We don’t have a lot of holiday traditions in our family, really only a few I can think of. Giving a family in need 12 days of Christmas gifts is one and playing Christmas bingo on Christmas Eve is another. We all know it’s happening so about two months before the big night we start collecting $3-$5 prizes. Everyone brings 4-5 prizes per person in their family, and we play for a couple of hours with the entire family. It’s honestly one of my favorite Christmas traditions and really favorite Christmas activities. And it’s honestly more about the process of playing bingo than it is about the prizes, although those are super fun too! We typically use regular bingo cards for our Christmas Eve bingo, but these Christmas bingo cards are way cuter. They’d be perfect for a classroom party, if you need virtual Christmas games, or if you really just want some sort of fun themed Christmas games! I love Christmas bingo so much this is actually my third type of bingo game. If you like this one, you need to try my Christmas movie bingo and my Christmas music bingo too!
Why Christmas Bingo?
There’s a reason that bingo is so popular during the Christmas season (and the rest of the year). It’s one of the few Christmas games that works well for all ages from young children to senior adults! And what better way to get everyone involved than to plan Christmas party games that everyone can play! Plus, this free Christmas bingo game is even better than normal bingo because it has cute little Christmas images that are more fun to find than just numbers! There’s a reason we play it at most of our holiday family gatherings. It also makes the perfect game for a kid’s class party and is an easy way to burn some time without the kids getting bored!
Supplies
Just like with any of my bingo games, you’ll need the following to play:
Bingo cards (at least one per person) – you can download a set of 20 unique cards at the bottom of this post or get a set of up to 40 in my shop here. The free bingo cards are filled with cute Christmas images including things like candy canes, gingerbread men, and more! Bingo markers – I like to use small themed erasers, Christmas M&Ms, or even just these regular bingo markers work well. Don’t get the bingo stampers (or dot markers) or you won’t be able to play more than one game. You can also just use something like cereal, but I like to use fun markers with a theme as my bingo chips! Calling sheet – the call sheet is included in the download at the bottom of this post, print out two copies and cut one up to use as the items you draw to call. Prizes – I have a bunch of fun holiday themed prizes that would be great at the bottom of this post. There are tons of fun things you can use during the holiday season!
Christmas Bingo Prep
Make sure everyone has a bingo card. You can either let people choose their own or just hand them out if you think choosing is going to be a problem (hello young kids). Everyone will need a bingo card and markers. Then choose someone to be the caller – you can do it or you can have someone else do it. Or mix it up and have someone new do it every round to make it more fun! You also need to print out two copies of the calling sheet. Cut up the squares on one and put it in a bowl, bag, or some other container you can draw the pieces out of. The other one should just be sitting out – you’ll be picking out the squares and covering up the spaces on the calling sheet as you play. Now you’re ready to actually play! It’s bingo. I feel like most people now how to play regular bingo but just in case, I’ll do a quick play by play to explain how the game works. The more important thing to read (if you’re familiar with bingo) are the alternate bingo options below this section. That’s what makes bingo really fun!
How to Play Bingo
It’s bingo. I feel like most people now how to play regular bingo but just in case, I’ll do a quick play by play to explain how the game works. The more important thing to read (if you’re familiar with bingo) are the alternate bingo options below this section. That’s what makes bingo really fun! Once everyone gets their cards and is nice and settled, it’s time to start. Randomly choose one of the pieces from the bag/bowl/etc. and show the picture to the group and call it out (e.g., penguin, Santa hat). Anyone who has that item on their board should cover it with a bingo marker. Wait for a second to make sure everyone has found it (or not if it’s not on their card) then call another. Keep calling until someone has covered up five in a row – horizontal, vertical, or diagonal – on their board. This can include the free space in the middle or not. When someone gets five in a row, they call bingo. You can either quit the round then and have everyone clear their cards for the next bingo round or you can keep playing from there and let multiple people bingo during the round. We always do the latter when we play with the family, but it’s totally up to you and your situation. If you’re playing with say an entire school or an office, pick one prize per game and whoever gets bingo first wins the prize. Keep playing until all the prizes are gone or people get bored.
Alternate Bingo Options
Change things up from the traditional bingo by calling out a different option for what is a “bingo” each game. So instead of just doing five across in a straight line, try one of the alternatives before. It keeps things fun, creative, and moving. Just remember to make sure that everyone knows what the game is before you get started!
Four corners – cover all four corners on your cardPostage stamp – cover any four spaces together in a square (postage stamp) on your card.X – cover all the spaces going both ways diagonally to make an XT – cover the top row and the middle row to make a TCross/Plus – cover the middle horizontal row and the middle vertical row to make a plus sign Friendly Free – mark off all of the spaces touching the free space Biggest Loser – we do one of the above PLUS whoever is the last person to get a marker on the board gets the first prize Bring a Friend – whoever bingos gets to choose a friend to bingo with them a choose a prize (this works best if you have lots of people/prizes)Play until – If someone hasn’t won yet, play until that person bingosBlackout bingo – for the last game of the night, play until someone covers their entire card to get a blackout!
Christmas Bingo Prizes
You can either go for Christmas themed prizes (like a holiday gift basket) or go for more generic prizes that everyone will like (gift cards are always a hit!). Prizes can range from really expensive if you’re playing at say an office party with a budget for prizes or less expensive in the case of my family Christmas bingo game. Here are a handful of fun prizes including ones that I’m personally including in our family bingo game this year! I’ve got things on here for all ages and genders – just pick what works best for your group!
Gourmet treats like these California Gummy Bears (they’re so yummy!), Wiley Wallaby licorice, or even something more savory like Pop on the Block gourmet popcorn sets (I love the caramel + cheddar mix). Beauty products like body soaks, face masks, and bath bombs. Meeschell is a great place to get high-quality ones that are all natural, organic, and women made! Unique activities for kids like Wild Dough (non-toxic scented playdough that comes in fun holiday flavors) Games for any age like this Hasty Baker card game or Pando getting to know you trivia game Science experiment kits and activities for kids like this Just Add Baking Soda kit. Video games and video game consoles like any of our favorite Nintendo Switch games including the brand new Ring Fit Adventure
Expert Tips
Laminate the game boards so you have your own bingo cards that you can use year after year! They’ll be more durable and you can use dry erase markers (or any of the bingo markers I already talked about) to cover the spaces! Pass out cards to people if you think they’ll go crazy trying to figure out which card they want. Skip giving them the choice and just hand them out. Describe the different pictures when you draw them so people know what they’re looking for, especially if you have a huge group that won’t be able to see the individual picture in your hand. Buy extra bingo markers if you’re using something edible like M&Ms or cereal. People tend to snack on the edible bingo markers, which is all part of the fun – but you’ll need about double what you originally thought. Have treats and snacks available to enjoy during the party. It’ll keep their mind off if they didn’t bingo because they’re still getting a little treat! These Christmas tree brownies and these cherry cheesecake cookies are always a hit! And if you want savory, you can never go wrong with homemade chex mix.
More Printable Christmas Games
Christmas would you ratherChristmas carol gameChristmas price is right gameChristmas scavenger huntChristmas dice gameMatch the Christmas carol game
Download the Printable Christmas Bingo PDF
Enter your first name and email address in the form below to get the free printable set. You will receive a link to download the PDF to play this fun holiday activity to your email within minutes. If you would rather not fill out the form to get the free printable Christmas bingo cards, you can get a copy in my shop here. If you do not see the form below, click here to get to it. The PDF will include:
Instructions Five pages of unique Christmas bingo cards (4 to a page), 20 different playing cardsCalling sheet – print this twice and cut one out to use as the images you will call
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