I’m so excited about this activity! I’ve designed this Christmas Spot It Match Game to be used with a pre-selected assortment of Primary Christmas Songs from the Children’s songbook.
There are 15 Primary Christmas Songs in the Songbook. I made a sing-along songbook that would pair perfectly with this activity, if helpful! This activity uses 13 of those songs to give the kids lots of exposure to all the different songs.
Or, you can switch it up and use any 13 Christmas songs, specific verses, or mix and match with ways to sing to represent each symbol!
Christmas Spot It Match Game
How to Play a Traditional Spot It Game:
Print out the cards in large or 1/4 sheet size. Cut out all the cards and then shuffle them up. Draw two cards, and look for a match! Then, flip over the next two cards. When you make it to the end, you’ll shuffle the remaining and can continue through the deck another time.
Play by fastest wins against another player or first to make it through the deck. For a fun variation, flip over any 5 cards and try to find a symbols that matches on at least 3 of the cards!
Sing in Print Order:
Print and then display the cards in sequence showing the cards in the order they printed. Simply display the first 2 cards and have the children find a matching symbol, then keep the 2nd card and flip the 3rd image over and find a new match.
Sing through the song after each match is found.
This will have you sing 13 Christmas songs. This option is great if you prefer simplicity, and you want to give your pianist a heads up of exactly which songs you’ll sing and in the order they’ll appear.
Christmas Songs in Print Order:
- Gingerbread – Samuel Tells of Baby Jesus
- Elf – Mary’s Lullaby
- Mittens – The Shepherd’s Carol
- Star – There Was Starlight on the Hillside
- Snowflakes – Away in a Manger
- Ornament – Picture a Christmas
- Angel – Sleep, Little Jesus
- Bells – Christmas Bells
- Candy – Oh, Hush Thee, My Baby
- Gift – Little Jesus
- Reindeer – Once Within a Lowly Stable
- Stocking – When Joseph Went Bethlehem
- Christmas Tree – The Nativity Song
Sing in Any Order:
For a more challenging option, put all the posters up on the board. You might put 5 in a circle in the center and then 8 in a larger circle around the center 5.
Have the children Pick two posters and find a matching symbol. Remove or flip over those posters. Sing through the song, then continue hunting for the “perfect match” pairs!
Or, simply shuffle all the cards and let the children pick two at random. Sing the song from the matching pair. Then shuffle them all again and draw two new cards.
More Ways to Play Christmas Spot It game!
Ways to Sing: Use the symbols as a fun way to sing your pre-selected Christmas song, instead of for matching with a variety of Christmas songs! Simply find a match with either option above, and then follow the chart to find the fun way to sing! For this option, you’ll want to have jingle bell bracelets, finger lights, and a specific repeating keyword ready ahead of time.
Included Ways to Sing:
- Gingerbread – Stomp on Keywords
- Star – Sing on your Tip-toes
- Stocking – Clap on Keywords
- Mittens – Repeat the Chorus
- Ornament – Sing Every Other Word
- Snowflakes – Spin Slowly
- Candy – Sing Sweetly
- Angel – Teachers Only
- Tree – Finger Lights
- Reindeer – March in Place
- Elf – Children Only
- Gift – Kid’s Choice
- Bells – Jingle Bells
Match & Mark: You can keep all the posters visible and let the kids try to find new combinations. You can even let them repeat songs if they choose to! Cross off symbols as they are used to add to the fun.
I Spy: Play a little I Spy and ask the children if they can find a specific picture. How many are there. What song might it represent? Then sing through that song.
Find the Match: Print out a set of smaller cards for each class and one set of large cards for the music leader. Randomly select one card. Let all the groups try to find their matching card. Then, pick a symbol from the card to use for your song or way to sing!
Team Spot It Race: Print out the smaller cards and have the children work together in small groups. Shuffle the Spot It cards and go in order until they get all the way through. Whichever group finishes the fastest gets to pick a song from their final card to sing as a Primary.
Pick a Symbol: Use the cards one at a time and let the children pick one of the symbols. Sing the coordinating song. You can even let them see the song guide, so they get the opportunity to make choices! You can have a child (plus a friend in a large Primary) pick from the symbols or have the Primary take a quick vote.
Printable Christmas Spot It Game
I’ve made this free printable game in a couple different formats to make it easier to use in your Singing Time lesson plans! You can choose from a print and play or the slideshow option for a print-free option!!
The printable includes a song / ways to sing chart and the printable spot it cards in two sizes – 1/4 page and full page! There’s even a blank guide you can use to customize your song list or combine for a mix-and-match to assign specific verses and ways to sing all in one game!
To access the free in-post printables for this post, you’ll just need to create a free account or login with the Grow.me tool. Then, confirm by email and refresh the page and ALL my free printables will automatically unlock in every post!
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Christmas Spot It Slideshow Game
Grab this slideshow version as a PDF for a print-free singing time! Keep in mind, there are two versions. One with song titles and one with ways to sing. You can share the file on a TV or projector, just view the PDF full screen and use your arrow keys to flip through each page easily.
Christmas Songs:
Christmas Ways to Sing:
If you liked this singing time idea, see our adorable Spot It Valentine’s Day Game version! It’s a perfect holiday for going through lots of beautiful songs about LOVE!
Which way will you play this fun Christmas Spot It game? Do you have other ideas for extending or utilizing this game in singing time?
