Christmas & Thanksgiving Word Search Ideas for Groups

Holiday word searches work best when they fit the moment: a quick, calm activity for the kids’ table on Thanksgiving, a party pack for a December classroom, or a personalized puzzle with the family’s names. This guide collects practical ideas for Christmas and Thanksgiving word searches, from ready-to-print puzzles to custom ones you make in a few minutes.

Ready-made holiday puzzles

We have four original lists for each holiday, each with Easy, Medium and Hard layouts and answer keys:

Christmas

Christmas Morning — stockings, ornaments, cocoa.
Christmas Baking — gingerbread to panettone.
Winter Wonderland — snow and cold-weather comforts (works as a general winter puzzle).
Christmas Around the World — Las Posadas, Saint Lucia Day, Boxing Day and more.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Dinner — the classic menu.
Autumn Harvest — orchards, hayrides, cornucopias.
Giving Thanks — gratitude and togetherness.
Fall Colors — crimson, russet, ochre (a genuinely tricky Hard grid).

See all of them on the Christmas word search and Thanksgiving word search pages.

A note on timing

Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and the second Monday of October in Canada. Christmas is December 25 in most Western traditions, while many Orthodox churches celebrate on January 7. Not everyone celebrates these holidays — the Winter Wonderland, Autumn Harvest and Fall Colors lists work as seasonal puzzles for any group.

Ideas for family gatherings

The kids’ table

Print two or three Easy puzzles (words go only across and down) in large print. Hand out crayons. It’s a natural, quiet activity while the meal is finishing. Keep the answer keys in your pocket.

Something for every age

Print the same puzzle at different levels: Easy for younger children, Hard for teenagers and adults. Each difficulty is a different checked layout of the same words, so everyone talks about the same theme.

A personalized family puzzle

In the word search maker, list family members’ names, pets, hometowns and favorite dishes. Title it “The Garcia Family Thanksgiving” or “Christmas at Grandma’s.” It takes five minutes and is the puzzle people keep.

A secret message

Use the hidden message maker for a reveal: the leftover letters can announce a gift, a trip, a pregnancy, or simply “Thank you for hosting.” Remember share links can be read by anyone who has them.

Large print for older relatives

Every holiday puzzle fits large print: letters at least 18 points, word list 16 points. Choose Large print in Print & PDF. More in the large print guide.

Ideas for classrooms

A December or November pack

In the printable library, tick up to ten puzzles — mix holiday and winter/autumn lists — and download them as one PDF with answer keys at the end. Students can pick their favorite.

Inclusive choices

Classes include children who celebrate different holidays or none. Pair a holiday puzzle with a seasonal one (Winter Wonderland, Fall Colors) and let students choose. “Christmas Around the World” turns the topic into a geography and culture lesson rather than a celebration.

Vocabulary tie-in

After solving Christmas Around the World, ask students to pick a tradition and write two sentences about where it happens. For Thanksgiving, Giving Thanks pairs well with a short gratitude-writing prompt.

Ideas for offices, clubs and care homes

Break-room puzzle: print a Hard Christmas puzzle and post the answer key the next day.
Club newsletter: include a holiday word search page; use Puzzle only and print the key on the back page.
Care-home activities: large print Easy or Medium puzzles with familiar holiday words, printed on heavier paper.

Quiet time during busy days

Holidays can be loud. A word search gives children (and adults) a calm activity between the busy parts of the day: after presents, while the meal is cooking, on a long drive to relatives. Pack a few printed puzzles and pencils in a bag by the door, so the activity is ready whenever the day needs a pause.

After the holiday

Holiday puzzles make good keepsakes and easy follow-ups. Save the family puzzle you made in the maker and print it again next year with new names. In classrooms, a January puzzle about winter or new beginnings helps students settle back in after the break.

Printing tips for holiday volume

Download the PDF and print at 100%.
For many copies, put answer keys at the end so they’re easy to remove before photocopying.
Each page footer has a puzzle ID — match keys to puzzles at a glance.
Black and white printing keeps costs down; the pages are designed for it.

