Many children count Christmas among their favorite holidays. During this season, kids delight in dreaming of Santa landing on their rooftops. They love the idea of purchasing or making their own presents to give their friends and family members. By planning games for your kids to enjoy, you can make this time of year even more magical.
Appeal to All Ages
Planning games for a heterogeneous group of children is a challenge as you want to create activities that young children can participate in without boring any older players. To accomplish this task, consider the average age of your expected grouping of children, and plan games that would appeal to players of this age. While you may need to help the younger Christmas game players with the activities, you can ensure that the older participants do not tire of the childish amusement before your event draws to a close.
Gift Giving Game
Instead of trading gifts in the traditional fashion, make gift giving a game. Not only does this activity add excitement to your holiday celebration, it can also save guests money. In the weeks prior to your gathering, assign each planned guest another guest to buy for. Ask the gift buyers to select and wrap a gift just for their assigned recipient. Instead of having these secret Santas place their names on the gift tags, ask them to write three clues as to their identity. Place all the gifts under the tree at the start of your event, and, as you distribute them, ask your guests to read the clues and take a guess as to the gift’s recipient.
Modified Classics
Giving traditional party games a Christmas flare is an easy way to add excitement to your festivities. You can easily turn Pin the Tail on the Donkey into a decidedly more holiday-appropriate Pin the Beard on Santa by creating a bare Santa face and a beard for your guests to attach. You can also turn Charades into a Christmas event by writing the names of Christmas carols as clues and asking player to take turns acting out each title.
Going Goofy
Induce laughter at your Christmas event with goofy games. Divide players into teams, and give each group a roll or wrapping paper and bows. Ask each team to select one player to serve as the “gift” and to use the provided supplies to deck this individual in holiday wrap. Or, you can modernize Santa’s gear by visiting your local thrift store and purchasing an assortment of red and white garments, and then allowing teams to use these pieces to create a totally modern Santa suit. Hold voting to determine which team made the best creation so that you can declare a winner in each event.
Enticing with Prizes
Get your kids even more excited about your holiday events with some desirable prizes. Purchase an assortment of trinkets to give out to winners. Select tokens with a decidedly Christmas theme, such as Christmas erasers or bendable Santas. You can also select non-holiday themed prizes, such as puzzle books.
