Christmas Left Right Game Printable: 3 Nativity Stories to Pass the Prize

Everyone sits in a circle with one wrapped gift, the host reads a Nativity story aloud, and every time the words LEFT or RIGHT come up, the gift moves one seat that way. Whoever holds it when the reading stops keeps it. This printable version has three original stories set around Luke 2 and Matthew 2, each with a short round of about three minutes and a full reading of six to eight, plus direction cards, starting lots and KJV gift tags.

How a Left Right game works

Players sit in a circle facing the middle, and one person holds a wrapped prize. The host reads the story at a steady pace. On every LEFT cue the gift passes one seat to the left, on every RIGHT cue one seat to the right, so the prize keeps changing hands and nobody knows where it will end up. When the host reaches the final line, or the Short Round Stop line if you are playing the quick version, the person holding the gift wins it. Because the cues in each story are fixed, the starting seat decides a lot, which is why the kit includes eight starting lots. Drawing one before each round picks the first gift holder at random, so the same story can be played again with a different outcome.

Read more: The Christmas Story in Luke 2 and Isaiah 9:6, Verse by Verse

Three stories, two lengths each

The three stories are written for this game and follow the Christmas account in different voices. The first is a family story on the road to Bethlehem, built on Luke 2, with Joseph and Mary traveling, the town full of lamps and the birth in a shelter where cattle fed. The second retells the night at the manger in simple rhyme for children and Sunday school groups. The third follows the shepherds in the fields and then the wise men from the east. Each story page carries a full width Short Round Stop bar, so you can end after about three minutes or read on for the full six to eight. A Scripture anchor in the margin gives the KJV source, for example Luke 2:11, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

Cues you can see from across the circle

The story text is set large so the host can read it aloud in candlelight without losing the place, and the cues stand out from the sentences around them. In the color edition every LEFT is printed in bold oxblood with a left arrow, and every RIGHT in forest green with a right arrow. The black and white edition separates them with a solid underline for LEFT and a dashed underline for RIGHT, so the game still works from an ordinary office printer. Warm Nativity illustrations sit at the top of each story page. Large LEFT and RIGHT direction cards can be held up for younger players who do not read yet, and the gift tags and Scripture anchors carry visible KJV references from Luke, Matthew and James.

What to print and what you need

The download has four PDFs of seven pages each, the color and the black and white edition in both US Letter and A4. Print in portrait orientation at 100 percent or Actual Size, with fit, shrink and automatic cropping turned off, and try one page first, since printer colors and margins vary. Plain white paper is fine for the story pages. Cardstock holds up better for the direction cards, the starting lots and the eight gift tags. The host guide explains setup and play in a few short steps, and a thank you page with printing notes closes each file. Wrapped gifts, paper, ribbon and scissors are not included. The PDFs are not editable. They are licensed for personal use and personal gifts, and the files may not be resold or shared.

What is included

Frequently asked questions

Which way is left when everyone faces the circle?

Use your own left hand. Facing the middle of the circle, a LEFT cue means you pass the gift to the neighbor on your left, which moves it clockwise around the circle, and a RIGHT cue sends it to the neighbor on your right. The host can hold up the matching direction card on each cue.

How long does one round take?

A short round ends at the Short Round Stop bar after about three minutes. Reading the whole story takes roughly six to eight minutes. With three stories in the kit, you can play a quick round with children, a full story with adults, or all three as a series with a new prize each time.

What are the starting lots for?

Each story has the same cues every time, so the winner depends on where the gift starts. The eight starting lots are small slips you cut apart, fold and draw before a round. Whoever the lot points to holds the gift first, which keeps the result fair and lets you replay a story with a different winner.

Are the stories Bible text?

The stories are original retellings written for the game, with the LEFT and RIGHT cues woven into the sentences. The Scripture anchors beside them and the eight gift tags quote the King James Version and name the reference, from Luke, Matthew and James, so the Bible passage behind each story is always on the page.

Is a gift or anything physical included?

No. This is a digital download of four PDFs, and nothing is shipped. Wrapped gifts, paper, cardstock, ribbon, scissors and the other items in the photos are not part of the purchase. Any small present works as the prize, from a candle or an ornament to a Nativity figure for the family manger scene.