Free Christmas Word Search Printables for Kids
December is my favorite month to homeschool. It’s so fun to change up our schedule and add in fun holiday activities. One of the easiest is a Christmas word search.
My kids love to search and find the hidden words in puzzles and often race each other to see who can be the first to find all the words. They turn it into a game and barely realize they’re practicing spelling, vocabulary, and focus skills. It really is a great screen-free activity.
I’ve got two free printable Christmas word search puzzles below you can print and use with your kids at home or in your classroom.
Free Christmas Word Search Printables
There’s two versions of these December worksheets: 1) an easy puzzle with 8 words for younger kids, and 2) a harder puzzle with 20 words for older kids and adults.
Here’s what you get in the free download:
- Easy Christmas word search with 8 hidden words, great for preschool, Kindergarten, and first grade
- Hard Christmas word search with 20 words, perfect for older kids and adults
- Answer keys for self checking
- Color and blackline versions to save ink or let kids color their worksheets
There are six pages total. Print what you need and save the rest for next year.
Grab the free Christmas Word Search
Why Word Searches are Good for Kids
Word search puzzles are obviously fun, but they’re actually educational too.
I like themed word searches because they introduce my kids to seasonal vocabulary words they don’t necessarily hear or use often.
I encourage my kids to do word searches pretty much anytime they want.
The puzzles:
- Are fun (and screen-free): Honestly, that’s enough for me. When my kids finish a word search, they feel proud of themselves. That matters and it helps them build self-confidence.
- Improve literacy: Words like “holly,” “poinsettia,” and “ornament” show up in a Christmas word search, but we’re not really reading those words anywhere else. This low-key vocabulary exposure helps my kids retain the words because they’re actively searching for them.
- Help kids to focus: Scanning and looking for letters takes concentration. My child who struggles to sit still does surprisingly well with word searches because there’s a clear, achievable goal.
- Promote problem-solving: Words can go across, down, diagonal, and backward. Finding them in multiple directions builds spatial thinking skills.
- Make learning fun: Finding Christmas words in a grid requires kids to look carefully at individual letters and patterns, which is a fun way to practice spelling and reading.
Ways to Use a Christmas Word Search
Ok, there are sooo many ways to use a word search! Here are just a few examples of how I’ve used them at home with my kids and in the classroom.
December Morning Work
A word search is a perfect December morning work activity. It’s quiet, self-directed, and kids can start immediately without any teacher instruction. Keep a stack printed and ready to go for the month.
Christmas Party Activity
Holiday classroom parties can be chaotic. A word search gives kids something to do while they wait for the next activity, or it can be a station in a party rotation. Easy to manage (for students and parent helpers) and zero prep on party day.
Early Finishers
Keep a few copies in an early finisher folder. Students who finish their work have something fun to work on without interrupting the class.
Winter Break Packet
Include a Christmas word search in a winter break packet for students to take home. It’s low-pressure and something easy they can work on without any help.
Advent Activity
When we count down the days to Christmas, we have at least one fun activity each day. A Christmas word search is always part of our advent calendar. It’s a nice mix of educational and festive, and it doesn’t take any time to prep.
Road Trip Entertainment
Traveling to see family? Print a few copies and tuck them in a folder with some pencils or markers. You don’t need Wi-Fi or charged devices.
Family Activity
December can be an expensive month! Stay home and do some free activities together as a family.
Print copies for everyone and race to see who finishes first. Kids love competing with parents and siblings. Or, print and work on them together. It’s rare when a six-year-old and a twelve-year-old can play together (with different versions).
Ways to Extend the Word Search
We usually just use the word search as a stand-alone activity. However, there are lots of ways you can extend the activity.
- Use the words as writing prompts. Pick three words from the puzzle and write a short Christmas story or poem using all three.
- Draw the words. Have kids draw a picture of each word they find. Great for vocabulary reinforcement.
- Write sentences. Pick five words and write a sentence for each one.
- Make their own word search. Give kids a blank grid and have them create their own Christmas word search for a sibling, parent, or classmate to solve. It’s harder than it sounds and an engaging challenge for early finishers.
More Christmas Word Puzzles and Activities
If you want more ready to go Christmas activities to fill out your December plans, I have several Christmas games, crafts, and worksheets in my TPT store.
Christmas Word Puzzles
This Christmas puzzle pack has another word search but includes many more fun puzzles like a Christmas crossword puzzle, mazes, search and find, and more.
We add these to our advent countdown too and they work great for December morning work, early finishers, and homework for first to fourth grade.
Christmas Activities
This Christmas fun packet for preschoolers and kindergarten has another easy word search plus lots of fun puzzles, coloring pages, tracing worksheets and more to help kids build fine motor skills, practice counting, and writing letters and numbers.
So many fun options to choose from for December centers, morning bins, and daily activities.
December Word Search Puzzles
This December word search puzzle pack includes the Christmas word search free printable below plus December and New Year’s Eve word search puzzles.
Make December a Little More Fun
December is such a busy month. I hope this free Christmas word search printable is an easy activity you can use throughout the month without any extra effort.
Happy holidays to you and your family!!
