Want to bring holiday cheer to your forensic team this year? You just might after reading what these crime scene professionals did during the Reindeer Games.
This isn’t your average holiday office party. It’s creative. It’s competitive. And it just might change the way your team connects during the busiest time of year.
What Are the Reindeer Games?
The Reindeer Games is a team holiday challenge hosted by Gap Science in the month of December for forensic professionals, educators, and lab teams. It was designed to:
- Spread seasonal cheer
- Boost morale during the holidays
- Inspire collaboration and connection
- Highlight the creativity and challenges within the forensic field
Teams of up to five compete in daily challenges that blend forensic themes with festive fun. There are prizes, bragging rights, and lots of laughter along the way.
In 2024, 35 teams participated—and 15 completed all 10 challenges!
Challenges ranged from meme-making and forensic-themed gingerbread builds to gratitude shoutouts and scavenger hunts. And yes, everything had a forensic twist.
How It Started
We created the Reindeer Games in 2024 to offer forensic professionals something we knew they desperately needed: an outlet. A chance to laugh, be creative, and connect with others who understood the pressures of the job. Especially during a season when resources are slim and spirits can run low.
Ultimately, we wanted to offer something lighthearted and fun—but also meaningful. The response? Overwhelming.
Even in its first year, the Reindeer Games became an instant favorite, with:
- Public and private team entries
- Daily prize announcements
- Creative submissions shared across social media
- Heartfelt messages that reminded us why we do this work
And the best part? We’re just getting started. Let’s continue to grow the Reindeer Games into a beloved tradition in the forensic field.
Sleigh Ride Stops: All 10 Challenges
Each day, participants completed a new task that tested their imagination, teamwork, and holiday spirit. Here’s a look at each stop—expanded with more detail to spark ideas and inspiration:
1. Letter to Santa
Teams kicked things off by writing a heartfelt, humorous, or imaginative letter to Santa. They were asked to share what their forensic unit, lab, or classroom truly needed—whether it was new equipment, additional staff, or just a little appreciation. Some requests were simple (like permanent markers), while others shared emotional stories of burnout and underfunding.
Related: “What Forensic Teams Wished for During the Reindeer Games (and What We Did About It)”
2. Create a Meme
This day was all about forensic humor! Teams were challenged to create a forensic-themed holiday meme that combined forensic culture with seasonal humor. It was a fun way to poke fun at everyday frustrations while bonding as a team.
We received 79 memes (wow!), here’s just a few of them:
3. Elfie on a Shelfie
Our downloadable Evidence Elfie made his debut! Teams printed him out and staged hilarious scenes throughout their lab or office. This challenge brought a dose of childlike mischief to the lab.
4. Decorate Your Office
Tinsel, caution tape, evidence tags, and fingerprint garland—anything went during this challenge. Teams were tasked with transforming their workspace into a festive forensic winter wonderland. We saw door makeovers, stockings hung by the cubicles, and glass window artwork. A few even incorporated their Evidence Elfie and Santa letters into their decor!
Coming Soon: “8 Ways to Decorate Your Forensic Unit for the Holidays”
5. Gratitude Challenge
Teams paused to reflect and recognize the people who made a difference in their year. This challenge encouraged participants to shine a light on unsung heroes: colleagues, departments, agencies, or even entire units that showed up when it mattered most. It brought real emotion to the Reindeer Games and reminded everyone of the importance of peer support.
One team paired their gratitude post with a photo of a “Why Wall” in their office—a collage of memories, kind notes, and reminders of why they keep going. The letter that accompanied it left us speechless:
Back in March 2024, I took an extended leave for my mental health. I was struggling with work life, personal issues, alcohol, and depressive thoughts.
I work as a one-woman show looking over evidence, property room management, and crime scene investigations. When I returned, I was relieved to see how well my spot had been taken care of by members of the Sheriff’s Office. I have a great team and coworkers that support me, even when I felt like no one was in my circle.
This picture shows the “Why Wall” in my office. Whenever I am questioning if I’m doing good enough, helping people, or making a difference I always look at my Why Wall. It constantly reminds me of the why I do it, why I love my job, and what kind of impact I have on people.
Your mental health is more important than your career, money, other people’s opinions, that event you said you would go to, or your family’s mood and wishes. Take care of yourself, people. This job is tough—but so are you.
💗 Evidence & Eggnog
Many teams went above and beyond, not only writing heartfelt thank-you letters but also delivering them in person. One of our favorite messages came from a team who did just that:
“The Nog-Noggin’ Noggins actually printed out the letter and gave it to our Evidence Management Unit. We truly appreciate them. Thank you for making this one of the challenges. Sometimes we forget to stop and say thank you.”
6. Holiday Card
Each team created a forensic-themed holiday card that showcased their creativity and humor. Some went digital, others handmade their designs. Highlights included puns like “Yule Be Under Arrest” and illustrated DNA trees. Teams also wrote custom messages of appreciation for the field and each other.
