Christmas is a time for joy, giving, and—most importantly—some festive family Christmas games.
We’re now not speaking about your typical Secret Santa exchange here, either.
We’ve collectively put a list of the best Christmas games for you and your family members to revel in this vacation season.
The list contains Christmas games for the entire household, kids games, relaxing around the fire games or games to play in your hotel rooms when chilling during December in Goa.
Let’s get to it…
Christmas Heads Up
Write the name of a Christmas character on each sticky note, then have each player paste one to their forehead without looking at what it says.
Then, everyone has to help each other to guess whose name is on their heads without saying the name. It’s a guaranteed laugh-fest.
Christmas Eve: The Family Board Game
You can play this one together as a team or against each other, whatever you choose. Roll the dice and race along the board collecting presents to give to Santa and helping save Christmas.
Landing on certain spaces can help or hinder your journey, with some involving a mini-game such as a Christmas challenge card, playing the higher or lower bridge, completing the Snowman Waltz or trying the (risky) Avalanche rolling. The one who makes it to the end first wins.
Seeking Santa – The Christmas Game for Two Players
A Christmas and kid-friendly version of Chess. Line your snowmen up against your opponent and take it in turns to move close to the Santa counter in the middle.
Just like the classic game, some snowman has special powers and can only move in certain directions. So be sure to check the rule book first for the full debrief.
Five-second rule
Each player in this game gets just five seconds to respond to a holiday-theme challenge. For example, name three Christmas songs, three Christmas movies, or three of Santa’s reindeer.
Each player gets one point for successfully answering in the allotted time.
Christmas-opoly
The classic board game of Monopoly receives the festive treatment with this “Christmas-opoly” version that all age groups can play together.
Collect Christmas properties, buy and exchange presents—or if your luck runs out, you’ll get despatched to the “naughty” corner.
Telephone
This old-fashioned game provides wholesome fun for families. Throw on your matching jammies, sit in a circle, and take turns coming up with Christmas phrases or movie or song titles.
When it’s your turn, whisper your phrase to the person next to you. Then, they whisper it to the person next to them, and so on.
Once you’ve reached the end of the line, have the last person recite the phrase to see how close they got to the original.
Musical Gifts
Just like musical chairs, however with higher stakes—Christmas presents! Have every visitor carry a small present and put them into a bag.
Have your family take a seat in a circle and, at the beginning of every round, select a present at random.
Turn on a Christmas tune and pass by the present. When the song abruptly shuts off, the person with the present in hand opens their prize and leaves the circle. Repeat till all presents have been claimed.
Mystery stocking
Take a Christmas stocking and fill it with random, small prizes. Let every kid hold the stocking and without putting their hands in, feel the shape of the prize and bet what it is.
If they guess a prize, they get to keep it!
