Room Game Night › Bingo › Christmas Classics

Christmas Bingo

Christmas Classics is a free bingo game of 48 holiday favorites: Santa and his reindeer, tree trimmings, old carols and Christmas treats. Print a different card for everyone at the table, then call the squares and share a fun fact with each one.

Print free cards Play on your TV: coming soon

How to play

With printed cards

Print as many cards as you need (up to 30) and the caller sheet. Every card is different.
The caller reads the squares from the caller sheet, one at a time, and ticks each one. Read the fun fact too, if you like.
Players mark a square when it is called. Coins, cereal, buttons or a crayon all work. The star in the middle is free.
The first player to fill a whole row, column or diagonal shouts "Bingo!" The caller checks that line against the ticks on the caller sheet.

Ways to win

Any line: a full row, column or diagonal. Quick games of about ten minutes.
Four corners: the four corner squares.
Blackout: every square on the card. Longer games, good for a big group.

With a TV and phones

Coming soon: the live game puts the caller on your TV. It calls the squares, reads them aloud and checks every "Bingo!", and each player gets their own card on their phone with a four-letter room code, the same way Room Trivia works.

All 48 squares, with fun facts

Santa ClausThe name Santa Claus comes from Sinterklaas, the Dutch name for Saint Nicholas.
Mrs. ClausKatharine Lee Bates, who wrote America the Beautiful, also wrote an 1889 poem starring Mrs. Claus.
Saint NicholasSaint Nicholas's feast day is December 6, when children in many countries find small gifts.
ElfIn Santa stories, elves are his helpers who make toys in his workshop at the North Pole.
ReindeerReindeer are the only deer where both males and females usually grow antlers.
SleighIn the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, eight tiny reindeer pull the sleigh.
North PoleThere is no land at the North Pole: it sits on sea ice floating on the Arctic Ocean.
Letter to SantaCanada's mail service gives Santa his own postal code: H0H 0H0.
ChimneyIn the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, St. Nick comes down the chimney with a bound.
StockingDutch children set out shoes for Sinterklaas, often with a carrot for his horse.
Christmas TreeA drawing of Queen Victoria's family around a tree, printed in 1848, helped make Christmas trees popular in Britain.
StarA star on top of the tree recalls the star that, in the Gospel of Matthew, led the wise men to Jesus.
OrnamentGlass tree ornaments were first made in Lauscha, a glassmaking town in Germany.
TinselThe first tinsel, made in Germany, was cut from real silver.
Twinkle LightsEdward Johnson, a partner of Thomas Edison, lit the first electric Christmas tree lights in 1882.
CandleBefore electric lights, families clipped small candles onto the branches of their trees.
WreathWreaths are made of evergreens, which stay green all winter, so they stand for life in the cold months.
HollyOnly female holly plants grow the bright red berries.
PoinsettiaPoinsettias come from Mexico, and their red 'petals' are really leaves called bracts.
Candy CaneSome people say the candy cane's hook was added so the sticks could hang on a Christmas tree.
PresentIn Italy, an old woman called La Befana brings gifts on the night of January 5.
Christmas CardThe first Christmas cards for sale were printed in London in 1843.
SnowmanSnow packs best for a snowman when it is close to freezing and a little wet.
SnowflakeAlmost every snowflake has six sides or six arms.
NutcrackerTchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker was first performed in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1892.
Toy TrainMany early toy trains were wind-up toys, driven by a spring like a clock.
Teddy BearThe teddy bear is named after President Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt.
AngelIn the Gospel of Luke, an angel brings shepherds the news of Jesus' birth.
Nativity SceneSaint Francis of Assisi set up a famous nativity scene with live animals in Greccio, Italy, in 1223.
Three KingsIn Spain, children get gifts from the Three Kings on January 6.
Advent CalendarAdvent calendars count down the days to Christmas, usually starting on December 1.
Christmas EveIn Germany and Poland, the big family celebration and the presents come on Christmas Eve.
Milk and CookiesChildren in many countries leave a snack for Santa, and often a carrot for the reindeer.
Gingerbread ManQueen Elizabeth I of England is said to have had gingerbread figures made to look like her guests.
Gingerbread HouseDecorated gingerbread houses began in Germany in the early 1800s and grew popular after Hansel and Gretel was published.
Hot CocoaPeople drank chocolate for well over a thousand years before the first solid chocolate bar was made in 1847.
Sugar PlumsSugar plums aren't plums at all: they are seeds or nuts coated in layers of hard sugar.
Roasted ChestnutsIn Vienna, street stands roast chestnuts and sell them hot through the winter holiday season.
CranberriesCranberries grow in beds called bogs, and many growers flood the bog at harvest so the ripe berries float.
Roast TurkeyWild turkeys are native to North America.
Mince PieMince pies once had meat inside; most today are filled with dried fruit and spices.
Yule Log CakeThe bûche de Noël is a French Christmas cake rolled and frosted to look like a log.
Popcorn GarlandAmerican families once trimmed their trees with strings of popcorn and cranberries.
Jingle BellsIn 1965, astronauts on Gemini 6A played Jingle Bells in space on a harmonica and small bells.
Silent NightSilent Night was first written in German, as Stille Nacht, and has been sung in hundreds of languages.
Deck the HallsDeck the Halls is sung to an old Welsh tune called Nos Galan.
Joy to the WorldIsaac Watts wrote the words of Joy to the World, published in 1719.
12 Days of ChristmasThe twelve days of Christmas run from December 25 to January 5.

Print the cards

Cards print two to a US Letter page, each with its own card number in the corner, plus a one-page caller sheet that lists the squares in a random calling order. Everything is made in your browser: nothing to sign up for, nothing sent anywhere.

More to play

Winter Classroom Bingo
Christmas trivia questions (Room Trivia)
Holidays around the world trivia (Room Trivia)