Christmas Don’t Eat Pete! – Free Printable Game
Use this free printable to play the classic game Don’t Eat Pete! Perfect for family gatherings and easy enough for little ones to play.
You’re going to love Don’t Eat Pete! This easy game has been around forever, and for good reason. It’s extremely simple, the rules are incredibly easy to understand and follow, and it takes almost nothing to play. You can play this game with toddlers, preschoolers, and even elementary-aged kiddos. It really is the perfect family game night for kids of all ages!
This Christmas version of the printable game is a super cute addition to your holiday celebrations. It features holiday season clipart, including Santa, a Christmas tree, and a reindeer!
Why you want this game
- simple
- low-prep
- free printable
- easy enough for young children; fun enough for older ones
- so much fun!
What do I need for Christmas Don’t Eat Pete?
Printable
You can get your free Christmas Don’t Eat Pete printable by clicking on the link. I recommend printing this to white cardstock to make the game a bit more durable, although a regular piece of paper does work as well.
If you’d like to make smaller versions for parties, you can print several to a sheet.
Small Treats
My family favorite treat is M&Ms, but you can also play with other candy pieces, goldfish crackers, blueberries, chocolate chips, or anything else you can fit in the square. You will need 16 for each game, and you will probably want to play several times, which is why I recommend something you can buy in bulk, like a bag of M&Ms or goldfish.
How do I play Don’t Eat Pete?
Start playing by putting one small treat on each of the squares on the Don’t Eat Pete game board. Then, have one person leave the room. While they’re chilling in the hallway, the rest of the group chooses a square that will now be dubbed “Pete.” When Pete has been chosen, the person who left the room can come back.
The goal of the game is for the player who left the room to eat as many pieces of candy as they can without eating the one on the square the remaining players have chosen as Pete. The player should take the treats from the squares one at a time while everyone else watches. The player will continue to take treats until they they pick up the treat from the square that is Pete. When they pick up Pete’s treat, the rest of the players shout, “Don’t eat Pete!” and that player’s turn is over. At that point, it’s the next player’s turn. That player will go out of the room, you replace the eaten treats, and begin again.
If you play the game this way, there really aren’t any winners or losers. This is maybe the best part of this great game. It means that people of all ages can enjoy this, even if they don’t have the capacity to win or lose well (yet!).
Variations for Different Ages
For Very Young Players
For very young children, we give them the rest of the treats on their squares, even after they’ve eaten Pete. For older kids, we cut them off as soon as they eat Pete.
For Older Children
Instead of eating each small candy as they pick them up, you can have older children place the candies in a pile. When everyone has had a turn, the players can count their piles. The person with the most treats wins!
