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Friends Art Lab / Blog / Christmas Math Game: Count and Cover Santa’s Beard

Christmas Math Game: Count and Cover Santa’s Beard

Author: Kristian Klebofski    Published: 11/20/2023     Updated: 11/06/2024

This Christmas math game is a blast! Kids will crack up as they work toward filling Santa’s fluffy beard, all while playing with and practicing math skills.

Two Santa board game boards sit on a plaid table, each with a couple of cotton balls glued on. Two small bowls sit above the pages filled with cotton balls. On the table is a bottle of Elmer's school glue and a red foam die.

Introducing the cutest Christmas math game

What do you picture when you think of “Christmas activities with kids?”

I have asked this with groups of adults and usually hear things like, “Crafts!” or “Art!” or “Homemade ornaments!”

Christmas is the perfect time for crafts and art and ornaments.

But it’s also “Clause-itively” fantastic for math.

Related: Have you ever seen a 10-foot coloring page? A GIANT Christmas coloring banner is the best addition to your holiday fun.

A child's hand reaches for a cotton ball in a green bowl to place on her Santa's beard Christmas board game. In her other hand is a red foam die.

Materials

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  • Free printable game board
  • Cotton balls
  • Glue – optional 
  • One die – if you don’t have one lying around, check any board games you might have for one
A child holds up one finger while smiling at the camera. In her other hand is a cotton ball. On the table is a red die and a Santa printable.

Directions

Objective: The first person to cover all of the numbers on Santa’s beard wins

Rules: Invite the first player to roll their die and to count the number of dots. Then, have them find that number on their game board and put a cotton ball on it.

There are two of each number on the game board.

As the game progresses, you might roll a number and already have them covered on your game board. If you have nothing to cover, move to the next person.

The first person to cover their board wins!

Whoever is the last person to finish covering Santa’s beard gets to go first in the next round.

Tip: if you want to get lots of use from your game boards, don’t use glue and instead just set cotton balls on the numbers so they’re easy to remove for the next game.

A hand-drawn Santa outline is used for this Christmas math game. In Santa's beard are circles with numbers in them (numbers 1-6). Cotton balls are placed on three of the circles with numbers.

Try introducing subitizing

When you, as an adult, see six dots on a die, chances are you don’t have to count because you just know there are six dots.

You have seen six dots together many, many times, and you don’t need to count anymore to know there are six.

This is called subitizing.

As you play, see if your child can say how many dots are on the die without counting, starting with the smaller quantities.

You might be surprised at how quickly kids can pick this up!

Related: We love subitizing games! Try a similar subitizing game with dinosaurs.

A child adds glue to a number in Santa's beard for the Christmas math game. A hand-drawn Santa outline is used for this Christmas math game. In Santa's beard are circles with numbers in them (numbers 1-6).

There’s more than math in this Christmas math game

Sure, math is the star of the show, but this game has tons of other learning in it, too.

  • Being a good sport: your child won’t win every round, and this is a wonderful opportunity to practice good sportsmanship and celebrate other friends
  • Turn-taking: waiting for your turn is a wonderful skill for games and life
  • Fine motor: rolling a die can be tricky at first, trying to keep it from flying off the table
  • Sensory: cotton balls provide a unique sensory experience for kids to touch
Two pages each with hand-drawn Santa outlines are used for this Christmas math game. In Santa's beard are circles with numbers in them (numbers 1-6). Cotton balls sit on some of the circles with numbers in them.

Done with the Christmas math game? Try this.

On your last round, invite your child to glue their cotton balls to the beard as you play the game. This makes for a fun keepsake when you’re totally done.

Add some color to Santa with crayons, markers, dot markers, watercolors…you name it!

Frequently Asked Questions

What age is this game recommended for?

Any that can safely use the materials. Kids should also have an understanding of counting and how to count to six (however, an adult can help if needed!).

What can I use instead of cotton balls?

Anything small like buttons, beads, marshmallows, dot stampers, etc.

Where do I get the printable?

Download it here for free!

Santa’s Beard Christmas Math Game

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    Kristian

    Hi, I’m Kristian!

    I have spent over 15 years in the preschool classroom, I have a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education, and I was a college professor of education for eight years. My passion is sharing creative learning activities for children and I'm so happy you're here.

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