Christmas Game to Boost Language Skills
Looking for a simple, fun and meaningful way to support your child’s language development this festive season?
👀 Try “I Spy Christmas Tree” — a no-prep language game designed to help your child grow their vocabulary, listening skills, and sentence building… all while enjoying the magic of your Christmas tree!
How to Play: “I Spy Christmas Tree”
Choose a decoration on the tree — but don’t say what it is!
Take turns giving each other descriptive clues about your chosen decoration.
Use details like:
Shape: round, pointy, star-shaped
Colour: red, sparkly, gold
Size: tiny, big, tall
Texture/material: soft, shiny, wooden, fluffy
Location: top of the tree, bottom branch, near the lights
🎯 The goal? Guess the decoration using the clues — and build language skills along the way!
Why This Game Works
This festive version of “I Spy” supports essential language skills in a playful, low-pressure way. It helps children:
🎄 Expand vocabulary
🎄 Improve listening and attention
🎄 Follow multi-step instructions
🎄 Develop expressive language
Children with language delays or difficulties often use vague or “hook” phrases like:
“I want that one.”
“Over there!”
“I like this.”
These phrases don’t give enough detail for others to understand — and they miss out on rich opportunities to practise new vocabulary. By encouraging your child to describe what they see, you’re helping them:
Use more specific and meaningful words
Build confidence in how they express themselves
Strengthen sentence structure and clarity
👏 The result? Clearer communication and more meaningful conversations.
Make It a Christmas Tradition
“I Spy Christmas Tree” is a great game for family time, car rides, classroom groups, or winding down before bed. It turns everyday decorations into a language-building opportunity.
And best of all — it’s fun!
About the writer: Lauren is a speech pathologist who has over 18 years experience working with children and teenagers who present with a range of learning and communication differences. Lauren is passionate about helping others and loves to find simple and creative ways to make learning fun! The blog posts featured on this site are written on behalf of Remindables and are intended for educational purposes only and to provide general information and an understanding on a particular topic. By using this blog site, you must be aware that the information shown is not to be used as a substitute for therapy advice and you should therefore seek the opinion of suitable professionals to assist you. The views expressed here are the author’s views alone and not those of their employer or others, unless clearly stated. ⠀⠀⠀
