The Case of the Missing Christmas Star

The Case of the Missing Christmas Star

Digital Download — A Twelve-Day Family Mystery

A Christmas star has vanished, and young detectives are needed!

Bring stories, puzzles, and discovery into your Christmas season with The Case of the Missing Christmas Star. Over twelve story days, children follow the adventure, examine evidence, compare suspect profiles, and work toward the final reveal.

Enjoy it together around the table, or add a daily treasure hunt: leave a location riddle at your family’s starting spot and hide that day’s adventure packet where it leads.

How it works

1. Print and prepare. Follow the Start Here guide, choose your printing format, and organize the adventure into twelve daily packets.

2. Discover the day’s mystery. Hand over today’s packet, or let children find it using an included hiding-place riddle.

3. Read, solve, and investigate. Pause at the detective instructions, complete the puzzle, study the evidence, and compare the suspects.

4. Make your choice. Update the suspect sheet before continuing the story. Each day brings your family closer to solving the case!

What’s included

• The complete twelve-day mystery story.

• 12 puzzles and 7 lab reports, included within the assembled adventure.

• 13 illustrated suspect profiles, with each portrait and biography together on a landscape page.

• A suspect elimination sheet to track discoveries.

• 24 location riddles—choose twelve hiding places that work for your home.

• A grown-up guide and private answer key.

• Extra puzzle and replacement pages for additional children or fresh copies.

• Single-sided and double-sided Family Kits.

• Complete print-shop PDFs with printing instructions.

• Optional alternative suspect-profile layouts.

Both printing formats are included in your purchase. You do not need to print every file.

Print at home or use a local print shop

For home printing, choose the single-sided or double-sided Family Kit and follow its instructions. The double-sided edition includes intentional blank backs and spacers to keep the materials organized.

Prefer to have someone else handle the printing? Bring one of the complete print-shop PDFs to your local shop. Each includes the family materials, grown-up guide, answers, and printing instructions.

Home Family Kit totals exclude printing the separate grown-up guide, which can be read on screen. Print-shop totals include the guide, answers, and shop instructions. Extra-child copies and alternative profile layouts are optional and require additional paper.

Make it your family’s adventure

Begin whenever you like. There’s no need to start on December 1. Enjoy one story day at a time, spread the adventure across December, or choose your own twelve-day schedule.

Solve it together. Children can take turns reading, discuss the evidence, and share detective duties. Younger children can participate with help from a grown-up or older sibling.

Keep preparation as simple as you wish. Hiding the daily packet adds anticipation, but you can also gather together and begin. Treats, ornaments, and little surprises are entirely optional.

What you’ll need

• A printer or access to a local print shop.

• US Letter paper, 8.5 × 11 inches.

• Pencils and a way to keep the daily pages organized.

• Scissors if you choose to cut out the location riddles.

• Optional envelopes or clips for daily packets.

Color printing is recommended for the illustrated materials. The Day 3 Color Block Cipher relies on color, so print that puzzle in color or have a grown-up display the color PDF on a screen.

Please note

This is a digital download supplied as PDF files. No physical kit will be shipped. Printing and preparation are required.

A grown-up should organize the materials, keep the answer guide private, and help children pause at the marked points before reading the solutions.

A little preparation creates twelve opportunities to slow down, share discoveries, and solve a Christmas mystery together.