30 Christmas Games Saint Nick Would Be Proud Of

Give those past simple skills a festive workout with Christmas-themed sentences. It’s grammar practice disguised as holiday nostalgia, the best kind.

Helps with: Past simple tense, sentence-building, revisiting Christmas memories

Best for: Grades 6–11

A quick-fire Christmas warm-up guaranteed to wake up sleepy students. Can they name three things before the timer (or their classmates) beat them to it? Light, energetic, and perfect to kickstart the day.

Helps with: Quick thinking, vocabulary recall, classroom energy

Best for: Grades 4–12

It’s beginning to look a lot like… grammar practice? Students pick the correct festive phrasal verbs to complete each sentence, turning tricky language into something as satisfying as the first sip of hot chocolate.

Helps with: Phrasal verbs, reading comprehension, and language confidence

Best for: Grades 6–10

A festive I Spy adventure packed with GIFs and sneaky details. Perfect for kids who love a challenge… and teachers who love quiet, focused students.

Helps with: Visual scanning, attention to detail, observational skills

Best for: Grades 2–5

Can you rhyme for Christmas time? With this game, students match festive clues to rhyming words. It’s poetry, it’s fun, and yes, it might just spark the next Christmas carol.

Helps with: Rhyming, creativity, and getting students to see how “sleigh” rhymes with “yay!”

Best for: Grades 3–6

Would you rather sleep in a gingerbread house or drink hot cocoa for breakfast forever? Prepare for unhinged debates and deeply questionable student logic.

Helps with: Critical thinking, decision-making, classroom engagement

Best for: Grades 4–8

A festive counting challenge where students search, tally, and triumph. Think “Where’s Waldo,” but with ornaments and candy canes.

Helps with: Counting, visual perception, early math confidence

Best for: Grades 2–5

Your students already speak fluent emoji, now make it educational. Decode Christmas songs using tiny icons and surprising clues.

Helps with: Visual interpretation, deductive reasoning, vocabulary

Best for: Grades 4–6, high school

A cozy conversation game that gets teens and adults actually talking—about traditions, mishaps, and everything wonderfully awkward about the holidays.

Helps with: Speaking fluency, storytelling, expression

Best for: Grades 9–12, adults

Turn your classroom (or living room) into a holiday treasure zone. Students hunt for festive items using clues that spark curiosity and movement.

Helps with: Descriptive skills, observation, engagement

Best for: Grades 3–6

A lively set of holiday questions that warms up the room faster than a cup of hot cocoa.

Helps with: Trivia, anticipation, seasonal discussion

Best for: Grades 3–6

A cinematic quiz that taps into every student’s secret stash of Christmas movie knowledge. Expect arguments about the best holiday film.

Helps with: Memory, cultural references, reasoning

Best for: Grades 6–9

Follow festive commands from Simon — the holiday tyrant we didn’t know we needed. Great for movement, listening, and burning off candy-fueled energy.

Helps with: Listening, instruction-following, coordination

Best for: Grades 2–5

A holiday-style Jeopardy match filled with spirited questions, fast thinking, and bragging rights your students won’t let go of till January.

Helps with: Trivia, recall, game strategy

Best for: Grades 4-6, high school

Compare, contrast, and connect through Christmas traditions from both sides of the Atlantic. Perfect for cultural conversations and curious learners.

Helps with: Cultural awareness, discussion, global thinking

Best for: Grades 7–10

Decode Christmas phrases and riddles hidden in clever word clusters. A fun language puzzle for students who enjoy a good brain tease.

Helps with: Critical thinking, decoding, wordplay

Best for: Grades 6–9

“Last Christmas”… “All I Want for Christmas Is…"—can your students finish the titles without humming the whole playlist? Let’s see who earns the classroom Mariah crown.

Helps with: Phrase completion, song familiarity, musical engagement

Best for: Grades 7–12

A festive twist on the classic game, ideal for teens ready to share stories, confess holiday chaos, and bond over shared experiences.

Helps with: Conversation, self-expression, community-building

Best for: High school, adults

Unscramble letters to reveal holiday words. Simple, snappy, and wildly satisfying, especially when students beat their teacher to the answer.

Helps with: Spelling, problem-solving, vocabulary

Best for: Grades 4–6, high school

What’s Santa doing? What’s the snowman up to? Students guess actions using fun holiday scenes—grammar practice that doesn’t feel like grammar practice.

Helps with: Verbs, imagination, language development

Best for: Grades 2–4

Let students spell their way through the holidays with merry, memorable word challenges.

Helps with: Spelling, word recognition, confidence

Best for: Grades 3–6

This game is full of riddles that will challenge students to think creatively and solve festive puzzles.

Helps with: Logic, inference, creative thinking

Best for: Grades 4–6, high school, teens

A quick-hit trivia challenge for younger learners. Short questions, big excitement, and instant festive vibes.

Helps with: Recall, memory, basic holiday facts

Best for: Grades 3–6

Students open up about their holiday memories, rituals, and plans—a speaking exercise that never feels like “work.”

Helps with: Conversation, fluency, sharing perspectives

Best for: Grades 4–6, high school, teens

Buddy the Elf made 6 dolls yesterday, 5 before lunch today, and 10 after lunch—so how many did he make in total? This math game adds a sprinkle of holiday cheer to problem-solving!

Helps with: Math logic, reading comprehension, problem-solving

Best for: Grades 3–5

Where’s the star? On the tree. Where are the lights? Under the sofa (yes, again). This game makes prepositions click with festive visuals and humor.

Helps with: Grammar, spatial awareness, preposition practice

Best for: Grades 2–5

Students read the clues and guess the mystery Christmas item before anyone else does. Simple. Fast. Weirdly competitive. It’s basically holiday-themed detective work for curious minds.

Helps with: Inferencing, vocabulary, critical thinking

Best for: Grades 3–6

Ever wondered what 100 people think about Christmas cookies, reindeer names, or last-minute gift shopping? Now your students get to guess the top answer—and argue about it, of course. It’s holiday chaos… backed by data.

Helps with: Critical thinking, deduction, and spirited classroom debates

Best for: Grades 4–6, high school, teens

Challenge your students’ pronunciation skills with festive tongue twisters. Warning: uncontrollable laughter may occur.

Helps with: Pronunciation, fluency, articulation

Best for: Grades 4–6, high school, teens

We’ve reached the top spot—and it’s a festive firework of creativity. From jolly Santas to cranky Grinches, this game gets students tossing out adjectives faster than you can say “holly jolly genius.” It’s playful, imaginative, and the perfect way to bring holiday characters (and your classroom) to life.

Helps with: Vocabulary, creativity, descriptive writing

Best for: Grades 3–6, high school, teens, adults

A vibrant Kwanzaa quiz that celebrates culture, connection, and the seven principles—perfect for classrooms embracing global learning this season.

Helps with: Cultural awareness, understanding African-American heritage, discussion

Best for: Grades 5-6, high school, teens, adults

A cheerful introduction to Hanukkah traditions for young learners, filled with simple, joyful questions that spark curiosity.

Helps with: Cultural knowledge, early learning, awareness of global celebrations

Best for: Kindergarten–Grade 1