It's no secret the holidays won't be the same this year with Covid, but that doesn't mean you can't have a wonderful time with your immediate family!
When you're not watching Christmas movies and stuffing your face with food, you'll likely turn to games to keep everyone entertained.
We have come up with some fun Christmas games to keep everyone entertained. The majority of these are free Christmas games, as you likely have most of the supplies on hand already.
When planning Christmas games for young children, the options are endless. All you need is some room to run and move around, a few supplies and planning, and making sure you and the kiddos are ready to have some fun!
Let's start with a few relay race ideas.
Divide your players into at least two teams and give each of those teams four candy canes. Make sure you have a few extra just in case some break (no melt-downs is the goal).
Have the child who's running hold the candy canes between their fingers, with the curved part of the candy cane hanging over their fingers. But tell them not to use their thumbs!
The candy canes should be just carefully held between their fingers. If you want to add a level of difficulty, you can have the child hang the candy can on only one finger.
The children run to their teammates and pass the candy canes (again, only using fingers), and that teammate runs to the other end and does the same.
The game is over when only one team still has candy canes that haven't dropped on the floor. Again you can add a level of difficulty by seeing just how many candy canes one child can pass to another without dropping them.
Another fun relay that kids are sure to love is Pass the ornament.
Each team gets one ornament (a lightweight, basic thin glass one is fine) and a straw.
String the ornaments on a piece of fishing wire by a hook. The player must blow through the straw to get the ornament to move down the line. The next child blows on their straw to get the ornament back down the line.
You can set up more than one line and see which team can either move the ornament back and forth a set number of times or do it the fastest.
The options are endless for this game.
Make sure each of the players has their own straw for this game. No swapping of germs at Christmas!
While this isn't so much a game of its own, it is a fun twist to add to your other relay games.
Try having a few Santa hats and have the children wear them without them falling off during the relays, and then pass them to the next team player.
You could also have them put on a pair of Christmas socks and take them off to give to the next player who needs to put them on before they can take their turn.
This can not only add some fun to the game but extend it a little longer too.
"Santa Says" is a fun game that all children should know how to play because it's just like, "Simon Says." Knowing this game helps the kids get right into the game without explaining the rules.
To be fair, you should make sure that each child is familiar with "Simon Says" and then create a series of orders from "Santa," like "Santa says, touch your toes," "Santa says bend your knees," and "Santa says stand still like a Christmas tree," and so on.
But sometimes, leave the "Santa says" part off and trick the children. The child that misses the command is then out until you have one winner left!
Always a popular game!
Young children seem to love the "freeze dance" game. This is a game that is played pretty often in preschool.
Only in this game you create a Christmas theme to freeze dance. The rules are simple, you play some Christmas music, let the children do their best Christmas dance, then turn the music off, and the children must "freeze."
If many sit-down games are being played at the party, this is a great way to let the children burn off some of that energy and sugar.
This is a game for kids of all ages! The more, the merrier, after all.
Children can play this version of the "clue" game as long as the questions are kept to their age-specific knowledge of all things Christmas.
The game rules are set like this: the leader thinks of an object that is, of course, Christmas-related and then gives clues about that object without saying what it is and keeps giving clues until someone shouts out the answer. Here's an example.
Keep giving clues until one child shouts out the answer, and then it is that child's turn to think of a Christmas object and give hints.
Kids love toss games, so why not create a snowball toss game at Frosty the Snowman's belly?
Find some cardboard, make your best version of Frosty the Snowman, and cut a hole in his stomach. You can decorate your frosty with markers, construction paper, tissue, or whatever you have handy.
Now you need snowballs to toss! You can create these snowballs out of several things.
Take plastic bags and put mini marshmallows inside, or use Styrofoam balls. You could even try just balling up some gift wrap to toss.
Have the children stand back from Frosty (you can determine this distance based on the ages of the children, what they are throwing, and the space you have available) and have the kids take turns tossing the snowballs into Frosty's tummy. The first one to get all three snowballs in the tummy wins a prize!
Any age can play this game as long as your distance from Frosty is fair for their age.
There are two ways to play this holiday party game.
Make a marshmallow mountain!
If you plan to eat the marshmallows after these games, have everyone wash their hands before you start and maybe even cover the table with a clean tablecloth.
Make a marshmallow pole!
Players take turns stacking one marshmallow at a time, one on top of the other on a paper plate or the table, to make it as high as they can. The player who causes the marshmallow pole to fall loses.
If you don't want to use marshmallows in this game, you can use cups stacked onto each other instead.
You could add a level of difficulty by including a timer and giving them a minute to win.
You can play as many rounds as you want but don't be surprised if they slowly disappear. You can dip your marshmallows in chocolate for a fun snack or toss them in your hot chocolate when you finish.
And when you're deciding what to play next, why not go all out and set up a holiday scavenger hunt? We have a list of all of the best Christmas-themed clues to land everyone a big surprise; all you need to do for this game is to either write or print them out, hide them, and pick a prize for the winner.
The game doesn't have to end with a big expensive gift either—the prize could simply be a plate of cookies all to themselves, a jingle bell necklace to wear as a trophy, or really anything your Christmas crafty heart desires.
Print or write these instructions down on pieces of paper and put them in their dedicated spots based on the clues around your house. Give your kids (or whoever's playing!) the first clue, and watch them figure it out from there.
If your children are younger, you may need to read these clues to them or even write them down in a style you think they can read. Oh, the fun this game is!
Download the image above, and learn more about Christmas Scavenger Hunts for Preschoolers.
Materials
Instructions
Get your free printable for Christmas Bingo at https://themanylittlejoys.com/printable-christmas-bingo-game/
Christmas isn't the only holiday that you can have fun. Here are some related articles for others:
No matter what Christmas games you and your preschoolers decide to play, remember that the season is about spending time together and making memories. Have fun, and Merry Christmas!
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