About the Christmas What's Missing? Game
All the festive favourites: trees, presents, snowmen, reindeer, stockings and stars. A cosy game for the long afternoons between Christmas and New Year.
What's in the Christmas deck
The full deck, so you know what to watch for — 12 pictures: 🎄 Tree🎅 Santa🤶 Mrs Claus🎁 Present⛄ Snowman❄️ Snowflake🦌 Reindeer🔔 Bell🕯️ Candle🧦 Stocking🍪 Cookie⭐ Star
Study tip: link the first three — tree, santa and mrs claus — into one ridiculous mental picture. Absurd images stick; lists don't. When a picture vanishes, replay the scene and ask what doesn't fit any more.
How to memorise a festive board
Hook each tile to the tradition it belongs to. Decorations, food, gifts and weather each form natural clusters — and holiday decks are unusually cooperative about it, because the same four clusters repeat across nearly every festival. When a bauble vanishes, you look in "decorations", not "anywhere".
Use the calendar as your story. Most festive decks roughly follow the year: items you would see in the run-up, items for the day itself, items for the leftovers. Walking the board once in date order turns recall into a countdown you already know by heart.
How to Play
- Press Start and memorise every picture on the board.
- After a few seconds the board hides and one picture is removed.
- Pick the missing picture from the answer choices.
- Each correct answer adds a bigger board. Three misses ends the game.
Fun Facts About Christmas
- The first Christmas card was sent in 1843.
- Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented in 1939 for a department-store colouring book.
- Christmas crackers are primarily a British and Commonwealth tradition.
- Norway gifts the UK a Christmas tree every year for Trafalgar Square.
Holiday deck questions
When should I bring these out for a family gathering?
The sweet spot is the lull — after the meal, before the next thing. One or two rounds on a tablet at the table keeps everyone in the room. The easy board lets grandparents and the youngest play the same game.
The deck feels familiar — is it the same as the other holiday themes?
There is deliberate overlap between seasonal themes, but each deck is its own set of pictures. If you can already beat the Christmas board, try winter or birthday for a fresh challenge.