An Easy Christmas Word Search for Beginners

Eight Christmas words, none longer than six letters: an angel for the top of the tree, a candle in the window, a mug of cocoa, an elf, a gift, Santa's sleigh, toys and the wreath on the front door. It is the puzzle to start with if you have never solved a Christmas word search, or if you are printing one for a child who is just learning to read.

The grid is 8 letters by 8, with no diagonals and no words written backwards along a row. Three of the words do climb from the bottom of the grid to the top, which is the only small trick in the puzzle.

Easy Christmas Vocabulary: 8 Words to Find

Words run across, up and down; 3 of the 8 read backwards. The longest words are Candle, Sleigh and Wreath, with 6 letters each.

Angel: A heavenly messenger. An angel on top of the tree recalls the angel who announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.
Candle: A stick of wax with a wick that burns to give light. Candles are lit at Christmas, on the eight nights of Hanukkah and on the seven days of Kwanzaa.
Cocoa: A hot drink made from cocoa powder, milk and sugar, the classic warm-up after playing in the snow.
Elf: One of Santa's small helpers who, in the stories, make the toys at the North Pole.
Gift: Something given to someone without asking for payment, the heart of Christmas morning.
Sleigh: A sled pulled by horses or reindeer, like the one Santa rides on Christmas Eve.
Toys: Playthings, the presents Santa's elves are said to build all year in the workshop at the North Pole.
Wreath: A ring of evergreen branches, often with a bow, hung on the front door at Christmas.

How to Solve the Easy Christmas Word Search

Three words run from the bottom up: "angel", "toys" and "wreath", which has the only W. "Candle", the only word with a D, reads across like "elf" and "sleigh". "Cocoa" and "gift" run straight down. Nothing is diagonal, and no word reads backwards along a row.

Easy Christmas Activities for Beginners

Before starting, read the eight words aloud together and ask which ones can be seen in the room right now.
Time a first try and a second try a few days later: the second is almost always faster, which children love to see.
Turn the list into a drawing game: one small picture next to each word once it is found.