Thanksgiving and Christmas Printables: What to Print and When (Holiday Checklist)
The holidays go more smoothly when the paper side is done early. Place cards, game sheets, an Advent calendar and party invitations are small jobs, but they all land in the same three weeks if you leave them. This plan spreads them from mid-November to New Year's Eve, so each one takes an evening at most.
Everything below can be printed at home on US Letter or A4. Where we mention our own printables, the quickest route is the Holiday Printables Bundle ($15). It includes the Thanksgiving Table & Games Pack, the Family Advent Activity Calendar and 24 Friendsmas party games in one download.
Before you start: paper and printer
- Cardstock (65 to 110 lb / 176 to 300 gsm) for place cards, menus, Advent tags and anything that stands up or gets handled.
- Plain printer paper for bingo cards, trivia sheets and score sheets.
- Print a test page at "Actual size" or 100%. "Fit to page" shrinks cut lines.
- Check your ink a week before Thanksgiving, not the night before.
Week of November 16: Thanksgiving table
Thanksgiving printables do two jobs: they make the table look finished, and they give people something to do between courses and pie.
- Place cards. Type the names into a fillable PDF so they come out neat, then print on cardstock. Seating people on purpose (not next to the person they came with) makes dinner conversation better.
- A menu card. One per table, or one per place setting if you want it to feel special. Typing the dishes also helps the host plan the oven schedule.
- A gratitude tree or leaves. Everyone writes one thing on a paper leaf before dinner, and you read them out over dessert. Kids love this one.
- Two or three games. Gratitude bingo for the whole table, trivia in teams, and would-you-rather cards for the cousins' end. Our guide to printable Thanksgiving games covers how to run each one.
All four are in the Thanksgiving Table & Games Pack ($6), in matching vintage botanical colors.
November 27 to 30: set up the Advent calendar
An activity Advent calendar starts on December 1, so set it up the weekend after Thanksgiving, while everyone's still home.
- Print the activity cards and the countdown board on cardstock.
- Before you put the cards in order, open your real calendar and mark the busy nights: concerts, late shifts, travel. Give those nights the 10-minute activities, and save outings for weekends.
- Leave a couple of blank cards for "rest night" or "family's choice".
Our list of 24 family Advent calendar activity ideas has a full month of ideas, most of them free. The printable version is the Family Advent Activity Calendar ($6).
First week of December: invitations
If you're hosting a Friendsmas, a dinner or a New Year's Eve party, send the invitation three weeks ahead. December weekends fill up fast. An editable template means you can text it as an image and print a matching menu later. See editable Christmas party invitation templates for wording ideas, or use the Holiday Hosting Suite ($9).
Mid-December: party games
Print the game sheets a few days before each party, and print more than you think you need, because guests bring guests.
- A mingle game for the first 30 minutes, such as "find the guest who".
- A gift exchange game, like the left right story or white elephant, in the middle of the evening.
- Christmas movie bingo or trivia later on, in teams.
The full running order is in our guide to Christmas party games for adults. The printable set is Friendsmas & Holiday Party Games ($6, 24 games).
December 31: New Year
New Year's Eve bingo, resolution cards and a "my year in review" sheet are an easy way to fill the hour before midnight. They're included in the party games set too.
A simple holiday printables checklist
| When | What to print | Paper |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 16 to 22 | Place cards, menu, gratitude leaves, Thanksgiving games | Cardstock + plain |
| Nov 27 to 30 | Advent activity cards, countdown board, tags | Cardstock |
| Dec 1 to 7 | Party invitations (or send them by text) | Cardstock |
| 3 days before each party | Bingo cards, trivia, gift exchange story | Plain |
| Dec 30 | New Year's Eve games | Plain |
Buy once, use every year
Print from the PDF each year, so nothing wears out. Keep last year's gratitude leaves and Advent cards in an envelope with the year written on it. Reading them back becomes its own small tradition.
Get the Holiday Printables Bundle on Payhip: Thanksgiving, Advent and party games in one download, $15. Make room for what matters.
