It is so much fun to play games, and my daughter simply loves everything Christmas related! Here is a fun North Pole Mix-Up free printable Christmas game for kids to play together this season.
To make the game extra fun for my story-loving preschooler, I created a backstory. Santa's presents have gotten mixed up at the North Pole. Some of them have been wrapped without being labeled. Santa waits at his sleigh, asking for a certain present. Can one of the elves tell him where that present is? The first elf to find three of the presents will be Santa's special helper on Christmas Eve!
Each player rolls two dice for each turn. The presents (which are kept toy picture face down and therefore secret) can only be viewed if an elf goes over the space. Only that one elf can view it. Then, when he or she knows where the toy is that Santa needs, he or she rushes to the sleigh to tell him the location. If he or she guesses the wrong present, he goes back to Elf Town. If she's right, she's one card closer to being Santa's special elf on Christmas night.
To make it more fun (and to change up the present that Santa is looking for), there is a way to get reindeer flying powder. Maybe you'll be a lucky elf that rolls doubles! With the reindeer's flying powder, you can race ahead to sneak a peek at any present or hurry to Santa's sleigh!
The board for this game is three papers long. You could glue file folders to the back of the game if you like. Or, you could simply tape and/or laminate the pages together.
The gifts cards should be folded so the gift picture is on one side and the toy is on the other. I printed this on thick paper and laminated the cards after I glued it together, so the toys would not be seen through from the front. (Note: in some of the pictures, I had the gifts cards folded, with the toys image on the inside. I found this was not helpful, because they would not stay folded together so we could sneak glimpses of the toys inside. Folding them to be double sided works much better.)
The toys cards I printed double-sided with the "North Pole Mix-Up" card background. Those go on the square next to Santa. That is the present he is looking for.
I used the elves (along with binder clips) to be the pawns.
I made this simple printable for our own homeschooling holiday fun. This was our second year to play North Pole Mix-Up! This year, I've gotten it all organized so you can use it too.
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