Holiday word searches
A themed word search is the easiest holiday activity there is: print a stack before the party or the last class of term, and keep the solution sheet for yourself.
Curated by 
Esme Rook
What is in this collection
Four holiday word searches, one for each of the dates that empty a classroom of attention: Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Easter. All four are 12x12 grids with twelve themed words, all four play in the browser, and all four print free with a separate solution sheet.
How to use a holiday word search in a class or a party
The trick is to print before you need it. These sheets do their best work as the thing you hand out when a lesson finishes early on the last day of term, or when a party hits the flat twenty minutes between food and cake. Twelve words on a 12x12 grid takes most children five to ten minutes, which is exactly the gap you are trying to fill. Print one solution sheet for yourself and none for them.
Frequently asked questions
Are the holiday word searches free to print for a class party?
Yes. Print any of them, in any quantity, for a classroom, a party, a library session, a church group or a care home, at no cost and with no attribution required. There is no sign-up. Selling the PDFs or re-uploading them to another site is not allowed, which is the whole of our licensing policy.
What age are the holiday word searches for?
They are family puzzles, easiest for ages 6 to 10 (US grades 1 to 4), and painless for adults. Each 12x12 grid holds twelve themed words, none of them obscure, so a primary class can finish one without help. Younger children get there too once someone reads the word list aloud first.
Can we play the holiday puzzles online?
Yes. Every puzzle here plays in the browser on any device, which makes it a five-minute filler on a classroom whiteboard or something to hand a child on a long December car journey. Drag across the letters to mark a word. The free printable PDF stays available on every page.
Is there an answer key?
Yes, one per puzzle. Each holiday word search has a separate solution PDF that marks all twelve words on the same grid, downloadable from the Solution button. Because it is a second file, the copies you hand out at a party arrive with nothing given away and you stay the tie-breaker.
Can I make a holiday word search with our own words?
Yes. Our free word search maker turns a title and 10 to 30 words of your own into a puzzle that plays online, prints as a PDF with its solution, and has its own shareable link. Handy for a class party where the words are the children's own names.