Happy Holidays!
‘Tis the season for merrymaking, connecting with the people you love, eating lots of yummy food, and (if you’re like me) playing some fun Christmas slots too! 🎄🎅 🎰
While last year was my first introduction to the Christmas-themed online slots world, this year, I decided to do something a little different and focus on playing popular online slots that received a festive-theme makeover.
What sparked my interest in playing these types of slots occurred when I decided to purchase Big Bass Xmas Xtreme free spins with my Betty Coins. After loading the game, it took all of one second for me to realize that it was the Christmas themed version of Big Bass Amazon Xtreme.
Curious to see what other games were out there (and if they differed in any way from those that inspired them or were carbon copies in everything but the theme), I played a bunch. The following five that I’ve included in this post were my favourites (spoiler alert – Big Bass Xmas Xtreme is not one of them 😂).
Below, I’ll provide:
- Details about each slot I picked
- Where you can demo them free
- How they differ (if at all) from their non-Xmas version
- What I like best about them
Let’s get to it!
My Top Christmas Slots Picks for 2024
A quick note before we get started – Please keep in mind that the details I mention about the Xmas slots below are based on my experiences playing them at Ontario online casinos (specifically Betty Casino). As such, the RTPs and features I mention might not be the same for the version of these games you play at a different casino or from your jurisdiction. To find out what precise RTP applies to the game you play, load the game (in real money mode) and check the paytable or game info.
Also, while every one of these games does have a free demo (I’ve included links for each), depending on where you play, you may require a VPN in order to access the demo.
Sweet Bonanza Xmas
- Software provider: Pragmatic Play
- Release date: November 2016
- Theme: Christmas, Candy, Sweets
- Reels: 6
- Rows: 5
- Paylines: Pay Anywhere
- Volatility: Medium
- Max Win: 21,100x
- Features: Tumble feature, Free Spins, Multiplier
- RTP: 95.5%
- Free Demo: You can play the Sweet Bonanza Xmas slot demo at Pragmatic Play’s official site
Related Game: Sweet Bonanza Xmas is a Christmas-themed reskin of Sweet Bonanza.
The festive version was released 6 months after the original (and hugely successful) game was launched. Aside from a snowy background, candy canes, snowmen, a few festive lights and baubles, the Xmas version is identical in gameplay to Sweet Bonanza.
Why Sweet Bonanza Xmas made my list: The original Sweet Bonanza game is one of my favourite Pragmatic Play slots and one of my all-time favourite online slots. While not bursting with features, I love the Pay Anywhere mechanic coupled with the Tumble feature.
It’s also a medium volatility slot, which happens to be my preferred slot volatility. In other words, although the average payout isn’t huge, I do like that I land winning combos more often compared to game’s that have high volatility.
Finally, I like the multiplier candy bombs in the free spins feature. Landing those can score you a nice payout at the end. In fact, when I played – even though I was only betting $0.40 per spin – I managed to get over $10 during a free spins bonus. Not bad at all!
If you like the original Sweet Bonanza game, this is a fun one for the holidays.
Aloha! Christmas
- Software provider: NetEnt
- Release date: December 2020
- Theme: Christmas, Island Vacation, Tiki Bar
- Reels: 6
- Rows: 6
- Paylines: Cluster Pays
- Volatility: Low-Medium
- Max Win: 3,000x
- Features: Cluster Pays, Free Spins, Wild Substitutions, Mystery Symbols
- RTP: 96%
- Free Demo: You can play the Aloha! Christmas slot demo at NetEnt’s official site
Related Game: Aloha! Christmas is the festive – and upgraded – version of NetEnt’s Aloha! Cluster Pays, initially released in 2016.
Beyond the addition of a Santa hat, Christmas lights, and a few presents, as far as actual gameplay goes, Aloha! Christmas Edition has slightly better graphics and feature upgrades. These include mystery symbols, multiplier wilds, and a free spins feature with two different options: Tiki Bar (10 FS up to 4x multiplier) or Tiki Bar MAX (6 FS up to 7x multiplier).
Why Aloha! Christmas made my list: For starters, I’m a big NetEnt slots fan. So, this one was a must-play for me. I’ve played the original Aloha! Cluster Pays slot before and – in all honesty – was expecting it to be the same game with a festive makeover. To my surprise, it not only keeps all the stuff I like from the original title (including the amusing Tiki statue), but it also adds more to the gameplay experience.
My favourite feature of the game (which also happens to be a new feature) are the mystery symbols and wild multiplier symbols. They can land in both the base game and free spins round, giving a bigger shot at landing a winning combo.
While not the most put-you-in-a-festive-mood game overall, what Aloha! Christmas lacks in a traditional merry theme, it more than makes up for in its features, with the mystery symbols, multiplier wilds, and two different free spins options being excellent additions.
Christmas Bonanza
- Software provider: Big Time Gaming (BTG)
- Release date: December 2022
- Theme: Christmas, Mining
- Reels: 6
- Rows: 2-7
- Paylines: up to 117,649
- Volatility: High
- Max Win: 26,000x
- Features: Megaways, Reactions, Free Spins
- RTP: 96%
- Free Demo: You can play the Christmas Bonanza slot demo at BTG’s official site
Related Game: Christmas Bonanza is BTG’s famous Bonanza slot (which introduced the Megaways mechanic to the world in 2016) with a Christmas theme.
