Bring festive excitement and targeted numeracy practice to your classroom with the Christmas Eve Race Game: Roll & Move. Students race along a cheerful board to help Santa deliver presents while practising number recognition, subitising, counting on, and turn taking. Simple rules and clear visuals make this the perfect whole class warm up, small group station, or independent centre in the lead up to Christmas.

The game is easy to prep and highly reusable. Print on thick white cardstock for durability, add counters, and you are ready to go. Players start on START, roll a die, and move that number of spaces. Presents prompt a missed turn, candy canes create a rewarding slide forward, and the first to reach Santa’s sleigh wins. The built in penalties and boosts keep engagement high and naturally encourage mathematical talk.

Different pathways and thematic icons support visual learners, while opportunities to verbalise moves build fluency and confidence. Extend learning by having students record number sentences that match their rolls or design their own holiday board variations. With print friendly options and simple storage, this game brings low prep joy to the busiest time of year.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• ✅ Recognise numerals 1 to 6 and connect them to dot patterns
• ✅ Subitise small collections shown on a die face
• ✅ Count on from a given number to determine movement
• ✅ Use ordinal language to describe position and progress
• ✅ Follow rules, take turns, and develop good sportsmanship
• ✅ Explain thinking using number sentences and simple strategies

What’s Included:

• Full colour race game boards with START and Santa’s sleigh finish
• Symbols that trigger actions - presents for miss a turn and candy canes for slide forward
• Ink friendly version for economical printing
• Optional recording sheet for number sentences or move tracking
• Teacher instruction page with rules, variations, and differentiation ideas

Materials Needed:

• Printed boards on cardstock or laminated for reuse
• One die per group and small counters or tokens
• Dry erase markers if using laminated recording sheets
• Zip lock bags or envelopes for tidy storage
• Optional timer for fast paced fluency rounds

How to Use:

1. Model a sample round so students understand the actions and turn order.
2. Players begin on START. On each turn, roll the die, subitise or count, and move forward that many spaces.
3. If landing on a present, miss the next turn. If landing on a candy cane, slide to the connected space.
4. Encourage students to say their move aloud and, if using, record a matching number sentence.
5. The first player to reach Santa’s sleigh wins. Reset quickly for the next group.

Ideas for Classroom Use:

• 💡 Run as a maths warm up to practise counting on and subitising
• 💡 Add to rotations with differentiated boards at varied challenge levels
• 💡 Use a whole class relay version where teams pass the die to the next player
• 💡 Incorporate timed rounds to boost fluency and focus
• 💡 Link to writing by describing the route or creating holiday themed obstacles

Top Teacher Tips:

• 💛 Print on cardstock and laminate so boards last all season
• 💛 Colour code counters to help students track their piece at a glance
• 💛 Differentiate by adding number cards 1 to 3 for beginners or 1 to 10 with two dice for a challenge
• 💛 Encourage mathematical talk with prompts like I rolled 4, counted on from 12 to 16
• 💛 Store each set in a labelled bag with a die and counters for grab and go use

Christmas Eve Race Game: Roll & Move blends joyful seasonal fun with meaningful numeracy practice, building confidence, fluency, and positive social play in a quick to prep, easy to manage format.