Christmas Games for the Whole Family: Star on Top, a Printable Christmas Dice Game
Dinner is over, the plates are cleared, and all that is left on the table is candles, mugs of cocoa and that unhurried feeling that only comes once a year. The children are not ready for bed and Grandma is not ready to leave. Star on Top was made for exactly this hour: one of those Christmas games for the whole family where everyone decorates their own Christmas tree on a sheet of paper.
It is a roll & write game that you print at home: one player rolls 2 dice for everyone, and each player decides which of the two numbers to hang as a bauble on their own tree. It is for 1–6 players, ages 6 and up, and a game takes 15–20 minutes. Everyone plays at the same time, so nobody waits for a turn – even with three generations around the table.
How to play this Christmas dice game in 5 steps
- Everyone gets a pencil and a tree sheet with 21 empty baubles in 6 rows.
- One player rolls 2 dice. The roll counts for everyone.
- Everyone chooses 1 of the 2 numbers and writes it in an empty bauble on their own tree.
- The bottom row takes any number. Higher up, a bauble can hang only when both baubles below it are hung, and your number must be the same as or bigger than the smaller one.
- If neither number fits anywhere, cross out (X) 1 empty bauble. After 21 rolls the tree is full and you count your points.
An example: the dice show 2 and 5. Mia writes 2 in her bottom row. Grandma Rose prefers the 5 and puts it in the golden bauble in the bottom right corner – it will be worth 5 points at the end. Ben already has a 1 and a 3 in his bottom row and writes 2 right above them, because 2 is at least as big as the smaller number below (1). One roll – three different trees.
Small numbers below, big numbers in the golden baubles
This is where the fun is. A bauble higher up needs a number at least as big as the smaller one below it, so small numbers in the lower rows leave room for more baubles above. At the same time, the six golden baubles score as many points as the number in them – and there you want high numbers. The simple rule even a first-grader remembers: normal bauble – the smaller die; golden bauble – the bigger die. Players who always write the bigger number quickly push up the minimum for the rows above and end up crossing out more baubles.
Garlands and the star on top
Every hung bauble that is not golden scores 1 point, and every golden bauble scores its number instead. The tree also has three garlands: a garland lights up when all its numbers are different and none is crossed out. The bottom one scores 6 points, the middle one 4 and the top one 3. And when your top bauble hangs, you colour the star: 5 more points. The player with the most points wins.
Event cards: six little helpers
In the full edition, an event card is turned over before every third roll. It counts for everyone, but only for that roll. Aurora the Snowy Owl lets your number be smaller than the numbers below. Twinkle the Little Star lets everyone choose any number from 1 to 6. Jingle the Bell adds a third die, Flurry the Snowflake lets you write a number 1 higher or 1 lower, and Pip the Elf lets a bauble hang on just 1 bauble below. Mittens the Kitten plays with the dice, so everyone must use the smaller one.
Christmas games for the whole family: who Star on Top is for
- Families with children aged 6 and up – and their grandparents. The numbers only go from 1 to 6, but the choices are real.
- Christmas Eve, Advent evenings and the long afternoons of the winter holidays.
- Solo players: the full edition has a solo ladder, from “Little tree” to “Star tree!”.
- Families split across borders: the whole game is translated into 7 languages, so a grandmother in Sofia and her grandchildren in Munich can play the same game, each in their own language.
Want a second game for the same evening? Take a look at our printable Christmas board game for the whole family.
Free or full edition
The free edition has the tree sheet (A4 and US Letter) and 8-page rules with “The game in 1 minute” and an example roll. You also need 2 normal dice and a pencil for every player.
The full edition (€3.90) adds 12 event cards with 6 little helpers and 6 help cards, 2 fold-up dice, a solo ladder, 10-page rules with a full example game, an ink-saver tree sheet and card backs, and a print-shop card file. Both editions come in 7 languages: English, Български, Deutsch, Français, Italiano, Español, Polski.
Download the free edition See the full edition
All three Christmas games in one download. Star on Top, Holly Lane and Race to the Table separately: €3.90 + €5.90 + €4.90 = €14.70. In the Christmas Game Night bundle: €9.90.
What you need to play
A printer and plain paper for the tree sheets and rules. For the cards and dice of the full edition, thick card (250–300 gsm), scissors and glue. Tip: slide a tree sheet into a clear plastic sleeve and use a whiteboard marker – one print lasts a whole season of Christmas evenings.
And once the star on top is coloured in, the tree can go on the fridge until the next game.
AI-generated scenes · The files are for personal use · Not suitable for children under 3: small parts.