Here are some fun Christmas games for kids o play this season. Plus, there are some creative ways to use a heap of that wrapping paper before it gets tossed into the recycling bin.
Christmas tree rip
You will need:
A piece of green paper per player. Or reserve some wrapping paper (that rips easily)
How to play:
Everyone gets a piece of paper, get them to hold it behind their back and rip it into the shape of a Christmas tree.
Compare trees and declare a winner and a booby prize.
Christmas card flicks
You will need:
A stack of old Christmas cards (backs removed)
A box or bucket
A starting line marker
How to play:
Set up the box and the starting line marker (close for little kids, further away for older kids and adults). Each player takes turns tossing the stack of cards (like a frisbee) into the box. Count up and the player with the most cards in the box wins.
Snowball toss
You will need:
A box or bin or bucket
A pile of scrunched up balls of wrapping paper
How to play:
Set up the box and the starting line marker (close for little kids, further away for older kids and adults). Each player takes turns tossing the snowballs into the box. Count up and the player with the most balls in the box wins.
FUN ALTERNATIVE:
Instead of a box, use some cardboard and draw a snowman figure - get the kids to decorate it - Then cut a hole in his tummy big enough for the scrunched balls to fit.
FUN ALTERNATIVE:
Try using much smaller balls of wrapping paper as snowballs, and have teams of two, where one player is on one side of the table tossing the balls, and the other player is on the other side of the table with a plastic cup to catch the balls in.
Pin the nose on the reindeer
You will need:
A pinboard with pins (with adult supervision) or whiteboard with blu-tac or fridge with magnets
Paper or drawn face of the reindeer with antlers
Red paper circles
How to play:
Blindfold the player and spin them around in turn to place their red nose on the reindeer.
FUN ALTERNATIVES:
Could be a carrot nose on a snowman.
Candy cane hunt
You will need:
Candy canes
Space (inside or outside)
How to play:
Place candy canes all around - some easy and some hard. Get kids to search for all of the canes and bring them all back one by one to a central spot to re-distribute evenly with all the kids (this allows the little ones to get their fair share)
TIP:
A sneaky tip is to get someone to keep re-hiding the found candy canes to keep the game running for longer.
Scavenger hunt
You will need:
Little presents to find along the way
Note paper
How to play:
Send the kids out with the first clue to find the next.
TIP:
Have an end point for the hunt, and work backwards from that when writing the hints.
If you have older kids, hide the clues within cypher codes or QR codes.
Balancing ornaments
You will need:
Building blocks / lego
Metre ruler / length of dowel/wood
Packet of Christmas baubles
Timer - 1 minute
How to play:
Get players into teams of 2.
Build a tower with the blocks or Lego/Duplo to be about 30-40cm tall.
Balance the metre ruler on the tower.
Each start to hang the baubles onto the crossbar, till the minute is up.
Team that gets the most baubles on the bar in the minute is the winner.
Wrapping gift game
You will need:
Box to wrap
Wrapping paper / newspaper
Tape on a tape dispenser
Ribbon
How to play:
Get players into teams of 2.
Players will link arms or stand with arms around waist or shoulder - leaving one player with their left hand free and one player with their right hand free.
They must work together to wrap the gift.
Team that gets the gift wrapped first is the winner.
The amazing maze game
You will need:
A variety of Christmas curling ribbon or wool
A prize for each player
A candy cane for each player
How to play:
Tie a prize to one end of each ribbon. Hide the end with the gift on it somewhere in the house. Now, unwind the ribbon and wrap it all over the room, all around furniture, over tables, under doors, anywhere it will be a fun challenge. Tie a candy cane to the other end of the ribbon. Repeat for each player, tangling the ribbons if necessary. When the guests arrive, give each one a candy cane and have them follow the ribbon to untangle it (wrapping it around their candy cane as they go). Let them know it leads to a surprise!
Christmas carol charades
How to play:
Player chooses a carol and plays the usual charades game, indicating how many words are in the song title, acting out each word, until another player guesses.
Santa packed on his sleigh a ...
How to play:
Each player takes a turn and names objects Santa will take on his sleigh. The first player starts by saying "Santa packed on his sleigh a..." then names an object that begin with the letter "A," the second player repeats that and then adds her own starting with the letter "B" and so on down the alphabet).
TIP:
This one might be a good game for the long car trip after Christmas lunch.
Candy cane fishing
You will need:
String
Candy canes
How to play:
Tape a piece of string to the straight end of a candy cane at one end to make a "fishing hook" and at the other end another candy cane as the "fishing rod" then have a pile of other candy canes in a bowl. Try to fish for more candy canes with the hook.
See more:
- Christmas craft for kids
- Christmas Printables for kids
- Easy Christmas cards for kids to make
- Christmas movies
Do you have any Christmas games you and your family plays? Let us know in the comments below.
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