The holiday season is a time for families to come together and create cherished memories. One delightful way to celebrate this special time of year is by embarking on a family trip to see Christmas light displays. While the enchanting lights themselves are enough to warm anyone’s heart, adding an element of fun and excitement can make the experience even more magical. That’s where playing bingo comes in! ChristmasLightsGuide.com is proud to provide you with a free set of 12 Christmas bingo cards as part of this 3-step plan for your Christmas bingo game.
Table of Contents
Step 1: Download our Free Printable Christmas Bingo Cards
We have designed a set of 12 different bingo cards featuring common symbols of Christmas light displays that are easy for any age to identify. The symbols include: teddy bear, bell, candle, candy cane, chimney, Christmas light bulb, Christmas tree, puppy, elf, gift, gingerbread house, gingerbread man, grinch, heart, nativity, nutcracker, ornament, reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflake, snow globe, snowman, star, stocking and wreath.
Step 2: Plan a tour of Christmas lights near you
Christmas light displays are an iconic holiday tradition that never fails to spread joy and wonder. From twinkling trees to dazzling light shows, these displays transform neighborhoods, parks, and even entire towns into magical winter wonderlands. Families gather to stroll through these illuminated wonderlands, taking in the festive atmosphere and marveling at the creativity and effort put into these displays.
There are several online resources I used to plan my Christmas lights tour. Here are my favorites:
Tacky Light Tour (Best)
This is by far my favorite! I’ve found the Tacky Light Tour to be the best online resource for Christmas light displays near me. They were the first website to offer a mapping technology back in 2005 and since then www.tackylighttour.com has been my go to Christmas listing website. On their website it is easy to search for Christmas displays near a specific address and with one-click I can generate driving directions to the displays I have saved as my favorites. The information about Christmas displays is updated by the decorators themselves and Tacky Light Tour tells me when the information was last updated. I’m sure my crew will be amazed on our trip, because displays list on the Tacky Light Tour must have at least10,000 Christmas lights. That is a lot of lights! Trust me!
Christmas Light Finder (Pretty Good)
Another website that has been around for as long as the Tacky Light Tour is the Christmas Light Finder. They include displays they’ve added to the site and those added by others. It is not so much a community as it a simple listing service, because there isn’t a way to rate or review the displays or upload pictures like Tacky Light Tour encourages. Recently, they’ve added search functionality and they have an impressive list of displays, so you should check them out. However, they don’t provide driving directions to multiple displays and they allow displays with any number of lights, so it takes a bit more work to plan an awesome trip to see the best lights.
Other Tools for Planning a Christmas Light Tour
Here are some other places you may find nice lists of Christmas lights near you:
- Your local online newspaper: Some newspapers write annual articles about the best displays in an area.
- Online social networks: Sometimes groups within Facebook and Nextdoor are great for posting a question about the best displays in an area.
Step 3: Preparing your Tour Van
Now, imagine combining the enchantment of Christmas light displays with the excitement of bingo. This simple addition can elevate your family trip to new heights of fun and togetherness. Here’s how to make it happen:
- Print Bingo Cards: Print our bingo cards with images or descriptions of common Christmas light decorations and scenes you might encounter during your visit.
- Bingo Markers: Provide each family member with washable markers or stickers to mark off the items on their bingo cards as they spot them during the light display tour. I found out the hard way and strongly encourage you to use washable markers to keep your car from permanent damage!
- Prizes: Consider having small prizes for the winners or even rewards for everyone who participates. I recommend simple holiday-themed treats, but if you want to award the winner with a partridge in a pear tree that is up to you!
How to Play Multiple Rounds
If you’ve planned a tour to see many Christmas light displays, then you may have a bingo winner very early in your trip. To make the bingo game last longer plan multiple rounds of bingo
Win by Configuration
Winning by configuration is where the winner must complete a certain configuration to win. Examples include:
- Win by row or horizontally
- Win by column or vertically
- Win by diagonal
- Win by 4 corners
- Win by diamond
- Win by square
Bring Extra Christmas Bingo Cards
For as many players as you have print extra sets of bingo cards, so that after a player has one a round everyone is presented with entirely new cards to play again and again.
Benefits of Playing Bingo at Christmas Light Displays
- Enhanced Engagement: Bingo adds an element of engagement and excitement to the Christmas light display trip, making it even more enjoyable for family members of all ages.
- Family Bonding: The game encourages family members to work together, share their findings, and celebrate each other’s successes, fostering stronger bonds and lasting memories.
- Attention to Detail: Bingo can turn the trip into a scavenger hunt, prompting participants to pay closer attention to the intricate details of the light displays.
- Entertainment Value: Bingo turns the visit into an interactive experience, keeping everyone entertained throughout the evening.
How to Play Bingo
Before we dive into the details of playing bingo during your Christmas light adventure, let’s briefly go over the basics of this beloved game. Bingo is a game of chance where players mark off numbers on a card as they are randomly called out. The goal is to complete a specific pattern, such as a line, diagonal, or full card, before anyone else. It’s easy to learn and perfect for all ages, making it an ideal choice for a family activity.
A family trip to see Christmas light displays is already a wonderful holiday tradition, but by adding a game of bingo, you can infuse even more joy and excitement into the experience. It’s a simple yet effective way to engage family members of all ages, fostering togetherness and creating cherished memories that will last a lifetime. So, this holiday season, gather your loved ones, grab your bingo cards, and embark on a magical journey through the shimmering wonderland of Christmas lights. Bingo and Christmas lights: a perfect combination for holiday joy!
