Some gifts get opened, admired and put away. A word search made from your family's names gets solved at the kitchen table, passed around, argued over and laughed about. Every word in the grid means something to the people holding the pencil: the grandkids, the dog, the street you grew up on, the pie nobody else can make.
We make personalized word search puzzles here at King Bear Squad, the same small family company behind the King Bear Squad word search mysteries. This guide covers what makes a family-name puzzle work, how to pick the words, and how to order one from us if you would rather not build it yourself.
Want us to make it for you?
Our Custom Word Search Puzzle is $59.99 for one puzzle, $99.99 for three or $149.99 for five. A real person builds it from your words and emails it to you within 2 business days. Ordering for Halloween? Place your order by October 28.
Why a family name word search makes a great gift
- It is personal without being fussy. Names, places and inside jokes are all you need.
- Everyone can play. Kids, parents and grandparents can all find a name in the grid.
- It is printable. Print one for every seat at the table, tuck one in a card, or frame one.
- It fits almost any occasion. Holidays, birthdays, family reunions, retirements, baby showers, bridal showers and classrooms all work.
How to choose the words
A good family puzzle mixes a few kinds of words. Aim for 15 to 24 words in total. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- People: everyone's first name, plus the nicknames only your family uses. Grandma, Grandpa, Nana and Pop count.
- Pets: the family dog, the cat who runs the house, the goldfish with a very fancy name.
- Places: the hometown, the lake, the grandparents' street, the beach you visit every summer.
- Traditions: the holiday foods, the board game everyone fights over, the song someone always sings.
- Inside jokes: the funny word a toddler made up years ago that the whole family still says.
For example, a Christmas puzzle for our family might hide EVELYN, GRANDMA, GRANDPA, LITTLE BEAR, COCOA, COOKIES, MITTENS, CAROLS and GIFTS.
A few practical tips:
- Keep each word to 15 letters or fewer so it fits a 15 by 15 grid. Spaces are dropped, so LITTLE BEAR becomes LITTLEBEAR.
- Mix long and short words. A grid full of three-letter words is hard to place and less fun to solve.
- Skip punctuation and numbers. Write out "Fourth of July" or pick a different word.
- Think about the solvers. For young kids or anyone who wants an easier puzzle, say so when you order.
Add a secret message
This is our favorite part. In our puzzles, the letters that are not part of any word spell a hidden message when you read them in order, left to right. It might be "We love you Grandma," "Merry Christmas from all of us," or "Happy 80th birthday Pop." The solver only finds it after the last word is circled, and that little surprise is the best part of the gift.
If you make one yourself, check the filler letters
There are free word search makers online, and they can work well for a quick classroom sheet. Before you print a family gift, though, read the random filler letters carefully in all eight directions: across, down, backward, up and on both diagonals. Random letters can accidentally spell words you would never want in a puzzle for Grandma. That is why our puzzle software checks every grid against a list of words that should never appear, and a person checks the finished puzzle word by word before it goes out.
How our custom word search works
Our Custom Word Search Puzzle is made to order for you:
- You send up to 24 words, a title, a date and a line for the bottom of the page.
- A real person builds your 15 by 15 puzzle with our puzzle software, with every word hidden exactly once and your secret message in the unused letters.
- You get a print-ready, letter-size PDF, a matching answer key and a PNG image for phones and screens.
- It arrives by email within 2 business days, often sooner.
- If you want anything changed, we fix it at no charge.
- Print it as many times as you like for your own family or event. Three-puzzle and five-puzzle options are there for a whole party table or a classroom.
What the price covers
A free online maker costs nothing, and for a quick classroom sheet that is fine. Ours is $59.99 for one puzzle because a person makes and checks every one for a single family:
- Your words, title, date and closing line, set on a print-ready page.
- Your own secret message, built into the leftover letters.
- A check of every grid against a list of words that should never appear, plus a final read by a person.
- A matching answer key and a phone-size image.
- Free changes if anything is not right.
- Print it as many times as you like for your own family or event.
Need more than one? Three puzzles are $99.99, about $33 each, and five are $149.99, about $30 each.
To order, choose your puzzle on the product page, then send your words through our Personalize page. It takes about two minutes.
Ways to give it
- Christmas table: print one at each place setting and see who finishes first.
- Grandparents' gift: frame the solved puzzle with a family photo beside it.
- Family reunion: put the whole family tree in one grid and hand out copies with lunch.
- Birthday card: fold a copy inside the card and put the birthday wish in the secret message.
- Last-minute gift: because it arrives by email, it is one of the few personalized gifts you can still give when shipping has closed.
If the person you are shopping for loves word searches, you might also like our large print puzzle books and cozy word search mysteries on our Our Books on Amazon page. But nothing beats a puzzle with their own family hidden inside.