Christmas Party Games

Christmas party games are perfect this time of year...it’s Christmas, what better time of the year to get together and play nice?

Take a few minutes now before the hustle of the holiday to explore a few new games that may add a bit more sparkle to your yuletide happenings.

Christmas Party Game #1 - Stocking Stuffer Surprise

This is an easy game to adapt for any age. The preparations are simple and remain the same no matter who plays. You’ll need stockings for each player and a few simple gifts or candies to put into the stockings. Another great thing about this game is that it doubles as party favors and we all know that during the holiday season we can all use anything that does the job of two!

Youngest players can play like go fish. Hang two sheets and have someone hide behind it. To play give the children a stocking and have them ‘hang’ it by putting their hands into an opening in the sheets. The stocking is then filled with a cry of ‘ho, ho, ho!’ the child can pull their hand out to see what they received. It is simple, but very fun.

Players who are just a bit older can play this game rather like heads up seven up. Two to five children are ‘it’ while the others put out their stockings and hide their eyes. As quietly as possible the children who are ‘it’ place goodies in one stocking apiece. When they have finished those children who have received goodies try and guess who filled their sock. If they guess correctly they take that child’s place as ‘it’. If the child playing ‘it’ is not discovered they remain ‘it’. Play continues until all children have had their stockings filled, or all have had a chance to be ‘it’.

My favorite way to play this game is the way we play it in our family now, and is appropriate for all ages. If youngsters are included, it is wise to partner them with an older person. We began playing this several Christmas Eve parties ago. On Christmas Eve we draw names set a price limit, and head off to the nearest open store. Once there we split into couples and shop to fill the stocking for the person whose name we have drawn. It is very fun to see what ends up in those stockings. At times with a restricting price and time limit, the gifts are very creative! It is always great fun and laughs abound. It's definitely one of the favorite Christmas party games in our house.