Beyond the Christmas slots theme (which adds the nice touch of falling snow), the main difference between the two slots is that the max win for Christmas Bonanza is 26,000x, compared to the original game’s 12,000x. Other than that, if you’ve played Bonanza before, there’s not much that will surprise you with this slot.
Why Christmas Bonanza made my list: While I’m not the hugest Megaways fan, I do like the original Bonanza game for its theme, creativity, and for introducing the mechanic in the first place. Also, I genuinely like the visuals for Christmas Bonanza (more so than the original, even). There’s something peaceful about the falling snow they’ve incorporated into the game…okay, it’s peaceful until you spin the reels and it turns into a barn dance 😂.
Feature wise, hands down, the best part of this game for me is it’s win reactions and the free spins where you can get an unlimited win multiplier. While organically triggering those free spins is no easy feat, when it does happen – ouu-wee! You just might dig up a big payout.
If you like Megaways games and the original Bonanza slot, Christmas Bonanza is a good choice if you’re in the mood for mining with a twist of festive fun.
Buffalo Power Christmas
- Software provider: Playson
- Release date: November 2021
- Theme: Christmas, Buffalos, Nature
- Reels: 5
- Rows: 3
- Paylines: 20
- Volatility: Medium
- Max Win: 1,187x
- Features: Free Spins, Stacked Wilds, Hold and Win Bonus Game, Multiplier, In-Game Jackpot
- RTP: 95.04%
- Free Demo: You can play the Buffalo Power Christmas slot demo at Playson’s official site
Related Game: Buffalo Power Christmas is a reskin of Buffalow Power: Hold and Win (released in 2020).
Like Sweet Bonanza Xmas and Sweet Bonanza, there is nothing different between Buffalo Power Christmas and Buffalo Power: Hold and Win except for the festive visuals (and audio/sound effects) added to the Christmas version.
Why Buffalo Power Christmas made my list: First off, the fact that Playson Santa-fied the buffalo by adding a Santa hat, white bushy eyebrows and beard to the buffalo made it worth a spin. 😂 Aside from that though, I’ll be honest, it’s not all that Christmassy.
The free spins feature in this game is good (particularly because of the stacked wilds), but it’s the Bonus Hold and Win game that I like best. For me, it’s what takes this game from the ordinary and gives its thrill level a boost.
Ultimately, as is the case with all the previous slots I’ve mentioned, if you like the original game, you’ll like Buffalo Power Christmas too. If you’ve never played the original before, but you like slots with in-game jackpots and the Hold and Win mechanic, it’s a good one to try.
Xmas Joker
- Software provider: Play’n GO
- Release date: November 2015
- Theme: Christmas, Joker, Christmas Star
- Reels: 3
- Rows: N/A
- Paylines: 5
- Volatility: Medium
- Max Win: 6,020x
- Features: Free Spins, Win Multiplier
- RTP: 96.98%
- Free Demo: You can play the Xmas Joker slot demo at Play’n GO’s official site
Related Game: Xmas Joker is part of Play’n GO’s Joker slots series.
Xmas Joker is the only game in my list that is from a slot series and isn’t a replica or slightly upgraded version of another game. Even so, if you’ve ever played one of the Joker games before, you’ll notice that some are a lot a like. In this case, Xmas Joker is a 3-reel slot and might call to mind other 3-reel joker slots like Mystery Joker, in terms of layout and design.
Why Xmas Joker made my list: Play’n GO did a great job with the theme for this game. The lighthearted soundtrack and sound effects (including the sweet little sleighbell chime that sounds when you spin the reels) are absolutely perfect for putting me in a festive mood.
Being a classic slot, Xmas Joker isn’t swimming in features, but that’s part of its charm. That said, the fact that it’s possible to re-trigger up to a total of 50 free spins during the free spins feature is pretty great. So are the Xmas Gift symbols that awards anywhere from a 1x – 100x multiplier.
If you’re in the mood to play a classic 3-reel Christmas slot, Xmas Joker delivers on all fronts – from theme and uncomplicated gameplay to free spins and win multipliers.
Mia’s Final Christmas Slots Thoughts
On the whole, while I did have fun playing these Christmas-themed slots, I do think the best Xmas slots are original games, and not simply existing games that get a jolly makeover. I mean, when it comes down to it, whether you play Sweet Bonanza or Sweet Bonanza Xmas, it’s the exact same experience…one just has snow and candy canes in it.
Play any Christmas slots lately? Got any favourites you want to share?
Whether you do or not, I hope if you celebrate Christmas or any other festivities at this time of year, that you’re happy, healthy, and having a good time with the people you like best.
As for me, I’m looking forward to kicking back and relaxing over the next few days with the people (and four-pawed critters 🐶🐱) I love.
Until next time, good luck, have fun, and Merry Christmas! 🎄🎅✨
Mia 👩💻
*I’m not affiliated with anyone.
**All links and images in this post are for informational purposes only.
