Christmas Games

Christmas Games:

Q&A

Each of the guests is given a chit of paper with either a question or an answer written on it. The guest who gets a question has to read out aloud until he comes across the person who has the answer to that particular question. The person who has the chit with the answer written on it has to stand up and introduce himself or herself to the crowd.

Pass the Santa

One game that keeps the guests entertained for hours together is ‘Pass the Santa’. In this game, all the participants sit in a circle and the soft toy is passed from one participant to another. A peppy Christmas song is being played in the background. The person who is holding the Santa when the music is stopped is out and should step out of the circle. The person who stays till the end of the game is the winner and gets to keep the Santa as the prize.

Musical Chairs

With one fewer chairs than people, a short snippet of music is played while the people move around the room. All the chairs are placed in the middle of the room or arranged in a corner, all facing back on the wall. When the music stops everyone tries to sit on a vacant chair. (Only one person per chair) The person who doesn't find a chair is 'out'. One chair is taken away and the game continues until only one person (The Winner) is left.

Winking Murder

All except the detective sit in a circle while the detective waits outside. One person from the circle is elected to be the murderer, and then the Detective is called back to stand in the circle. When he is ready, the Murderer winks at people in the circle. Anyone who sees that they have been winked at lets out a blood-curdling scream and dies. The Detective has three attempts to guess the murderer.

The Christmas Telephone

This game has no winners and losers, but still it is great fun, especially with large groups. Make your players sit in a linear fashion. Then write something Christmas-related on a card, like – We went Christmas shopping on Sunday at the mart. There were no sugarplums, so we bought jellybeans instead. The longer it is, the better; but do not make it too long. Then show this card to the first person in the row. He or she has to memorize the line, and then whisper it in the ear of the next person. They have to memorize it and do the same to the next in the row. The message is to travel in this manner, till it reaches the ears of the last person. Ask the last person to say it out aloud. It is a very rare chance that the person will say it right. It will surely be a moment of great hilarity when you compare it with what is written on the card!

Christmas Treasure Hunt

This is a very common Christmas game, but it is still very popular. This game is real fun for kids and adults alike, and more so if you have a big house. The concept is very simple. Hide about 20 things (better if you select Christmas-related things) in different places of your house, inside and outside. Then draw up two lists of the things. Divide your players in two groups and give them the lists. Let them find out the things and bring them to the centre table. The team that brings in the largest number of items wins! Adding clues will make the game easier and add to the fun element. You can put clues like this – Under the table, and over the carpet brown; I lay there, find me before sundown! Of course, you will have several tables in your house, and then too, there are many possibilities of hiding things under tables! You can think of putting clues with the items people find. Like, if they find the first item, they will find the clue to the second item kept with it. This keeps the mystery of the game going on.

Gift exchange session (3 methods):

• Have a person from the group to read out a Christmas-based story. Ask others to sit in a circle and pass on the gifts. When the story is over, everyone gets the gifts he/she is holding. This way, you will keep up the spirit of Christmas gift exchange and ensure that everyone has received the gifts!
• Arrange the gifts in a pile and ask the guests to sit in a circle around the presents. To make the gift exchange interesting, ask a person from the group to open his/her present. The next person may either pick the opened gift or choose one from the pile. Set a condition that each person gets only three chances to 'steal' the opened gifts. This way, people may end up receiving the gift they actually like.
•  Lucky draw is another bright idea for Christmas gift exchange. Number the gifts and write the numbers in small pieces of paper. Put the papers inside a hat. Ask everyone to pick out a number of the hat, to determine which gift he or she will receive.