Get Your Christmas Cheer On: 20 Fun Games To Try With Your Family This Holiday Season
'Tis The Season To Be Jolly
Whether you have rambunctious kids in need of entertainment, or just want to spice up your Christmas routine with new activities, there are plenty of unique games your family can partake in this holiday season. From Christmas takes on classics to completely ridiculous made-up ones, here are 20 games that'll have your family rolling with laughter this holiday season.
1. Charades
Charades is a classic party game that everyone loves, especially if you have aspiring actors in your midst. Give it a seasonal twist by only allowing holiday-related themes.
2. Christmas Guess Who
For this game, all you need is a pack of sticky notes. Write the name of a holiday character on sticky notes which each person pastes on their heads. Then they ask questions until they guess the character.
3. White Elephant
White Elephant is a fun gift swap game where everyone brings a wrapped gift and takes a number indicating the order you choose gifts from the pile. After the gifts are unwrapped, guests have the option to steal from the others, starting with the person who drew the final number.
4. Christmas Trivia
Test who's the biggest Christmas fan with a trivia game. Come up with or find some questions on the internet about Christmas movies, books, and traditions, and quiz your family. Crown the winner with a special prize.
5. Christmas Dance Freeze
This one's especially good for if you have kids who are susceptible to cabin fever. Play a Christmas song while everyone dances around the tree, then abruptly stop the music and yell "Freeze!" Whoever is the last one to stop moving is out.
6. Oven Mitts Unwrapping
Get your family to unwrap their gifts wearing oven mitts. Watch the ensuing chaos and laugh.
7. What's In Santa's Hat
A fun tactile game for children, "What's in Santa's hat?" entails filling a hat with various objects and getting your kids to guess what they're feeling when they dunk their hands in. Fill it with Christmas-themed items and offer a prize at the end.
8. Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest
Who doesn't love an ugly Christmas sweater? Get your whole family involved, even the dogs, for a truly raucous tradition. Don't forget to take plenty of photos.
9. Guess The Smell
Similar to Santa's hat but using a different sense, put something Christmas-related like pine needles, shortbread cookies, or candy canes into a sealed jar. Then blindfold your kids and ask them to guess the smell.
10. Holiday Mad Libs
Mad Libs is a no-fail way to make your kids howl with laughter. Try a holiday version of the fill-in-the-blanks game to bring on the Christmas spirit and get them excited.
11. Ornament Balancing Challenge
A fun and creative way to get your whole family active is the ornament balancing challenge. Set up a race course in your house. Each participant has to race to the finish while balancing an ornament on a spoon.
12. Pin the Nose on Rudolph
Another great kid-friendly game is Pin the Nose on Rudolph, a Christmas-y take on Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Simply print out a photo of Rudolph get some red cotton balls and tape and get your blindfolded kids to go at it.
13. Christmas Cocktail-Off
This one's for the adults. Get everyone to bring over their favorite cocktail recipes, ingredients, and glassware. Taste them all and at the end of the night, vote on a winner. Warning: this game will make you tipsy.
14. Christmas Bake-Off
Similar to the cocktail-off, get everyone to bring over a baked good and vote on a winner. You can even assign different categories like "best classic cookie" or "most beautiful." Give prizes for each.
15. Name That Tune
The perfect game for music lovers to name that tune entails playing a small segment of a song and getting people to guess the tune. Do it with Christmas songs to stay on theme.
16. Cookie Challenge
The cookie challenge entails balancing a cookie on your forehead and moving it to your mouth without using your hands. It's sure to bring some laughter and broken cookies.
17. Team Gift Wrap Challenge
Another game that's sure to bring howls of laughter is the team gift wrap challenge. Have your guests pair up and tie one of their right arms to the other's left. Under a time limit, they must work together to wrap a gift with their two free arms.
18. Marshmallow Challenge
Simply whoever fits the most marshmallow in their mouth wins. Just try not to choke from all the marshmallows and laughter.
19. Pictionary
Pictionary is like charades for drawing. One person thinks of a word and draws it while the other guesses. Use seasonal topics to give it a Christmas theme.
User François Haffner on Wikimedia
20. Gingerbread House Competition
Is your family full of gingerbread artists? Put their skills to the test with a gingerbread house competition. They're fun to make and are sure to satisfy everyone's sweet tooth, even if they all turn out less-than-perfect.
