Christmas classroom games for the whole class on one screen
Christmas classroom games and ESL games for one screen: a ready Christmas word set, a snowy Winter holidays look, six game picks and a last-day plan. Free.
The last weeks before the winter break are when a class most wants to play and least wants to sit still. A team game on the big screen gives you both: the class plays together, and every point still comes from a right answer. With Oly you can open a ready Christmas game in a minute, dress any game in a snowy Winter holidays look, and run it from your phone while you walk around the room. Students need no devices.
Start with the ready Christmas set
The library has a reviewed Christmas word set at A1: 16 words with pictures, pronunciation and example sentences. Open it, press Play now, pick a game and the teams, and you are ready. If you want to change a word or add your own, choose Copy and edit.
It also has a printable page with flashcards, a worksheet and the answers, for a follow-up on paper or a class with no projector that day.
Prefer to make your own? Make a Christmas game: the topic and level are filled in for you, and nothing is made until you press the button. You can also snap the Christmas page of your textbook or paste your own word list.
The Winter holidays look
Every game has a seasonal look, set under Look on the Ready page, in the lobby or from the ⚙︎ button during the game:
- Winter holidays: the game's own background dressed for winter, with festive lights, snow and pine trees, snowflake and star confetti, and a jingly tune.
- Lunar New Year and Halloween are there too, and Classic brings back the usual look.
Next to it, Effects can be full, calm or off. The week before a holiday, calm is often the better choice: the class still sees who scored, with smaller confetti and no screen shake.
Six Christmas games and why they work
Every Oly game works with every question set, so the same Christmas words can come back in a different game each day.
| Game | Why it suits Christmas |
|---|---|
| Tile Grab | The tiles are numbered gift boxes. A right answer opens one: points, a star, a bomb or a magnet. |
| Lucky Wheel | The whole class watches the wheel spin: points, double, swap with the leader, play again. |
| Mystery Picture | Like unwrapping a present: right answers peel off pieces, and the first team to name the picture wins a bonus. |
| Team Bingo | Every team has a card, every question stamps every card. Nobody waits for their turn. |
| Memory Match | A right answer flips two cards; a word and its picture make a pair. Calm and focused. |
| Hot Seat | One student sits with their back to the screen and the team describes the words: "It's cold, it's white, you make a man from it!" English sets only. |
A Christmas word list to paste
Copy this list into Make a game, keep the level at A1, and Oly adds a picture, pronunciation and an example sentence for each word:
Christmas tree, present, star, snowman, snow, bell, candle, card, stocking, reindeer, gingerbread, scarf, sleigh, lights, family, party
For older or stronger students, add harder words such as wreath, chimney, ornament, mistletoe or decorate, and set the level to A2.
Christmas quiz questions to paste
For a general Christmas quiz instead of vocabulary, choose Other as the subject and paste one question per line as question | answer | wrong, wrong. A line that ends in true or false becomes a true/false question. Your own lines don't need the AI.
Which animal pulls Santa's sleigh in the stories? | Reindeer | Camel, Horse, PenguinWhat do people hang up for small presents? | A stocking | A scarf, A bell, A candleA cookie shaped like a little person | Gingerbread man | Snowball, Candy cane, PancakeA snowman is made of sand | falseIn Australia, Christmas comes in summer | trueDecember has 31 days | true
Make the last question a double or triple question in the editor (tap its points), so the final answer of the term counts a little more.
A plan for the last day before the break
A 45-minute lesson that ends with the class happy and calm:
- Warm-up, 5 minutes. Show the Christmas words with no game: say each one, the class repeats. Ask "Who has a scarf? Who likes snow?"
- Main game, 15 minutes. Tile Grab or Lucky Wheel with the Christmas set, the Winter holidays look, 3 or 4 teams and a 20-second timer.
- Speaking round, 10 minutes. Hot Seat with the same words, or Picture Dice: a right answer rolls three picture dice and the team makes a sentence or a little story with them.
- Calm game, 10 minutes. Memory Match or Mystery Picture, with effects on calm, so the room settles before the bell.
- Goodbye, 5 minutes. Look at the podium on the summary together, then the words the class missed. Write two of them on a card for each team as a "present" to remember over the break.
If your class doesn't celebrate Christmas, keep the same plan with the Halloween set, a winter word list, or any lesson you are teaching. The Winter holidays look is snow and lights, so it suits any December lesson.
More ideas in Christmas ESL games and activities, and for keeping a festive class under control, see classroom management games.
Frequently asked questions
Are these Christmas games free?
Yes. Every game, the library and the seasonal looks are free to play, with up to 4 teams. The free plan also makes 10 AI question sets a month; Oly Pro allows up to 8 teams and more AI sets.
Do students need devices or accounts?
No. The whole class plays in teams on one projector, TV or interactive display. You can use your phone as the remote; the keyboard works too.
What age is the Christmas set for?
The ready set is A1, for young learners and beginners, roughly ages 6 to 11. For older students, paste harder words, choose A2 or B1, or use the quiz lines above.
Can I use the Winter holidays look with my own questions?
Yes. The look is a setting, not a set: choose it for any game and any question set, including math or science.
Can I play a Christmas game without a screen?
Yes. Print the flashcards and worksheet from the set's printable page and play with them on paper.