Christmas games for kids
The Christmas games for kids below need little or nothing: Ornament Hunt, Snowball Toss and Reindeer Relay for moving about, Christmas Charades and Gift Guess for the family room, and pencil games for a quiet hour. Each one lists ages and supplies. Free online learning games are at the end for the long wait.
Christmas games for kids at a glance
Dip & Dash
Stage 24, Christmas Town, is snowy streets and twinkling lights, with gingerbread men and nutcrackers to jump on.
- sums
- words at the doors
Pet Hatch
Hatch eggs, care for and breed pets, ride them through nine 3D worlds, and battle.
- making ten
- adding
- first sounds
Slide Kart
Race a snow track, among others, in a critter kart.
- counting
- making ten
- first sounds
Stack
Drop the right block and build a tower to the sky!
- counting
- making ten
- first sounds
Memory
Turn over the right card and find its pair!
- counting
- making ten
- first sounds
Dino Dash
Hatch dinos, ride them through nine lands, chomp wrong eggs.
- counting
- making ten
- first sounds
| Game | Ages | Where | You need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ornament Hunt | 3 and up | Indoors | Unbreakable ornaments or paper ones |
| Wrap the Present | 6 and up | At a table | A box, paper, tape, a timer |
| Snowball Toss | 3 and up | Indoors | Rolled-up white socks, a laundry basket |
| Santa Hat Pass | 4 and up | In a circle | A red hat, music |
| Christmas Charades | 6 and up | Indoors | Slips of paper |
| Gift Guess | 5 and up | At a table | A paper bag, small household things |
| Cookie Counting | 4 and up | In the kitchen | Cookies or paper circles |
| Light Up the Tree | 5 and up | Indoors | A tree drawn on paper, stickers or crayons |
| Reindeer Relay | 5 and up | A hallway or yard | Two paper antlers or headbands |
| Words in CHRISTMAS | 7 and up | At a table | Paper, a pencil |
| Winter Word Scramble | 6 and up | At a table | The list on this page |
| Silent Night Freeze | 3 and up | Indoors | Quiet music |
Christmas games to play at home and at a class party
These need little or nothing you don't already have around the holidays. Each one lists ages and supplies. Move the breakables first, and keep small things like ornament hooks and candy away from anyone under 3.
Ornament Hunt
3 and up · Indoors · You need: unbreakable ornaments or paper ones
While one child waits in the next room, a grown-up hides five ornaments at child height. The child comes back and hunts. Say "warmer" and "colder" as they search. Swap who hides.
Wrap the Present
6 and up · At a table · You need: a box, paper, tape, a timer
Teams race to wrap a small box neatly in two minutes. The neatest corners win, not the fastest hands. For little ones, a grown-up holds the tape.
Snowball Toss
3 and up · Indoors · You need: rolled-up white socks, a laundry basket
Stand behind a line and toss sock snowballs into the basket. Move the line back one step each time everyone has scored. Count the score in twos or fives.
Santa Hat Pass
4 and up · In a circle · You need: a red hat, music
Pass the hat round the circle while music plays. When it stops, whoever wears the hat names a winter word, then does a silly dance.
Christmas Charades
6 and up · Indoors · You need: slips of paper
Write things to act out: hanging a stocking, rolling a snowman, shaking a present, sipping cocoa, stringing lights, a reindeer sneezing. No talking. Draw a picture on the slip for a child who can't read yet.
Gift Guess
5 and up · At a table · You need: a paper bag, small household things
Put something in the bag. A child feels it and says what it is like (smooth, bumpy, heavy), and everyone guesses. Take turns being the feeler.
Cookie Counting
4 and up · In the kitchen · You need: cookies or paper circles
Decorate a tray of cookies with exactly the numbers on a card: three red dots, two stripes. For older children, make the card a sum: 4 + 3 sprinkles.
Light Up the Tree
5 and up · Indoors · You need: a tree drawn on paper, stickers or crayons
Roll a die and put that many colored lights on the tree. First tree with twenty lights wins. Count aloud in tens and ones as you go.
