Are you wondering how you can entertain all the good little boys and girls who'll be attending your holiday celebration? Christmas party games are an excellent way to keep children of all ages engaged and amused, so gather your guests and get ready to have fun with these clever holiday games.
Reindeer Limbo
How low can a reindeer go? To find out, you'll need a few sets of reindeer antlers on headbands, a role of wrapping paper to serve as the limbo bar and children who are ready to have a good time. The game is played just like traditional limbo, so turn on some holiday tunes and get in line for fun.
Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest
A popular party game, an ugly Christmas sweater contest is a fantastic way to get your guests in the mood for fun. When inviting everyone, encourage them to wear their favorite ugly Christmas sweater to the party. Start the contest by asking everyone who wants to compete to step forward and strut their stuff. How do you decide the winner? For a small, casual contest, let the loudest applause determine who wins. Alternately, choose the winner by having your guests vote.
Ugly Christmas Sweater Decorating
Give the ugly Christmas sweater contest a delicious twist, and you'll have a game your guests will eat up. Before the party, bake sugar cookies shaped like sweaters; don't decorate them. When you're ready to play, provide each guest with a cookie and an assortment of icings, sprinkles and other toppings to see who can create the best ugly Christmas sweater cookie. No matter who is declared the winner, everyone who plays gets a prize: a sweet treat to eat. Be sure to have extra cookies.
Secret Stocking Stuffer
Children of all ages are excited by the prospect of learning what Santa brought. Why not give them an early taste of this fun? All you'll need are a few plain stockings and some small prizes like balls, toy cars, sidewalk chalk or crayons. Tuck a prize inside each stocking and pass them around. Players can feel, shake and smell the stocking, but they are not allowed to peek inside. Everyone guesses what is inside each stocking, and the winner is the person whose guess is the closest.
Do You See What I See?
Challenge players with a game that encourages both creativity and communication skills. Before the party, write the names of common holiday symbols on slips of paper and assemble an assortment of items in various colors, shapes and sizes. If you want to keep it simple, just cut pieces out of colored construction paper or foam. For more imaginative play, add small items like cotton balls, game pieces, cardboard rolls, pipe cleaners, ornaments or small candies to the mix. When you're ready to begin, have a child select a slip with the name of a holiday symbol on it. Their goal is to have another player guess what the symbol is, but they can't give verbal hints. Instead, they have to use the items provided to craft a picture of the item. Their turn is over when someone guesses correctly.
Snowball Dash
Are you dreaming of a white Christmas? Have a snowball race with some Styrofoam balls and long spoons. Have each player balance a foam snowball on the spoon and make a dash for the finish line. Anyone who drops their snowball has to go back to the starting line and try again.
Ribbon Maze
This game take a bit of preparation, but it's certain to amaze your guests and set them scrambling. You'll need a length of ribbon, a pencil and a small prize for each player. To get ready, tie a prize to a length of ribbon. Tuck the prize out of sight and unwind the ribbon, weaving it around the room as you do so. When you reach the other end of the ribbon, tie it to the pencil. Repeat the same process for each player, winding the strands of ribbon around various objects and the other ribbons. To play the game, each child picks a pencil and begins following the ribbon, wrapping it around the pencil as they go until they reach their prize.
Name That Tune
Give this popular game a holiday twist by playing it with Christmas music. Play a few seconds of a song, pause the music and see if anyone can name the tune. For an extra challenge, search out lesser known holiday songs or unexpected versions of Christmas classics.
Santa Says
Why should Simon always get to be the boss? This holiday season, put Santa in charge. Have the person playing Santa stand at the front of the group and give directions. If the direction begins with the phrase "Santa says," then players are to follow it. However, if those magic words aren't said, the direction is to be ignored. To get into the spirit of the season, make sure to include holiday-themed directions. Santa could encourage players to lay a finder alongside their nose, reach up like they're putting the star on top the tree or pretend that they're catching a snowflake on their tongue.
Merry Melody Mix
How well do the children at your party know their Christmas carols? To find out, write lines from favorite holiday songs on slips of paper and drop the slips into a hat. Each player selects a piece of paper, reads the lyric and tries to name the song that it comes from. Players who answer correctly move on to the next round. Players who guess incorrectly are out of the game. The game continues until only one player remains or you run out of lyrics.
With so many great Christmas party games for kids to choose from, the hardest part of planning your holiday party might be selecting the games you'll play. Choose a mix of activities so that everyone has a chance to shine.
