Christmas Carol Word Search in Large Print
SILENTNIGHT, DECKTHEHALLS, JINGLEBELLS — find the carol, then sing a line of it.
5 puzzles · 83 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 — Traditional carols
Peek at the answer key
Puzzle 2 — Carol singers
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Puzzle 3 — Christmas songs on the radio
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Puzzle 4 — Gentler 12×12 grid
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Puzzle 5 — Tougher 18×18 grid
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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.
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Find the carol, then sing it
The first puzzle hides carols by their titles with the spaces taken out — AWAYINAMANGER, HARKTHEHERALD, ADESTEFIDELES. That makes it a little harder than a normal word list, and much more fun in a group: whoever finds one starts the first line, and the room usually finishes it.
Music tends to stay with people for a very long time, often well after other memories have faded, which is why carols are such a reliable thing to bring to a care home or memory café in December. The puzzle gives the singing somewhere to start.
Carols, singers and the songs on the radio
The second puzzle is the carol service itself — the CHOIR, the DESCANT, the HANDBELLS, the LANTERN on the DOORSTEP when the carolers come round. The third moves out of church and onto the radio: the Christmas songs of the 1940s to the 1960s, from SILVERBELLS and LETITSNOW to BLUECHRISTMAS and FELIZNAVIDAD, the records a lot of grandparents still know every word of.
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 christmas carols 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 83 words to find across 5 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.
Why are the carol titles written without spaces?
Word searches can only hide letters, so a title like Away in a Manger becomes AWAYINAMANGER in the grid and in the word list. It reads a little oddly at first; once you have found two or three, it becomes the fun of the puzzle.
Are these good for a carol singalong?
Very. Hand out the traditional-carols puzzle, and whenever someone finds a title, sing the first verse together. It is a gentle way to run a December music session in a care home, a church hall or a family living room.