Reindeer Relay
5 and up · A hallway or yard · You need: two paper antlers or headbands
Two teams. Each player puts on the antlers, runs to the far wall, touches it and runs back to pass them on. Hop, gallop or tiptoe to change it up.
Words in CHRISTMAS
7 and up · At a table · You need: paper, a pencil
Write CHRISTMAS at the top of a page. In five minutes, how many words can you make from its letters, using each letter only as many times as it appears? A three-letter word is 1 point, four letters 2, five or more 3. Some to find: mist, chair, stairs, shirt, charts, march, smart.
Winter Word Scramble
6 and up · At a table · You need: the list on this page
Unscramble the words in the list under these games. Read them aloud for a child who is still learning to read and let them say the answer.
Silent Night Freeze
3 and up · Indoors · You need: quiet music
Dance slowly to quiet music like snowflakes. When the music stops, freeze like a statue. Whoever wobbles melts into a puddle on the floor.
Winter word scramble
| Scrambled | Answer |
|---|---|
| NSWO | SNOW |
| DESL | SLED |
| RAFCS | SCARF |
| NTETIM | MITTEN |
| ECI | ICE |
| TOBOS | BOOTS |
| CAOCO | COCOA |
| KIOOCE | COOKIE |
| DERENIER | REINDEER |
| WSNOMAN | SNOWMAN |
| WFLANOKES | SNOWFLAKE |
| NUPGENI | PENGUIN |
Cover the answer column, or fold the printout, before you hand it over.
Free online games for the long wait
For the car ride, the airport or the hour before the party. None of these is a Christmas game, with one exception: Dip & Dash has a Christmas Town stage. All of them ask a reading or math question as you play, start easy enough for kindergarten and follow the grade your child picks.
| Game | What you do | Practises |
|---|---|---|
| Dip & Dash | Stage 24, Christmas Town, is snowy streets and twinkling lights, with gingerbread men and nutcrackers to jump on. | sums and words at the doors |
| Pet Hatch | Hatch eggs, care for and breed pets, ride them through nine 3D worlds, and battle. | making ten, adding, first sounds, rhymes and more |
| Slide Kart | Race a snow track, among others, in a critter kart. | counting, making ten, first sounds, rhymes and more |
| Stack | Drop the right block and build a tower to the sky! | counting, making ten, first sounds, rhymes and more |
| Memory | Turn over the right card and find its pair! | counting, making ten, first sounds, rhymes and more |
| Dino Dash | Hatch dinos, ride them through nine lands, chomp wrong eggs. | counting, making ten, first sounds, rhymes and more |
Every other game is in the arcade. A Just play mode in each game turns the questions off.
Christmas math at home
- Count the presents. Seven under the tree and three more arrive: how many? If each person gets two, how many people is that?
- Bake and share. A tray holds 12 cookies. How many trays for 30 cookies? How many each if 6 children share 24?
- String the lights. Each strand is 6 feet and the window is 15 feet wide. How many strands? (Three.)
- Count down. It is the 10th of December. How many sleeps until the 25th? (Fifteen.)
More for the holidays
- Christmas stories for kids to read together, at every reading level.
- Free coloring pages to color online or print.
- The Activity Book: word finds, mazes and puzzles, printable with answers.
Questions parents ask
What Christmas games can toddlers and preschoolers play?
Ornament Hunt with big paper ornaments, Snowball Toss with soft socks, Santa Hat Pass and Silent Night Freeze. Keep small things like ornament hooks, candy and batteries away from anyone under 3.
What Christmas games work for a classroom party?
Reindeer Relay, Christmas Charades with pictures for the non-readers, Words in CHRISTMAS in pairs, and Wrap the Present for teams of four. None needs preparation beyond a few supplies.
Does Peabody have a Christmas game?
Not a whole one. Stage 24 of Dip & Dash is Christmas Town, with snowy streets and twinkling lights. The games to play at home are written out on this page.
Are Peabody's online games free?
Yes. They are free through the end of 2026, with no ads and no sign-up to start playing.
Play one now
Checked against how Peabody works on 29 October 2026. Written with help from AI, from Peabody's own code and library. Peabody is a learning app, not an assessment: if you're worried about your child's learning, talk to their teacher. How Peabody's pages are made.