81 days to Christmasdays

Christmas Bingo

Mark festive pictures or words on your bingo card as they are called, and be the first player to complete the winning pattern.

Players
2+
Ages
5+
Time
about 20 min
You need
Something to buy or bring

How are you playing?

Need paper cards?

Christmas Bingo cards

Every card is 5 × 5 — 24 Christmas words around a free centre square — and no two are dealt the same. This is one the game dealt; the 48 words beneath it are everything a card can hold.

Mistletoe
Pinecone
Eggnog
Nutcracker
Poinsettia
Elf
Bell
Advent calendar
Stocking
Present
Snowman
Scarf
Gift bow
Tinsel
Rudolph
Gingerbread
Sleigh
Carolers
Snowball
Drum
Candy cane
Cookie
Ornament
Toy train

An example card. The game deals a different arrangement every time, so the one you play with will not be this one.

All 48 Christmas Bingo words

The caller draws from this list and every card is filled from it. Copy it out if you would rather rule your own grids.

Printing your Christmas Bingo cards

The game prints through your browser — there is nothing to download and no file to open. Four steps, about a minute.

1. Open the print screen

In the game above, choose Print cards under the two ways to play. A set is dealt straight away, so there is no separate generate step to remember.

2. Choose how many

2, 4, 6, 8 cards. Every card in a set is checked against the others as it is dealt, so no two players are handed the same arrangement. Press Generate new set for a different batch — useful when a second group plays after the first.

3. Press Print cards

That opens your browser’s own print dialogue, which is also the preview. The page you are reading is not printed: the stylesheet hides the site, the game and this text, and sends only the cards.

4. One card per sheet

Each card prints on its own page with the word grid, a free centre and a line of instructions, in black on white so it survives any printer. Print single-sided, hand one to each player with a pen, and call from the phone.

Playing Christmas Bingo at the table

The game above can deal you a card, call the words from one phone, and print a different card for everyone at the table. These are the rules it runs on — and the ones to use if you would rather play with cards and markers of your own.

What it is

Christmas Bingo gives the classic bingo format a festive theme using Christmas words, pictures or both. Each player receives a different card, and a caller announces Christmas items one at a time while players mark matching spaces and watch for the winning pattern.

The game is easy to understand, works across generations and lets everyone participate at the same time. Picture-based cards are especially useful for younger children, while word-based or more varied cards work well for families, adults and office Christmas parties.

Setting up

Prepare a different Christmas bingo card for each player and a matching caller list or set of calling cards. Give each player a card and enough markers to cover its spaces. Before starting, choose the winning pattern—such as a horizontal, vertical or diagonal line—and make sure everyone knows whether the center space, if present, is free.

You may need: Christmas bingo cards, caller list or calling cards, bingo markers.

How to play

  1. Give each player a Christmas bingo card and a set of markers.
  2. Choose one person to be the caller and give them the caller list or shuffled calling cards.
  3. The caller announces one Christmas item at a time.
  4. Players check their own cards and cover the matching space if it appears.
  5. Continue calling items until a player completes the agreed winning pattern and calls out "Bingo!"
  6. Pause the game and check the winning card against the items that have already been called.
  7. If the card is correct, that player wins the round. Clear the cards and play again if the group wants another round.

Rules

  • Players may mark only items that have already been called.
  • Each player should use a different card whenever possible so everyone does not complete the same pattern at once.
  • The winning pattern must be agreed before the round begins.
  • When a player calls Bingo, check every marked space in the winning pattern against the caller record.
  • If a Bingo is incorrect, continue the round with the existing cards and called items.
  • For younger children, use pictures or easily recognizable Christmas words appropriate for their age.

Winning

The first player to complete the agreed pattern and correctly call Bingo wins the round. For a longer game, play several rounds with different patterns and award one point for each round won.

Variations

  • Picture Bingo: Use Christmas pictures instead of written words, making the game easier for younger children and early readers.
  • Four Corners: Instead of completing a line, players must cover all four corner spaces to win.
  • Full Card: Keep calling until a player has covered every space on their card.
  • Christmas Movie Bingo: Fill the cards with Christmas movie characters, objects and familiar festive situations.

Running a Christmas Bingo round

Agree the pattern before you deal

A line, four corners, or the full card: the rules above want it settled first, and it is the difference between a five-minute round and a twenty-minute one. Say it out loud once everyone has a card in front of them.

One phone calls, everyone else plays

Choose Call the game on one device and leave it face up. It shuffles all 48 words, shows the current call and keeps the list of everything already called — which is what you check a winning card against.

Leave a beat between calls

Players have 24 squares to scan. Read the word, wait for the room to look, then draw again; a caller who races leaves half the table behind and the round has to be re-checked at the end.

Check the win against the called list

When someone calls Bingo, read their marked squares back against the caller’s record. If it does not hold up, the round carries on with the cards and calls as they are — nobody starts again.

Play several rounds on the same cards

Clear the markers, change the pattern and call again; the same cards are fine for a whole evening. Deal a new printed set only when a different group of players arrives.

Playing Christmas Bingo with children

From age 5, with a reader at the table

The record puts this game at 5+. The squares carry words, so a child who is not reading yet needs someone beside them — which works well, because marking a square is the whole of the job and an adult can point rather than play for them.

The rules’ own answer for pre-readers

Picture Bingo is the first variation above: the same game with Christmas pictures in place of the written words. It is a paper version — the cards here are word cards — but for a room of four- and five-year-olds it is the one to make.

Everyone plays every call

Nobody waits for a turn and nobody is put in front of the others, which is why this is one of the games our Kids and Families collections both carry. Slow the calling down and a mixed-age table stays together.

Keep playing

More games for your group

Three that go well after Christmas Bingo — or let the Finder choose.