Holiday Mad Libs: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and more

Holidays are when Mad Libs are played the most: the whole family is in one room, there's time to kill before dinner, and nobody wants to learn a new board game. A themed story makes it even better. Here's a holiday-by-holiday guide, with free stories you can play online.

Halloween Mad Libs

Haunted houses, nervous vampires and a witch whose cauldron keeps making soup. Halloween Mad Libs are perfect for sleepovers, class parties and the hour before trick-or-treating.

• Play the spooky stories.
• Ask for "a scary noise" or "a monster" to keep the theme going.
• Turn off the lights and read the result by torchlight.

Thanksgiving Mad Libs

The time between "dinner's almost ready" and actually eating is perfect for a Mad Lib. Thanksgiving stories about the turkey, the family argument and the parade are a hit with every generation. Try the food stories, or write one about your own family dinner. Our guide to making your own Mad Libs has a template.

A fun Thanksgiving tradition: have everyone fill in a "What I'm thankful for" Mad Lib and read them out at the table.

Christmas Mad Libs

Christmas Mad Libs are a classic family game: letters to Santa, the elves' union meeting and the reindeer who refuses to fly. Play the holiday stories, or get the Christmas Pack in the app for a whole set written by our team. They also work well at office Christmas parties as a quick icebreaker.

New Year's Eve Mad Libs

Write a "New Year's resolutions" Mad Lib and have everyone fill it in before midnight. Read them out the following New Year's Eve to see who kept them.

Valentine's Day Mad Libs

A love letter with blanks is funny whether you're a couple, a group of friends on Galentine's Day or a class of eight-year-olds. Try the romance stories or the Romantic Pack in the app.

Easter Mad Libs

The Easter bunny's day off, an egg hunt gone wrong, a chick with big plans. The Easter Pack in the app is made for family Easter mornings and spring classroom parties.

Tips for family gatherings

• Use party mode. Pass one phone around the table. Each player's words are highlighted in their own color, so Grandma gets the credit for "underpants".
• Mix ages. Pair a young kid with an adult so the kid can answer and the adult can help with word types.
• Make it about the family. A story about last year's burnt turkey or the year the tree fell over is funnier than any generic story.
• Use AI for a quick custom story. Write with AI turns a one-line idea into a holiday story with blanks.
• Print a few. For a table with no phones, use our free printable Mad Libs.

Holiday Mad Libs in the classroom

Before a holiday break, a themed Mad Lib is a fun way to practice grammar when attention spans are short. Project a story on the board and collect answers from the class, or have groups write their own holiday stories and swap them. Filter for kid-friendly stories, and see our guide to fill-in-the-blank stories for kids.

On Christmas Eve, Santa got stuck in the dishwasher, so the reindeer delivered the presents by yodelling. Everyone got a slimy trombone.

Play a holiday story now. It's free.

Mad Libs is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC. Fun Libs is an independent game and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Mad Libs or Penguin Random House.