Other holidays and seasons

The library has ready-made Christmas and Thanksgiving puzzles, but the maker handles any celebration in a few minutes. Some starting lists:

Halloween: PUMPKIN, LANTERN, COSTUME, CANDY, CAULDRON, SKELETON, BAT, OWL, MOONLIGHT, SPIDER.
Hanukkah: MENORAH, DREIDEL, LATKES, CANDLES, GELT, OIL, MACCABEES, SUFGANIYOT.
Diwali: DIYA, RANGOLI, LIGHTS, LAKSHMI, FIREWORKS, SWEETS, LANTERNS, FAMILY.
Lunar New Year: LANTERN, DUMPLINGS, RED ENVELOPE, DRAGON, FIREWORKS, ZODIAC, REUNION.
Eid: CRESCENT, MOON, PRAYER, FEAST, CHARITY, FAMILY, DATES, GIFTS.
Easter and spring: BUNNY, BASKET, EGGS, TULIPS, CHICKS, BLOSSOM, PICNIC.
New Year’s Eve: COUNTDOWN, MIDNIGHT, CONFETTI, RESOLUTION, CHEERS, CALENDAR.

Multi-word terms such as RED ENVELOPE are fine — they appear in the grid without the space. If a tradition you’re writing about has a non-English name, check the usual English spelling; the grid uses the letters A–Z, and accents are removed.

Holiday games with a word search

Advent calendar puzzles. Make a small 8×8 Easy puzzle for each of several days, each with a hidden message that hints at that day’s treat. The pack builder in the printable library prints up to ten library puzzles in one PDF; for custom ones, save each puzzle and print them one after another.
After-dinner challenge. Print a Hard puzzle for the adults and see who finishes before dessert.
Pass-the-puzzle. One sheet goes round the table; each person finds one word and passes it on. Good for keeping a long meal lively without anyone leaving the table.
Treasure trail. Each puzzle’s hidden message tells children where to find the next one, ending at a small gift.

A holiday printing plan

The week before a holiday, printers are busy and paper runs out. A simple plan:

Choose puzzles early and download the PDFs to a folder.
Print one test copy of each and check the size at 100%.
Print guest copies in grayscale, plus a few spares.
Print answer keys separately and keep them with the host.
Pack pencils and crayons with the puzzles so they’re ready on the day.

Keeping it welcoming

Holiday puzzles are meant to include people. When the group is mixed:

offer a seasonal puzzle alongside a holiday one,
avoid words that are specific to one religious practice unless the gathering is about it,
use family names and shared memories — those belong to everyone at the table,
for classrooms, let students choose between puzzles rather than assigning one.

Frequently asked

Can I print holiday puzzles for a class? Yes, including whole-class sets. Please don’t resell them.

Are the holiday puzzles suitable for large print? Yes. Every library puzzle fits 18-point large print on both Letter and A4.

Can I change the words in a holiday puzzle? Yes. Open it, choose Customize, and edit the list in the maker.

Ideas for older relatives

Holiday visits are a good time for a puzzle with grandparents or older neighbors. Print large print copies, choose Easy or Medium, and pick a list with familiar words — a traditional dinner menu, carols, winter weather. Solving together at the table, one person reading out words and the other finding them, is a gentle shared activity. Add the family’s names or the hometown to a custom puzzle for a personal touch.

Festive touches for printed puzzles

The PDFs are plain black and white so they print cleanly, which leaves room to decorate. Print on colored or patterned paper with a plain center, add stickers around the edges, or let children color the border before solving. For place settings, roll the puzzle with a pencil and tie it with ribbon. Keep the grid area itself plain, so the letters stay easy to read.

Make your own holiday list

Good holiday words have rare letters and strong imagery: GINGERBREAD, MISTLETOE, CRANBERRY, CORNUCOPIA, POINSETTIA. Mix them with short ones (BOW, PIE, STAR). For more, read how to choose good words for a word search.

Start with the Christmas word search collection or the Thanksgiving word search collection, or make a personal puzzle in the word search maker.

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Christmas and Thanksgiving Word Search Ideas