Around the World by Midnight
A printable Christmas passport escape game for kids 6-11: fly the Snowflake Balloon to eight countries on Christmas Eve, meet a local child in each one, solve their puzzle, earn a passport stamp and open the Midnight Lock before the clock strikes twelve.
- Players and time
- 1-8 children with a grown-up host, or a whole class of up to 30 in teams; ages 6-11 (Star level 8-11, Snowflake level 6-7); 45-75 minutes, or two shorter sessions of four countries; about 20 minutes prep
- Pages
- 39
- Format
- US Letter and A4
- Language
- English, Italian (separate variant: Il Giro del Mondo prima di Mezzanotte, Colore + Risparmio Inchiostro)
Instant download. Payment and files are handled by Etsy; nothing is shipped.
What's in the download
- At a glance + contents (p.2); How the Game Works: Junior Couriers, two levels, what to print, setup, running the game (p.3)
- Hints and the midnight clock, Classroom Mode for up to 30 children, sample one-hour party, safety and 'Good to Know' notes (p.4)
- Read-aloud story: Mrs. Winterberry, Skye the Arctic tern and eight Christmas cards to deliver before midnight (p.5)
- Host-only pages: stop-by-stop arrival lines and hints, answers and explanations, Passport Officer's Desk, two finale versions (p.6-10)
- Courier Briefing letter from Skye + passport folding guide (p.11); illustrated route map with 'Merry Christmas' in 8 languages (p.12); fold-up Courier Passport (p.13); stamp sheet (p.14)
- Eight stops: Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Mexico, each with a Star-level puzzle (p.15-22) and a Snowflake-level puzzle (p.23-30)
- The Midnight Lock (p.31); 8 'Did You Know?' fact cards (p.32-35)
- Team route cards (p.36), envelope labels (p.37), Official Junior Courier certificate (p.38), credits and sources (p.39)
This page is safe to share with your players or guests: it does not reveal the culprit, the solution or any answer.
Inside pages
Lines from the book
There are no penalties for hints: "the goal is a happy, proud courier." If the 60-minute clock runs out, the late version of the ending is happy too.
Make it magical: a globe, a paper airplane "balloon" moving along the map, music from the eight countries, or a snack inspired by one of the traditions.
Classroom mode: up to 8 teams rotate between eight country stations every 6-8 minutes, so no two teams are ever at the same station. Short lesson? Play over two days.
