My husband, Matt, did a very cute and sweet thing for me for Christmas this year… and although he has his own blog, it’s a nerdy blog, so he thought I should write about it here instead of on his… I guess his nerdy followers don’t want tips on how to surprise their significant others? But I’m happy to share the love!  So here we go..!

I have been collecting some snowflake dishes from Target for the last few years. I have a variety of pieces for the set and I love them all. This year, Matt was adding more mugs and bowls to my set – and I already had a couple of these, so they wouldn’t be a huge surprise and he wanted to make it special. So, my clever and thoughtful husband decided to make a scavenger hunt out of my gifts. But not just any old scavenger hunt — he re-wrote “The Night Before Christmas” into the clues! (I like to give myself a bit of credit for this since we had just read it on our date night, but he might have had it planned before then? I don’t know. But either way, it was really awesome).

So here’s what he did – he saved the last gift under the tree to be the first one of the hunt. I opened it up and it was one of my snowflake mugs, with a piece of paper in it – My first clue!

‘Twas the week before Christmas,
and all through our home
Some more gifts are still hidden.
Your guide is this poem.

Old costumes are placed in
this closet with care.
Below the cowboy hats-
a gift might be there.

I was as excited as a little kid!! And so surprised! So I run upstairs to the closet where we keep our Halloween costumes, and sure enough, there’s another gift there! With another clue:

The kitties get nestled
all snug in our bed
with visions of fresh catnip
prowling in their heads.

You don’t wear a kerchief
nor wear I a cap,
But I open this drawer
before a long winter nap.

He keeps his pajamas in the drawer in his night stand, so of course, I found the next gift and clue there in his pjs! By this time I’m madly reading the lines and running around the house. I think Matt had quite the thrill watching me act like a 5 year old… It was fun!

When down in the kitchen
there arose such a clatter!
It must be a bad kitty,
I’ll see what’s the matter

Away down the stairs I
fly like a flash,
Good thing that our cats
can’t get into the trash.

We have the cabinets baby-locked in our house because our kitty, Theo, can open cabinet doors… so I opened the cabinet under the sink where the trash lives, and there on the ground (not in the trash!) is my next gift! And of course, another clue!

The moon through the window
of the guest room upstairs
Reveals a bed covered by sheet
to attract kitty hairs.

And I bet if you dig,
you will find in that bed
another little something
nestled up by the head.

This clue is referring to our guest room bed, which I do keep covered with a sheet to keep the kitty hairs off of the pretty comforter. It’s way easier to clean that way… anyway – I dug in the pillows, and sure enough! Another piece to add to my snowflake dish collection! And another clue!

Now skiiing, and snowboarding,
and tubing, and sleddin’
and snow angels, and snow caves
dug deep with your head in

Require certain clothes
to stay dry and warm.
A gift hidden in these
won’t see any harm.

In our front closet, we have a big tote of winter gear, so I pulled that down and dug around… sure enough another present! This one had the last bit of the poem:

You’ll be sad to hear
this is the last gift in sight
Merry Christmas to you,
hope you’ve had a good night.

And I did have a good night! Thank you, Matt. You’re so sweet to me!

 Here are the beautiful pieces he added to my set, along with their clues: