This free Christmas word search set has six printable puzzles, from an easy 10 by 10 grid for kindergartners to a hard 17 by 17 search for older kids and adults. There is a hidden message that spells Merry Christmas, a puzzle with all of Santa’s reindeer, and one for the Christmas story. Every puzzle has its answer key on page 2 and prints on US Letter or A4. That means a Christmas word search for kids, a hard Christmas word search for older puzzlers and a reindeer word search, all in one set. Every Christmas word search is free to print.
Quick answer: This page has six free Christmas word search printables with answer keys: an easy 10 by 10 puzzle with 10 words, a classic 13 by 13 puzzle, a hard 17 by 17 puzzle with 20 words hidden in all eight directions, a hidden message that spells Merry Christmas, Santa’s reindeer and the Christmas story. Each one prints on US Letter or A4.
Christmas word search printables
Click a picture for the PDF. Each printable has two pages: the puzzle with a word list and a name line, then the answer key with every word highlighted.
Which puzzle is right for your child?
| Puzzle | Grid | Words | Directions | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 10 x 10 | 10 | Across and down | Ages 5 to 7, kindergarten and first grade |
| Classic | 13 x 13 | 12 | Across, down and diagonal | Ages 7 to 10, grades 2 to 4 |
| Santa’s reindeer | 13 x 13 | 12 | Across, down and diagonal | Ages 7 and up, and fans of the song |
| Hidden message | 10 x 10 | 12 plus a 14-letter message | Across, down and diagonal | Ages 7 and up |
| The Christmas story | 15 x 15 | 15 | Across, down and diagonal | Ages 8 and up, Sunday school |
| Hard | 17 x 17 | 20 | All eight directions, including backwards | Ages 10 to adult |
The levels differ mostly in direction. In the easy puzzle every word reads left to right or top to bottom, so a young child only has two ways to scan. Diagonals double the work. Backwards words, which appear only in the hard puzzle, are what make it a real challenge for adults.
The words in each puzzle
| Puzzle | Words to find |
|---|---|
| Easy | bell, candy, elf, gift, holly, santa, sleigh, snow, star, tree |
| Classic and hidden message | candy, cookies, elf, presents, reindeer, santa, sleigh, snowman, star, stocking, tree, wreath |
| Santa’s reindeer | antlers, Blitzen, Comet, Cupid, Dancer, Dasher, Donner, Prancer, reindeer, Rudolph, sleigh, Vixen |
| The Christmas story | angel, baby, Bethlehem, donkey, frankincense, Gabriel, gold, Joseph, manger, Mary, myrrh, shepherds, stable, star, wise men (WISEMEN) |
| Hard | carolers, chimney, eggnog, evergreen, fireplace, fruitcake, garland, gingerbread, icicle, mistletoe, nutcracker, ornament, poinsettia, snowflake, snowman, stocking, tinsel, toboggan, workshop, wreath |
Santa’s reindeer: who they are
The reindeer puzzle is a good excuse to talk about where the names come from. The eight reindeer first appeared together in the 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, better known as “The Night Before Christmas”. Rudolph came much later.
- The eight in the poem: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. The last two have changed spelling over the years. The poem’s first printing has “Dunder and Blixem”, later editions say “Donder and Blitzen”, and many families write Donner. The puzzle uses Donner and Blitzen.
- Rudolph: created in 1939 by Robert L. May for a booklet given out by the Montgomery Ward department store. The song followed in 1949.
- Longest words: REINDEER has eight letters, and Prancer, Blitzen and Rudolph have seven each, so look for them first in the grid.
The Christmas story word search
This puzzle follows the Christmas story as it is told in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. A few notes help when children ask questions as they search:
- Bethlehem, manger, shepherds and angel are all in Luke 2: Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem, the baby is laid in a manger, and an angel tells shepherds in the fields.
- Gabriel is the angel who brings Mary the news in Luke 1.
- Wise men, star, gold, frankincense and myrrh come from Matthew 2. The Gospel does not say how many wise men there were. Tradition says three, because there were three gifts.
- Donkey and stable are not named in the Gospels, but they are part of the way the story is traditionally told and shown in nativity scenes.
Ways to use a Christmas word search
- Classroom parties: print the easy and classic puzzles so younger and older children can race fairly, and use the hidden message puzzle as a take-home treat.
- Quiet time before Christmas Eve: hand out a puzzle and a pencil while the last wrapping gets done.
- Sunday school: the Christmas story puzzle fits a lesson on the nativity, and the answer key lets a helper check quickly.
- Travel and waiting rooms: fold one into a bag with a pencil for the trip to see family.
- Family challenge: give adults the hard puzzle and time it. Under 10 minutes is a strong score.
How to solve the hidden message puzzle
Find and circle all 12 words first. Then read the letters that are left over, row by row from the top left, and write them in order on the line at the bottom of the page. The first 14 leftover letters spell the greeting, MERRY CHRISTMAS. The rest are filler.
Tips for solving the hard puzzle
- Hunt for rare letters first. K and W are less common, so NUTCRACKER, FRUITCAKE, SNOWFLAKE and WORKSHOP stand out quickly.
- Find the first two letters together. For MISTLETOE, look for every M with an I next to it in any direction.
- Check backwards. Read rows right to left as well: CHIMNEY can hide as YENMIHC.
- Cross off words twice, on the list and in the grid, so you never search for the same word again.
- Leave short words for last. Long words fix big parts of the grid and make short ones easier to spot.
Make your own Christmas word search
Want your family’s names, the gifts on this year’s list or words from a class story? Open the word search generator with the Christmas theme, type your own words, choose a grid size from 8 by 8 to 20 by 20 and download a new PDF with its answer key. For a puzzle that ends in a secret greeting, try the hidden message word search generator.
Printing tips
- Print at 100% (actual size). The grids are sized to fill the page with letters large enough for young readers.
- Print page 1 for players and keep page 2, the answer key, for the grown-up in charge.
- All six puzzles are black and white, so they copy cleanly on a school printer.
Print a Christmas word search for the kids’ table or the last day of school before the holidays.
Frequently asked questions
8 quick answers
Is there an answer key for each puzzle?
Yes. Page 2 of every PDF is the answer key with each word highlighted.
Which puzzle is easiest for kindergarten?
The 10 by 10 easy puzzle: 10 words that run only across and down, in large letters.
Is there a hard puzzle for adults?
Yes. The 17 by 17 puzzle hides 20 words in all eight directions, including backwards and diagonal words.
Can I print these puzzles on A4 paper?
Yes. Every puzzle has a US Letter and an A4 PDF.
Can I make a Christmas word search with my own words?
Yes. The word search generator has a Christmas theme you can edit, with grids from 8 by 8 to 20 by 20.
How many reindeer does Santa have?
Eight in the 1823 poem: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. Rudolph was added in 1939.
What makes the hard Christmas word search so tricky?
It is the only puzzle in the set with backwards words. Its 20 words are hidden in all eight directions on a 17 by 17 grid, so solvers have to read rows right to left as well. It suits ages 10 to adult.
Which words are hidden in the reindeer word search?
The 13 by 13 puzzle hides 12 words: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph, plus antlers, reindeer and sleigh. Words run across, down and diagonally, and the puzzle uses the spellings Donner and Blitzen.
More Christmas printables
- Christmas worksheets for kids with bingo, an acrostic and a card
- How many days until Christmas: live countdown and printables
- Christmas bingo cards and Christmas coloring pages
- Christmas spot the difference, Christmas I spy and a Christmas scavenger hunt
- Christmas jokes for kids and Christmas trivia
- Easy Elf on the Shelf ideas
Sources
- Santa Claus’s reindeer, Wikipedia (the names and their spellings)
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Wikipedia (the 1939 booklet and the 1949 song)
- Luke 2 and Matthew 2, the Christmas story in the Gospels
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