Try these Christmas games for some family fun this season!

On Christmas day, families usually start the day by opening up presents and cleaning up the resulting mess.  After a little rest, next comes Christmas dinner and maybe a little nap.  But what do you do with the rest of the day?  Christmas day is one of the biggest movie-going days of the year, but it costs a lot of money to take the family out to a movie, burns a gas, and really isn’t a “together time” activity, as everyone is sitting in the dark quietly while not looking at each other. 

This year, why not try something new?  How about some Christmas games?  Most people like playing games and it’s a great family bonding activity.  Christmas-themed games are a wonderful way to have fun with the whole family.  You can always just pull out a regular board game, or make up some new games yourself, but here are some suggestions you can use if you don’t want to take the time to come up with any on your own.

Christmas Pictionary

Play the game Pictionary using the same rules as usual, but rather than using the words in the game, make up Christmas-based words instead.  Here are some you can use:

• Christmas Tree
• Frosty
• Jack Frost
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Santa Claus
• Elf
• Mrs. Claus
• Snowman
• Snow
• Snowball
• Turkey
• Presents
• Holiday

Christmas Charades

Here’s a similar choice, but without the drawing.  As with Pictionary, you play Charades using the same rules as the normal game but use only Christmas-themed words.  It’s easy and fun, and people always get a kick out of someone standing there trying to get an idea across.  Great fun for everyone.

Build A Puzzle

Building a puzzle together can be fun, but rather than just picking any puzzle out of the closet, pick up a special one just for the occasion.  Get a puzzle with Santa in his sleigh, flying along behind the reindeer, or a nice wintry scene with snow hanging from the branches of trees.  Make it a special puzzle that goes with the feeling of Christmas and it’ll be more fun for everyone.

Pass the Bows

 A puzzle isn’t really practical if you have more than five or so people, so here’s a suggestion for larger groups.  To play this game, you need 4 small buckets and a bunch of bows.  Any inexpensive bulk bows will do.  Separate the group into two teams.  You can have more teams if you’d like, but you need to have two buckets for each team.  Larger teams are more fun than smaller ones, so if you can get at least five people on each team it will be more enjoyable.

For each team, place a bucket on each end of the room.  Have each team stand in a row side by side in between their two buckets.  Each team has to pass their bows one at a time down the line, taking them from the first bucket and placing them in the second one.  If at any time a bow is dropped on the floor, that bow has to go back to the beginning.

Here’s the catch; each player has to use their right hand to hold onto the left wrist of the person beside them.  They can not let go and players are only allowed to touch the bows with their left hands as they pass the bows from person to person down the row.

More Game Tips

Choose games that complement the size of the group you have.  For three to five, a puzzle is a good choice.  For four and up Pictionary and Charades are good, and for groups of eight or more, Pass the Bows is a lot of fun.

These are just a few suggestions for your family Christmas games, but any will do, as long as you’re playing them together.