Help the Elves With a Digital Christmas Escape Room for Kids! 

This Christmas-themed escape room for upper elementary and middle school is the perfect end-of-year adventure for kids with math puzzles designed to test their skills. Available as a PowerPoint with printable PDF “case file” handouts for individual students or groups, plus printable instructions for you, your class will have to demonstrate their teamwork and communication skills to escape the digital “room” and help the elves out of a jam.

The escape room follows the story of Nutmeg McGumdrop, an elf who is the mayor of the town called Elfton. It seems that a troublesome elf has begun to play tricks on unsuspecting townsfolk in the lead-up to Christmas, and Mayor McGumdrop needs your class to help catch the culprit responsible!

Students will work their way through the puzzles, using clues from the elves along the way. We’ve even included some holiday music to bring a festive feel to the escape room play!

Thanks to one of our Ambassadors – @harryteachers for showing his class enjoying this resource in his classroom.

Crack the Christmas Escape Room Puzzles and Catch the Culprit

To better meet the needs of your students, this resource includes three different case files to easily differentiate the activity:

1. The circle version of the escape room includes counting collections up to 20, following straightforward directions, and multiplying tens by a single-digit number.
2. The triangle version of the Christmas activity includes multiplying single-digit numbers, multi-step directions, and adding numbers to a four-digit number.
3. The square version of the game includes multiplying a three-digit number by a single-digit number, order of operations, dividing a four-digit number by a single-digit number (using short division without a remainder), and counting collections up to 50.

Easy to Implement Christmas Escape Room Fun

We know you don’t have a ton of extra time to set up stations and areas for an epic escape room activity as you approach winter break, and the good news is you don’t have to. This downloadable Christmas escape room has been thoughtfully designed and created by an experienced teacher, so it has everything you need! 

Here’s a simple guide for how to implement this escape room in your classroom:

1. Print copies of the PDF (case files) for each student or group of students.
2. On the PowerPoint (in Slide Show mode), display the first slide for the students to see.
3. Click the begin button to display the introduction letter and read together as a class.
4. Once you have read this, click Begin again, and the music will start, and the map will animate through day and night. The map is the main source of information for your students.
5. Let your little investigators begin!

This super entertaining Christmas escape room resource is exactly what you’ve been looking for to keep those minds ticking and busy as the excitement around Christmas draws closer.

Teacher Tips for Using This Digital Escape Room With Your Students

Want to get the most out of this Christmas-time resource? Here are some tips from our teacher team that will help:

1. A second device is super handy. This will allow your students to attempt to solve the investigation without interrupting those on the map.
2. The train and time of day come into play for the Commute Chaos puzzle. The answer sheet will provide you with more information.
3. The Christmas tree is not a regular tree!
4. Have some scrap paper handy for students to draw the routes taken in The Pom Pom Parade and Commute Chaos puzzles.

The clues that your students will need to crack the code are all available in this day/night map of Elfton! You might want to bookmark this page to use this version of the video when your class is completing this escape room. Just click on the little “Fullscreen” button in the corner of the video to take over your screen!

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to download both the PowerPoint and the PDF. Both of these resources are needed for this activity to work.

Note: Due to the animations included, this resource must be used in PowerPoint. The animations do not function on other platforms.

More Digital Escape Room Fun for Kids!

Looking for more puzzling fun for your students? Check out these escape rooms from our teacher team:

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The Lost Library Card – Whole Class Escape Game

Use inference and problem-solving skills to decipher the puzzles and uncover the hidden code.

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The Case of the Missing Football – Estimating Products Escape Activity for 4th Grade

Uncover the identity of the thief who stole the football with a printable estimating products escape room activity.

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The Escape From Millbrook Manor – Halloween Escape Room

Practice computation skills by solving puzzles with this differentiated Halloween escape room game.