7. Team Wellness
Participants were encouraged to do a wellness activity together—ranging from workouts to group crafting sessions, therapy dog visits, and shared lunch breaks. This challenge reminded teams that taking care of themselves and one another is just as important as solving cases.
8. Forensic Playlist
What songs power your lab through the holidays? Teams created and shared themed playlists—mixing Taylor Swift with unexpected bangers like “Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls. These playlists were then posted to Spotify, Pandora, or Apple Music so the entire community could jam along.
Take a listen to some of the playlists here:
Buccals & Bows Bouncin’ Playlist
Caliber Crew Playlist
Frosty’s Friction Ridge Finders – Unit Jams
Santa’s State Playlist
Waco Wonderland Warrants Playlist
9. Gingerbread Forensics
Edible creativity at its finest. Teams constructed gingerbread crime scenes, labs, and even crime scene vans. Some recreated their actual lab setup, while others added blood spatter, candy crime scene markers, or gingerbread technicians hard at work. It was messy, hilarious, and impressive.
Coming Soon: “Gingerbread Crime Scenes: Forensic-Inspired Holiday Creations You Have to See to Believe”
10. Scavenger Hunt
The final day tested participants’ sleuthing skills. Teams scoured Gap Science’s website, social media, and course pages for hidden reindeer icons—each holding a letter. Once collected, the letters had to be unscrambled into a forensic-themed password. Teams then entered the password to unlock the final badge.
Meet the Winning Teams
Daily winners were crowned based community engagement. These teams didn’t just show up… they sleighed it:
Sleigh Ride Stop #1: Letter to Santa
🥇 The Frosty Forensic Longhorns
🥈 Silent Night Sleuthing Mountaineers
🥉 Frosty’s Friction Ridge Finders
Sleigh Ride Stop #2: Create a Meme
🥇 The Frosty Forensic Longhorns
🥈 Silent Night Sleuthing Mountaineers
🥉 The Nog-Noggin’ Noggins
Sleigh Ride Stop #3: Elfie on a Shelfie
🥇 The Frosty Forensic Longhorns
🥈 Silent Night Sleuthing Mountaineers
🥉 Frosty’s Friction Ridge Finders
Sleigh Ride Stop #4: Decorate Your Office
🥇 The Frosty Forensic Longhorns
🥈 Silent Night Sleuthing Mountaineers
🥉 Caliber Crew
Sleigh Ride Stop #5: Gratitude Challenge
🥇 Caliber Crew
🥈 Silent Night Sleuthing Mountaineers
🥉 The Frosty Forensic Longhorn
Sleigh Ride Stop #6: Holiday Card
🥇 Caliber Crew
🥈 The Frosty Forensic Longhorns
🥉 Silent Night Sleuthing Mountaineers
Sleigh Ride Stop #7: Team Wellness
🥇 The Frosty Forensic Longhorns
🥈 Silent Night Sleuthing Mountaineers
🥉 Caliber Crew
Sleigh Ride Stop #8: Forensic Playlist
🥇 The Frosty Forensic Longhorns
🥈 Silent Night Sleuthing Mountaineers
🥉 Caliber Crew
Sleigh Ride Stop #9: Gingerbread
🥇 Frosty’s Friction Ridge Finders
🥈 The Frosty Forensic Longhorns
🥉 Silent Night Sleuthing Mountaineers
Sleigh Ride Stop #10: The Great Reindeer Scavenger Hunt
🥇 Frosty’s Friction Ridge Finders
🥈 The Frosty Forensic Longhorns
🥉 Silent Night Sleuthing Mountaineers
And BIG congratulations to our Grand Prize Winner:
🎉The Frosty Forensic Longhorns! 🎉
By completing all 10 challenges with flair and determination, they’ve earned the ultimate $300 Gap Science prize pack.
Why It Matters
Yes, it’s fun. But the Reindeer Games serve a deeper purpose:
- Connection: They bring together professionals from across the country who might otherwise never meet.
- Recognition: They highlight the creativity, heart, and grit behind this often-unseen work.
- Morale: They give teams a reason to smile during one of the most exhausting times of the year.
And sometimes, those holiday wishes? They come true.
After the 2024 Reindeer Games, we were able to fulfill real requests from letters to Santa—like shipping donated cameras to a small department and throwing a surprise pizza party for a team that just needed a morale boost.
But it didn’t stop there.
One Wish Sparked Something Bigger
When we read this letter to Santa:
We’re writing from a tiny police department—just five of us trying to cover everything on a shoestring budget. Fancy equipment like crime scene cameras? Not in the cards. We’re using our personal phones to photograph footprints at 2 a.m. Santa, if it’s not too much trouble… we’d love a Nikon crime scene camera.
… it hit us right in the feels. And that one small wish didn’t just spark a few fulfilled letters—it sparked an idea.
After hearing what so many of you wished for—better equipment, more training, extra support—we realized the need was bigger than one game could solve. So we started planning something more.
Final Thoughts
The Reindeer Games prove what we already knew:
Forensic professionals show up every day for their communities—with heart, humor, and hustle.
This is our way of showing up for them.
See you soon!
