Christmas Counting Puzzles for kids in kindergarten and preschool

If you’re filling your December math tubs, try these printable Christmas counting puzzles with your preschoolers and kindergarteners. Kids count Christmas lights or ornaments, find the piece with the matching number, and see a holiday picture come together one piece at a time.

I love a center that’s easy to teach once and use again. Start with the Christmas lights puzzle in a small group, then put the ornament puzzle out at your math center. Your kids already know what to do, and they get a new picture to uncover.

How to Use the Christmas Counting Puzzles

Print the puzzle mat and cut apart the numbered pieces. If you plan to reuse the puzzles, laminate the mats and pieces and store each set in its own bag or envelope.

Count the pictures. Choose a box on the mat. Touch each light or ornament and say one number for each one.
Find the number. Ask, “How many did you count?” Then have your student find the puzzle piece with that numeral.
Cover the box. Place the numbered piece over the group you counted. Keep going until the holiday picture is complete.

Model one match before turning kids loose with the pieces. If a piece looks out of place, ask your student to touch and recount the objects in that box. It gives them a way to figure out which piece belongs there.

Christmas Lights Counting Puzzle

In this version, kids count the bulbs on the strings of Christmas lights. Each match uncovers a little more of Santa’s workshop. There’s also a follow-up counting page where students draw lines to match numerals to groups of lights.

Learning Club members: Get the Christmas Light Mystery Puzzle.

Christmas Ornament Counting Puzzle

For the ornament version, kids count the decorations on each Christmas tree and cover the tree with the matching number piece. The completed picture reveals a snowy scene with a snowman. On the follow-up ornament page, students match numerals to trees with the same number of ornaments.

Learning Club members: Get the Christmas Ornament Mystery Puzzle.

Make the Puzzles Work for Your Math Groups

For children still working on one-to-one correspondence, try counting the pictures together and offering just two numbered pieces to choose from. You can put a scrap of paper over the other boxes so there’s only one group to look at. When students are ready to work independently, mix up the whole set of pieces and let them solve the puzzle in any order.

For a quick extension, ask kids how they saw a small group of ornaments. A child might spot two ornaments on one side of a tree and two on the other and know there are four. For larger groups, have them touch each picture as they count.