treasure chests that hold puzzle pieces. Any container will do you don’t even heed a hasp tied things shut with ribbon and tinsel if need be.
3. Riddles and Puzzles: Create riddles or puzzles related to the holiday theme that leads to clues. You can send players from one room to the next to find the main puzzles. There is nothing stopping you from adding in a bit of a treasure hunt into the game to find puzzle pieces.
4. Invisible ink: Included some of your clues to open locks by adding messages written to the kids using UV ink or invisible ink made with lemon juice. My kids LOVE using black light!
5. Decorate for the Season: Set the stage with twinkling lights, holiday decorations, and themed props to create an immersive experience. As it’s a Christmas game, you probably already have these set up!
6. Family Bonding: Engage the whole family in the adventure! The game is for kids, but thats no excuse for the parents not to get involved. Getting dressed up to encourage and help the kids if needed is actually a lot of fun. Letting the kids struggle a little and work through the puzzles is a good idea. Try to avoid jumping in to help too soon.
7. Rewards and Surprises: Prepare small holiday treats or prizes for completing the challenge. Playing the game on Christmas Eve is a lot of fun. A box filled with goodies to keep the kids busy is fun. Colouring pages, a puzzle book, some fun PJs, and a festive film are all winners! Use the posters included in the kit to take some fun post-game selfies. 

Holiday Escape Room Fun:

Setting up a Kids’ Christmas Escape Room game isn’t just about solving puzzles; it’s about creating memories. You never know it may even become a family tradition. It’s one that my family loves, we’ve been doing them since my kids were little. I can’t see myself stopping any time soon. I hope that you try setting up a game yourself, but if you don’t fancy making your own, chuck this one into your basket! OR take a look at some others I have available. You can grab the game from my online shop by clicking on the button below.

🌟 Perfect for family fun, holiday parties, or a fun Christmas Eve experience. Get your kids into the festive spirit, and let the adventure begin! Merry Christmas! 🎄✨

Happy Escaping!