How it works
This Christmas word search online opens with a fresh 15 by 15 puzzle that you solve on the page: tap a word's first letter and then its last, or drag across it. Every new puzzle draws 16 words from the chosen list, Christmas favorites at first. The 10 lists run from tree trimmings to other winter holidays. Print any grid and its answer key follows on a second page.
Read the full guide
Solve it on screen
A found word is struck off the list, and the line above the grid counts the words you have found while a timer runs. Progress is kept in this browser, so a pupil who closes the tab comes back to the same half-solved grid. Show answers rings every word.
Choose a list and a level
The Start from a list row switches lists. Christmas favorites holds the 24 words most children know. Seven themed lists cover the tree, Santa and the sleigh, the Christmas table, the Christmas story, winter outside, carols and customs, and other winter holidays. Two more sort the bank by length: 42 first words of 3 to 5 letters and 20 long words of 9 to 12. Easy hides words across and down, Medium adds diagonals, and Hard runs them in every direction, backwards too. The grid grows by itself, up to 25 by 25, when the words need room.
Print it for the class
As a holiday word search printable it is 2 pages on Letter or A4: the puzzle with its title, instructions line and words to find, then the answer key with every word marked. Word list, in More options, shows the words, hides them or swaps each for its one-line meaning as a clue. You can also type on the word list under the grid: take away words that do not suit your class or add your own, up to 40 in all.
- For a Christmas word search for kids in kindergarten or first grade, pick First words, then open More options and tick Large print.
- Need a winter holiday word search, printable free on Letter or A4, for a class that keeps different holidays? Winter outside has no holiday words at all, and Other winter holidays covers Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the solstice and New Year.
- Put the puzzle on the classroom board and let two teams take turns to find a word. The struck-off list keeps score.
- Tick Show clues, not words in More options for a vocabulary lesson: pupils read "a spinning top with four sides" and hunt for Dreidel.
- When the search is done, paste the same words into the word scramble maker for a second sheet from one list.
Questions and answers
Can I play it on a tablet or a phone?
Yes. Tap a word's first letter and then its last, which is easiest for small hands, or hold the first letter for a moment and slide. For bigger letters, open More options and tick Large print. With a keyboard, press Tab to reach the grid, then the arrow keys move and Enter marks the two ends.
How do I make a Christmas word search hard enough for older students?
Pick the Long words list and press Hard; the grid grows when a word needs room. Frankincense and Poinsettia can then run backwards or on the diagonal among far more filler letters. Next, set Word list there to hide the words or show clues. The same three moves make any holiday word search hard: long words, every direction and no list to check against.
Is there a holiday word search for kids who do not keep Christmas?
Yes. Winter outside is snow, mittens and sledding with no holiday in it. Other winter holidays has words from Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the winter solstice and New Year's Eve. The Bible words sit in one list only, The Christmas story, so a church school can choose it and any other class can leave it alone.
Does every student get the same puzzle?
Only if you want them to. New puzzle draws a different set of 16 words from the list you chose and lays them out afresh, so neighbors on their own devices get different grids. To give the whole class one grid, print one puzzle and copy it.
What do the words mean?
Every one of the 141 words has a one-line meaning in the list below the tool, written for readers of about 7 to 12. Some carry a fact worth a minute of class time: tinsel was first made of shredded silver in 1610, the red parts of a poinsettia are leaves, and Matthew's gospel never says how many Magi there were.