Advent Word Search in Large Print
WREATH, CANDLES, EXPECTATION — four puzzles for the four Sundays before Christmas.
4 puzzles · 70 words · 12 × 12 to 18 × 18 grids · Free to print and photocopy, with every answer key included as page two of its PDF.
Puzzle 1
Peek at the answer key
Puzzle 2 — a fresh word list
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Puzzle 3 — Gentler 12×12 grid
Peek at the answer key
Puzzle 4 — Tougher 18×18 grid
Peek at the answer key
Make one with your own words. Grandchildren's names, this week's menu, the streets of a hometown: the free word search maker prints them in the same big letters, with an answer key.
More large print word searches
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Christmas Word Search in Large Print
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Thanksgiving Word Search in Large Print
Halloween Word Search in Large Print
Giant Word Search — Big Grid, Big Letters
Free Printable Word Searches for Adults in Large Print
One puzzle for each Sunday
Advent is the four Sundays before Christmas, a season of waiting and getting ready rather than celebrating early. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, which means it always starts somewhere between November 27 and December 3.
There are four puzzles here, so you can hand out one a week. In many churches each Sunday lights another candle on the Advent wreath and takes a theme — HOPE, PEACE, JOY and LOVE — with the third Sunday, GAUDETE, marked by the ROSE candle among the PURPLE ones. Customs vary from church to church, but the shape of the season is the same.
The quieter side of December
The second puzzle follows the people of the Advent readings — ELIZABETH and ZECHARIAH, John the BAPTIST, the ANNUNCIATION and Mary’s MAGNIFICAT — alongside the words that give the season its feel: STILLNESS, WATCHFUL, VIGIL, LIGHT in the DARKNESS.
It suits a church group, a chaplaincy visit or anyone who wants a slower start to December than the shops allow. When Christmas arrives, the nativity word search picks up the story.
Planning puzzles for a care home or senior center? The memory care activities page lays the whole year out as a printable monthly calendar, and activities for nursing home residents covers what works for a mixed group.
Which size should you print?
Every puzzle on this page fills one US Letter sheet. What changes is how many letters share it — fewer letters means each one prints larger. The gentler grid is the one to reach for if reading the page is the hard part; the tougher grid is for solvers who want a long hunt and find the standard size too quick.
Want a whole page at one size instead? The extra large print puzzles use 10×10 grids with our biggest letters, the jumbo and easy pages use 12×12, and the giant and hard pages pack 22–24 words into an 18×18 grid.
Frequently asked questions
How do I print these advent word searches?
Click "Download PDF" under any puzzle for a print-ready US Letter file (the answer key is included as page two), or click "Print" to send it straight to your printer. Both print well on A4 too. Print at 100% scale — avoid "fit to page", which can shrink the grid.
How large is the print in these puzzles?
Each 15 × 15 grid fills a full US Letter page, so the letters print in about 20-point type, about three-sixteenths of an inch tall. That is bigger than the 16- to 18-point type used in large-print books. This page also has a 12×12 grid at about 27-point and an 18×18 grid at about 14-point. Everything uses the Atkinson Hyperlegible typeface, designed by the Braille Institute for low-vision readers.
How hard are these puzzles?
Words run across, down and diagonally, but never backwards. There are 70 words to find across 4 puzzles, and every answer key is free with the PDFs.
Can I photocopy these puzzles for a group?
Yes — print and photocopy them freely for your family, classroom, library, activity group or care home. That is exactly what they are for.
When does Advent start?
On the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, so between November 27 and December 3 depending on the year. It runs until Christmas Eve.
Is this an Advent calendar?
Not a door-a-day calendar, but it works the same way at a slower pace: four puzzles, one for each Sunday of Advent. Print them together at the start of the season and hand one out each week.