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New Year games

In many families the big winter night is New Year's Eve rather than Christmas: the tree, the presents, staying up until midnight and fireworks at twelve. This shelf is built for that night — the winter-holidays words (sparkler, fireworks, midnight, calendar) next to the Christmas ones, so every child in the room recognises something.

Play bingo or memory with the words, hunt for them in a word search, and end the last lesson before the break with a countdown: ten seconds on the timer and the whole class counting down in English. The numbers get practised on the way.

Games in this collection

Interactive Game

Seaside Bingo

A boardwalk bingo parlour at dusk: the wire cage tumbles its wooden balls, the drawn word rolls down to the rack, and you stamp your card till the sign lights up.

  • Ages 4–11

Interactive Game

Garden of Pairs

Every card is a seed packet in a walled garden. Turn one and it blooms; find its twin and the pair stays in flower, with a butterfly to prove it.

  • Ages 3–11

Interactive Game

Constellations

The words are already in the night sky. Tap a word's first star and its last, and draw the line that makes it a constellation.

  • Ages 6–11

Interactive Game

Dawn Sky Festival

Every letter hangs beneath its own hot-air balloon at sunrise. Guess the word before six balloons drift away, and the whole fleet lifts it into the sky.

  • Ages 5–11

Interactive Game

Name 3

Tap the floating cube. It turns, a topic is engraved on the face it lands on, and you name three.

  • Ages 4–11

Interactive Game

Painter's Attic

A secret word arrives on a painter's palette and you draw it on a real easel canvas — brush sounds, paint-blob colours and a skylight for a timer.

  • Ages 5–11

Interactive Game

Moon Hourglass

Turn the glass and stardust starts to fall. The moon ring empties with the minutes, and a soft gong says the time is up.

Interactive Game

Two Doors

One question, two great doors, one answer on each. The class votes, and the right door swings open into the light.

  • Ages 4–11

Printable packs

Print & go

Christmas

  • 16 words

Numbers

  • 11 words

Toys & fun

  • 16 words

Calendar words

  • 23 words

Send as homework

Five joyful minutes at home: the child listens, taps the right picture and collects stars.

Read next

Games by topic

Winter holidays — English games for kids

Winter holidays: 16 English words with pictures, 5 ready games and 4 printables for kids — flashcards, a poster, bingo and a worksheet. Free, no accounts.

  • 5 min

Questions teachers ask

What can we play in English at a New Year lesson?

Bingo with the New Year words for the whole class, memory for small groups and a countdown to finish: ten seconds on the timer while everyone counts down in English. Nothing needs printing, and the bingo cards are ready if you want paper.

New Year or Christmas — which one do we teach?

Whichever your class celebrates — or both. The winter-holidays pack leans towards New Year (fireworks, midnight, the calendar) and the Christmas pack towards Santa, reindeer and stockings. Both are on this shelf, and the word games (bingo, memory, word search) take either one.

Is there something the children can take home?

Yes: a fold-and-colour card with "Happy New Year!" inside, and a letter to Santa in three levels — from tracing for the little ones to a writing frame for 9–11. Both are free to print from the materials section of this site.

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