Free Christmas Addition Puzzles for Kindergarten & 1st Grade

These Christmas addition puzzles are cut and paste math. One piece of a picture comes from each sum you solve. Your child solves a sum, then finds the piece with that number and glues it on.

Solve 3 + 3. Find the 6. Glue it on.

The Christmas tree is for kindergarten, with sums to 10. The gingerbread man is for 1st grade, with sums to 20. A snowman puzzle is a second kindergarten round.

Our free Christmas Addition Puzzles PDF has 7 pages, with the answer key last. There’s no signup and no email. Christmas lights crayon pages and a Christmas math game with dice are separate free PDFs in the list at the top.

You’ll also find this PDF in our math printables library.

Jump to: the PDF · how it works · kindergarten · 1st grade · snowman · lights · dice game · in class · FAQ

What’s in the free Christmas addition puzzles PDF

The PDF has three puzzles. You’ll get a page of picture pieces and a page of sums for each puzzle.

Pages	Puzzle	Sums	Best for
1 and 2	Christmas tree	Within 10	Kindergarten
3 and 4	Gingerbread man	Within 20	1st grade
5 and 6	Snowman	Within 10	Kindergarten, second round
7	Answer key	The finished pictures and every fact	Grown-ups

Print at 100%, one-sided. If you print two-sided, cutting out the pieces would cut up the sums on the back. You’ll need scissors and a glue stick.

How the Christmas addition puzzles work

Each square on the puzzle page has one sum.

1. Solve the sum. Fingers, counters or a ten frame are all fine.
2. Find the piece with that number.
3. Glue it on the square.

The piece covers the sum. Its number still shows in the corner. The key on page 7 lists each sum in its spot, so a grown-up can check later.

Every answer is different on a page. A piece that looks out of place means a sum is wrong. The 6 and the 9 on the pieces are underlined, so they can’t be read upside down. A small tree, gingerbread man or snowman in each corner sorts mixed-up pieces.

Christmas addition worksheets for kindergarten: the tree puzzle (sums to 10)

This is Christmas addition for kindergarten, with sums to 10. Christmas tree addition starts with the small sums.

The 9 sums are 1 + 1, 2 + 1, 2 + 2, 3 + 2, 3 + 3, 6 + 1, 4 + 4, 8 + 1 and 5 + 5. The answers run from 2 to 10, and each one is used once.

Four sums are 5 or less. Kindergartners are expected to know those by heart by the end of the year. The rest are doubles and adding 1.

A ten frame sits under each sum. Count the red counters, then count on with the yellow ones.

In kindergarten, counting on fingers is fine. Our addition for kindergarten guide shows counting all and counting on.

Christmas addition for 1st grade: the gingerbread man puzzle (sums to 20)

The gingerbread man puzzle has 12 sums, and the answers run from 9 to 20. Each fact fits a strategy.

• A quick check within 10. 5 + 4.
• A pair that makes 10. 7 + 3.
• Doubles. 6 + 6, 8 + 8 and 9 + 9.
• A near double. 6 + 7 is 6 + 6 + 1.
• Make ten. 8 + 6, 9 + 6 and 9 + 2.
• Ten and some more. 10 + 7.
• Count on from a teen. 15 + 4.
• Three numbers. In 6 + 4 + 10, the first two make ten.

First graders add within 20 and know sums within 10 quickly. For 8 + 6, think 8 + 2 + 4. That’s 10 + 4, so 14.

For more practice, see ways to make 10, doubles facts and our addition for first graders guide.

Ready for take-away too? Our free Christmas Add and Subtract to 20 pack mixes adding and taking away within 20. It opens with a color by code Christmas tree. Then come missing numbers, ornament number bonds, make 10 with ten frames, an elf maze and word problems with pictures to count. The answer key is last.

A snowman addition puzzle (sums to 10)

There are no Christmas symbols on the snowman puzzle.

It is a second kindergarten round, with 9 new sums within 10. They are 1 + 0, 3 + 0, 3 + 1, 1 + 4, 4 + 2, 5 + 2, 3 + 5, 7 + 2 and 6 + 4. Adding 0 keeps the number the same. And 6 + 4 is a number bond for 10. No sum repeats a tree sum, not even turned around.

Christmas lights addition (sums to 10)

The Christmas Lights Addition PDF is a free extra. There’s no cutting. It has two pages of lights and an answer key. Each string has 10 lights.

Color the first number red and the second number yellow. Then circle how many in all. One row on each page is done as an example. You’ll need a red and a yellow crayon.

Page 1 has 3 + 4, 2 + 3, 7 + 3, 5 + 1 and 4 + 5. Page 2 has five new sums, like 2 + 6 and 6 + 3. Red then yellow shows the two parts of each sum. And 7 + 3 lights the whole string, so it makes 10.

Christmas math game: roll and add

In our Christmas math game, players roll the dice, add, and color a present with that sum.

• Players: 2. You need 2 dice (3 for the 1st grade board) and 1 crayon each, in different colors.
• Roll all the dice. Add up the dots.
• Color one present with that number, in your color. None left? Your turn ends.
• The game ends when every present is colored, or after 10 minutes.
• Who wins: The most presents in your color.
• Tip: Start with the bigger number and count on.

The kindergarten board uses two dice, so it goes up to 12. You’ll count all the dots. The 1st grade board uses three dice, with sums to 18.

Using the puzzles in class and at home

You can use these as a math center, an early-finisher job or a quiet table before the break.

• Kindergarten: pages 1, 2, 5 and 6, then the lights pages. 1st grade: pages 3 and 4, with the tree as a warm-up.
• A center that lasts. Cut and laminate the pieces and the mat once. Kids lay the pieces on instead of gluing.
• At home. One puzzle a sitting is plenty.
• Black and white is fine. Every piece has its number.

Most Christmas math puzzles online are riddles for older kids. These are for kindergarten and 1st grade.

For crayon pages with sums to 10, our Christmas color by number pack has six adding and taking-away pictures. Still counting to 10? Start with our Christmas counting cards.

FAQ

What is a Christmas addition puzzle?

It is any holiday puzzle that uses adding. Some are tree pyramids where you find the missing numbers. Some are picture equations or three-piece match-ups. Ours is a cut and paste puzzle. Each answer matches one picture piece, and the pieces build a Christmas picture.

What if my child glues a piece on the wrong square?

Lay all the pieces on first. Check each sum against the number on its piece. Then glue. You’ll see a wrong piece in the picture, and that tells you which sum to redo.

The takeaways

• Free, 7 pages, no email.
• A tree for kindergarten and a gingerbread man for 1st grade.
• Add, find the piece, then glue. The picture checks the adding.
• Download the free Christmas addition puzzles PDF.

In our math games, kids take their first steps into adding with pictures to help. Print one for the holiday break. These puzzles are screen-free.

Sources

• Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Kindergarten Operations and Algebraic Thinking.
• Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Grade 1 Operations and Algebraic Thinking.
• Common Core Standards Writing Team (2011). Progressions for the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics: K, Counting and Cardinality; K-5, Operations and Algebraic Thinking.
• Frye, D. and colleagues (2013). Teaching Math to Young Children (NCEE 2014-4005). Institute of Education Sciences, What Works Clearinghouse.