Left Right Christmas Game: 7 Stories to Read Aloud

A left right Christmas passing game: seven stories, your names, every pass counted.

7 words needed. What you type stays in this browser.

Example, filled in with our words

The Leaning Tree

It was Christmas Eve in Juniper Hollow, and the whole Pickering family had squeezed into one living room. Supper was nearly ready and there was only one job LEFT: the tree. It stood in its corner, fully dressed, and it leaned a good deal to the LEFT.

"I can fix that," said Nana Ruth, who had said the same thing last year. Nana Ruth crawled under the branches and gave the stand a twist. The tree swung up straight, kept going, and leaned to the RIGHT.

"Too far," said Uncle Dez from the sofa. "Bring it back LEFT. A little more. No, too much. RIGHT a bit. RIGHT a bit more." By now the angel on top was pointing at the kitchen.

Aunt Pearl went out to the garage for something to wedge under the stand and came back with a rubber duck, which was all that was LEFT on the shelf. It went under the RIGHT side of the stand, and the tree stood straight for the first time all week. Everyone clapped.

Then the cat walked in. She looked LEFT, she looked RIGHT, and she went up the trunk like a squirrel. The tree tipped LEFT, the cat jumped RIGHT, and three glass birds rolled under the piano.

"Nobody move," said Nana Ruth. "Little Mo, you have the smallest hands. Reach under on the LEFT side." Little Mo came out with two birds, a marble and a sock. The third bird was RIGHT at the back, behind the pedals, and came out on the end of a wooden spoon.

So the Pickering family tied the tree to the curtain rod with fishing line, which is what they do every year in the end. The cat was LEFT in the hallway to think about what she had done. The rubber duck stayed RIGHT where it was, because nobody dared pull it out.

Supper was ham. Aunt Pearl carved, Uncle Dez passed the plates to the RIGHT, and by the time the pie came out there was not a spare inch on the table.

Afterwards they turned off the lamps. There was not one bulb LEFT dark on the whole string, and if you stood in the RIGHT spot and squinted, the tree did not lean at all.

"Same time next year," said Uncle Dez.

"RIGHT," said Nana Ruth. "But next year I am buying a new stand."

Nobody believed a word of it. Merry Christmas from the Pickering family of Juniper Hollow. Now open the gift you are holding.

The Leaning Tree

How it works

In a left right Christmas story game, everyone holds a wrapped gift and passes it whenever the reader says LEFT or RIGHT. Press Start: give me 7 words to put your names in the first of seven stories, then Print.

How to play

A left right pass the gift Christmas game needs three or more players in a circle, each holding one wrapped present. Read slowly and pause at each word in capitals while the gifts move. At the last line, everyone unwraps what they hold. No gifts? Pass one small nativity figure: whoever ends with it sets it in the scene.

Pick a story by length

For a short Christmas passing game story, read Santa Packs the Sleigh: under 2 minutes, 13 passes. The Leaning Tree, Did You Say Left? and Looking for the Wright House run 3 to 4 minutes with 20 to 25 passes. The Gift Swap Rhyme has 16 couplets. The nativity tellings take 3 and 6 minutes.

Tips

  • One huge box slows a Christmas gift left right game and is easy to track. Set a size limit.
  • Every story leaves each gift one or two seats from its giver, so seat couples at least three seats apart.
  • In Looking for the Wright House, the surname WRIGHT is a pass to the right. Tell the room first.

Questions and answers

Is there a Christmas left right game printable?

Yes. Pick your story from the Story list, type the names it asks for and press Print. The sheet carries only the story. For a left right Christmas game free printable PDF, choose Save as PDF in the print window.

Which is the funny right and left Christmas game?

Did You Say Left? A driver asks "LEFT?", the navigator answers "RIGHT" meaning yes, and the dish on the back seat slides at every wrong turn. It has 25 passes and works as a left right Christmas game for adults at an office party.

Do the nativity stories follow the Bible?

Both are adapted from the World English Bible: Luke 2:1-20, then Matthew 2:1-12, with the passage after each paragraph. The full telling has 20 passes, the short one 9. Neither adds an innkeeper, a donkey or a count of wise men.

Is this the Right family Christmas game?

Not the text that circulates: we did not copy it. Looking for the Wright House is a new story on the same surname pun, about a driver with one parcel for the WRIGHT family. It passes 13 times LEFT and 12 RIGHT.

All 7 stories

Show the list
  • The Leaning Tree A left right gift passing game for Christmas Eve with the family, about 4 minutes. LEFT 9, RIGHT 11. Every gift ends two seats to the right of its giver. Asks for 7 words: 4 × name, 1 × town, 1 × family name, 1 × gift.
  • Did You Say Left? Funny, about 3 minutes. LEFT 12, RIGHT 13. Every gift ends one seat to the right of the person who brought it. Asks for 6 words: 4 × name, 1 × town, 1 × food.
  • Santa Packs the Sleigh The Santa left right game, and the shortest: about 2 minutes. LEFT 7, RIGHT 6. Every gift ends one seat to the left of the person who brought it. Asks for 5 words: 3 × name, 1 × town, 1 × gift.
  • The Gift Swap Rhyme A left right Christmas poem game: 16 couplets at a white elephant gift exchange, about 3 minutes. LEFT 9, RIGHT 7. Every gift ends two seats left of its giver. Asks for 4 words: 2 × name, 1 × town, 1 × gift.
  • Looking for the Wright House Pun, about 4 minutes. LEFT 13, RIGHT 12 (the name WRIGHT counts as RIGHT). Every gift ends one seat to the left of the person who brought it. Asks for 5 words: 3 × name, 1 × town, 1 × gift.
  • The Nativity, Full Telling A Christmas nativity story left right game from Luke 2 and Matthew 2, about 6 minutes. LEFT 11, RIGHT 9. Every gift ends two seats to the left of its giver. Asks for 3 words: 1 × town, 1 × group, 1 × name.
  • The Nativity, Short Telling Nativity, short, about 3 minutes. LEFT 5, RIGHT 4. Every gift ends one seat to the left of the person who brought it. Asks for 3 words: 1 × name, 1 × group, 1 × town.

The kinds of words the game asks for

  • Name a first name; a made-up one is fine. More examples: Sir Reginald, Professor Plum, Doctor Noodle.
  • Food something to eat, like porridge. More examples: pickles, custard, cheese.

How these stories were written: The two nativity tellings are adapted from the World English Bible, a public domain translation (https://ebible.org/eng-web/LUK02.htm and https://ebible.org/eng-web/MAT02.htm, checked 2026-09-20): shortened in places, with LEFT and RIGHT worked in, so do not read them as that translation. The other five stories were written for this site in September 2026. Pass counts are counted by script from the final text. Licence: Nativity tellings: adapted from the World English Bible (public domain). All other stories: own work.