Take a break from holiday shopping and decorating to solve these tricky Christmas brainteasers
19 Christmas Brainteasers You’ll Love Unwrapping
Updated on Nov. 04, 2024
Nutcracker puzzle
Here’s a printable brainteaser that may leave you stumped: There are 10 differences in these pictures. Can you find them all?
Answer
We’ve circled the different items in red. Did you miss any?
Toys for all
Which toy belongs to each child?
Answer
The first boy gets the truck, the first girl gets the rabbit, the second girl gets the doll and the second boy gets the books.
Bright, shining tree
Which missing piece fits into the tree?
Answer
Circle number 4 is the missing piece.
Present delivery
Find the path that Santa should take to deliver presents to every chimney. Use ladders and stairs to climb from level to level, and don’t let Santa jump up or climb any walls.
Answer
Did you find the right path?
Gingerbread mayhem
Can you spot the seven differences between the two gingerbread pictures?
Mismatched mittens
Find the mitten that has no pair.
Answer
Mitten 12 has no pair. The matching mittens are:
- 1 and 9
- 2 and 10
- 3 and 4
- 5 and 14
- 6 and 7
- 8 and 15
- 11 and 13
Winter math
This Christmas brainteaser may boost your brain power: Can you figure out what number the lanterns, snowmen and trees represent to solve the final equation?
Answer
The lampposts are the number 15, the snowmen are the number 4 and the trees are the number 3. Then in the last equation, a light post with only one light would represent the number 5. If you go by the order of operations, 3 multiplied by 4 is 12. Then, if you add 15 and subtract 5, you’ll get 22.
Maze to the sleigh
This Christmas brainteaser might be harder than some of our toughest riddles: Find Santa’s way through the maze to his sleigh.
Answer
We didn’t say it would be easy with all those loops! But did you make it to Santa’s sleigh?
Sugarplum math
Do you like math riddles? If so, you may like this Christmas brainteaser: First, find out what numbers the mitten, ornament and tree represent. Then, find out the total for the mitten, tree and ornament combined.
Answer
The ornament represents the number 6, the mitten represents the number 2 and the tree represents the number 7. In total, the ornament, the mitten and the tree add up to 15. Did you get the correct sum?
The missing piece
This may be one of the best Christmas brainteasers for kids: Find the puzzle piece that perfectly fits in the empty spot.
Answer
Puzzle piece number 2.
Let it snow
Match the pairs of identical snowflakes. The angle of rotation does not matter.
Answer
The pairs that are identical are:
- 1 and 12
- 2 and 11
- 3 and 10
- 4 and 9
- 5 and 8
- 6 and 7
Answer
The shadow in the bottom row all the way to the left matches the skiing snowman.
Answer
How many did you get?
Snowman twins
Which two snowmen are identical?
Answer
If you guessed snowmen 3 and 8, you are correct!
Gift boxes
Find the two gift boxes that are exactly the same.
Answer
The two boxes with the leaf pattern on them are the same.
Elves galore
See if you can find the 10 differences in these two photos.
Answer
Did you spot the differences in the photos, including the snowman and cat?
Christmas maze
This Christmas brainteaser may not be the hardest maze, but it sure is fun: Which house is each toy or treat going to?
Answer
- Hat: 4
- Cake: 7
- Toy: 1
- Car: 5
- Mitten: 6
- Stocking: 3
- Star: 2
Similar stockings
Which two stockings are exactly the same?
Answer
The second stocking in the first row is identical to the fourth stocking in the last row.
Santa winter scene
See if you can find the 10 differences in these two pictures of Santas alongside some snowmen and a reindeer.
Answer
Did you spot them all?
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Reader’s Digest is known for our humor and brain games, including quizzes, puzzles, riddles, word games, trivia, math, pattern and logic puzzles, guessing games, crosswords, rebus, hidden objects and spot-the-difference challenges. We’ve earned prestigious ASME awards for our entertainment content and have produced dozens of brainteaser books, including Word Searches, Word Power, Use Your Words, Fun Puzzles and Brain Ticklers, Mind Stretchers, Ultimate Christmas Puzzles and more. Our 10 published volumes of Mind Stretchers were edited by Allen D. Bragdon, founder of The Brainwaves Center and editor of Games magazine. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
