Festive Family Games

These games can be adapted to kids of all ages, so if you’ve got a range of kids at your party, have fun trying them all.

Pass the Parcel
Best for: Ages 1 to 3

Little hands love to unwrap boxes, so why not give them the opportunity?

You’ll Need:

• Boxes of varying sizes
• Wrapping paper
• A small gift

How to Play:

1. Have all the kids sit in a circle.
2. Put on some Christmas music. When the music stops (thanks to an adult volunteer), the child with the box gets to unwrap a layer. You have the option of having a set time for this, or just let the child unwrap the whole layer.
3. The game continues until the last layer is unwrapped and the child gets the prize inside.

Good to Know: You can use one box, and many layers of wrapping paper. It’s a great way to use wrapping paper from the previous year that you may have saved. Alternatively, consider using newspaper. As well, you can add a bunch of little gifts inside to make sure all the kids get a prize.

Gingerbread Cookie Decorating
Best for: Ages 3 to 5

Whether the cookies are homemade or store-bought, your guests will love personalizing them.

You’ll Need:

• Homemade or store-bought gingerbread men (one or two per guest)
• Icing in different colours
• ZipLoc bags or squeeze tubes
• Candies to decorate the cookies (think leftover Halloween candies, crushed candy canes, etc.)

How to Make:

1. Prep a cookie decorating table with a spot for each child and little bowls filled with the different candies, as well as different bottles of icing.
2. Give each child a cookie or two, and let the creativity commence.

Good to Know: You can also try decorating these mini-gingerbread houses as an alternative to cookies.

Name that Christmas Carol
Best for: 5 to 95

Carolling takes on a new twist with this fun game that even the adults will enjoy.

You’ll Need:

• A few Christmas carol CDs

How to Play:

1. Put the kids into two teams with a pad and a pencil each and let them name themselves something Christmas related like the Elves and the Reindeer.
2. Start playing the first carol for a few seconds. Give one team (the Elves) a chance to guess. If they guess right, they get the point. If not, the second team (the Reindeer) get a shot—play the carol for the same amount of time.
3. If neither team gets it, have a ‘sudden death’ round with a player from each team. Play the carol for a little longer until one of the two selected team players shouts out the right answer.
4. Have a fun carol sing-a-long at the end of the game.