Fifty words every child and most adults know, from reindeer to the naughty list. Print a set for the class party or the family table, call from the sheet or the screen, and play three quick rounds.
Christmas Bingo
| B | I | N | G | O |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Snowflake | Gingerbread house | Letter to Santa | Holly | Sleigh |
Elf | Eggnog | Christmas lights | North Pole | Carolers |
Snowman | Christmas Eve | FREE | Snow globe | Snowball fight |
Advent calendar | Grinch | Chimney | Rudolph | Toy train |
Stocking | Fireplace | Ornament | Santa Claus | Christmas tree |
Card 1 of 30
Christmas Bingo
| B | I | N | G | O |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Wrapping paper | Nutcracker | Fruitcake | Scrooge | Angel |
Garland | Ribbon | Mrs. Claus | Wreath | Nice list |
Naughty list | Star on top | FREE | Cookies for Santa | Mistletoe |
Ugly sweater | Hot cocoa | Poinsettia | Reindeer | Tinsel |
Jingle bells | Candy cane | Yule log | Nativity scene | Ice skates |
Card 2 of 30
Christmas bingo is the game teachers reach for on the last afternoon before the break because it needs no preparation beyond printing, it is quiet for stretches and loud at the right moments, and it works for a whole class at once. At home it fills the gap between dinner and dessert; in an office it is a ten-minute break in the holiday lunch. The same cards serve all three, which is why the list mixes the childish (Frosty, Rudolph) with the grown-up (fruitcake, ugly sweater, Scrooge).
Print the cards and the caller sheet, hand one card and a marker to each player, and call from the top of the sheet. Each call is a word; say it, and for a young class hold up a picture or write it on the board as well. Players mark the square. First to a line calls "bingo" (or "jingle bells", which is more fun and just as clear), you check the card number against your ticked sheet, and you move on to the next round.
The on-screen caller suits a classroom with a projector: each word appears large on the board as you call it, and the history stays visible so students can check their own cards. Open it from the share link on the day; the order it shows is the same as the printed sheet.
Hand cards out when children are already seated and the sugar has not yet landed. Three rounds of about five minutes is a good block. Collect cards between rounds if you want a fresh start, or let players keep marking the same card for a bigger pattern: a line, then four corners, then an X. The cards' numbers make it easy to give the same card back to the same child if you collect them.
A candy cane each, a sticker, first choice of a book from the class library, a Christmas pencil, the job of handing out the next round's cards, or "winner picks the next song". For a family game, the winner chooses which film goes on after dinner. In an office, the winner leaves ten minutes early.
Cards are 5 x 5 with a free centre square. Edit the list, add your own squares or change the card size above; the cards update as you type.
With 50 words, a free centre and a class set of cards, the first line usually comes between the tenth and eighteenth call, which is three to six minutes at a classroom pace. A four-corners round runs a little longer; a full-card round needs nearly the whole list, around 45 calls, and takes fifteen minutes or more. Plan on three short rounds for a party slot of twenty minutes.
Readers from about second grade can manage the list as printed. For younger children, switch the card to 3 x 3 or 4 x 4, trim the list to the words they know (reindeer, snowman, Santa, star, presents, elf, stocking, candy cane, tree, bells) and show a picture when you call each word.
Yes. Send the share link so each person opens their own card, then share the caller page on your screen. Nobody needs to install anything, and the host can check a winner against the call history.
Only if you want it. The title is yours to set; "Holiday Bingo" or "Winter Party Bingo" are common choices for a mixed classroom. The word list is secular apart from the nativity scene square, which you can delete.