8 Fun Family Activities to Brighten Your Christmas

These great games and activities can be played within a family as everyone gets ready and gathers for the holiday season. They can also be played in a classroom, group, or for people with a great sense of humor, some of them can be played in the office during the holiday season.

1) Secret Elves

This is a great way to get the house buzzing with holiday spirit through the whole month of December.

Set a day before the holiday, such as December 1^st, or the week before Christmas. Put the name of everyone in the household into a hat. Mix them up well and have everyone pick a name (no peeking!). Make sure that no one picks their own name.

The name that each person picked should be kept secret through the season. Whomever's name you picked, you will be their personal secret elf. Your mission is to do something thoughtful for the person- secretly- when you get a chance. Leave them a nice note about how special they are, or their favorite cookies on the counter. Make their bed for them when they go into the shower in the morning. Let them come home to find their most disliked chore done, or their favorite movie has been rented and is waiting for them in the DVD player.

The more people in the household, the more fun this can be, with everyone sneaking around, giggling, trying to do good deeds for each other. On the morning of the holiday, see if anyone can guess who was their secret elf. Or, elves, if they like, can reveal themselves.

2) Put on a Pageant

Charge the kids with the entertainment responsibility and tell them to plan a pageant to be presented after dinner. If you have any scrap fabrics, costumes, old hats and scarves and other such items, give it to them in a box to use as costumes. Give them a box of craft supplies so they can make their own props and scenery.

Allow them to write their own script, or they can put their own rendition of a favorite show, such as Charlie Brown's Christmas, A Christmas Carol, A Visit from St. Nick, the battle of the Oak and the Holly King, or the Nativity. Or, they can put on a "review" and do different skits, recitals, dance and sing carols for everyone.

This is a great way to keep kids busy when guests are settling in and food is being cooked, without resorting to an all-day television marathon.

Variation:

- have them make a "movie" instead; allow an adult or responsible teen to video tape their production, then settle down with popcorn to watch it.

- have them do a "Holiday Radio Show," instead, with a tape recorder. Let them tape themselves putting on a "broadcast" that includes them singing Christmas music, telling or acting out stories (as in old radio shows, complete with sound effects), and even news bits updating North Pole news and covering Santa's sleigh ride.

3) The Blind Elf and the Escaped Reindeer

This game requires a nice, large space, some bells, and a blindfold.

One person gets to be the reindeer and holds the bell. The other plays the part of the blind elf, and is blindfolded. Everyone else can stand around the space, blocking the blind elf from straying out of the area or bumping into anything.

The blind elf and the reindeer go into the middle of the space. On the word go, the elf tries to capture the escaped reindeer. The reindeer must try to avoid the elf, ducking and dodging, but he is carrying bells, so the elf can follow the sound.

The other players can cheer them on, but shouldn't give away the reindeer's position.

The activity can go on until the reindeer is caught, or for a specified amount of time (30 seconds to a minute). After each round, the reindeer passes off the bells to a new player, takes the blindfold and becomes the elf. Keep going until everyone has had a turn at being both.

4) Filling Santa's Sleigh

This old game has so many variations, so just give it a seasonal spin.

Everyone sits in a circle. The first person starts by saying, "I'm helping to fill Santa's sleigh, and I'm putting in an (a word)." The person names one thing that begins with the letter "A," such as an art kit, abacus, airplane model, animal puzzle, or ant farm. Let's say they name an art kit.

The next person continues by saying, "I'm helping to fill Santa's sleigh, and I'm putting in an art kit, and a (b word)." They add a word beginning with the letter "B," such as bicycle, baby doll, or ball.

Keep continuing around the circle, each person repeating all the things already put in, and naming the next thing of their own in alphabetical order. When you come around to the first person again, just continue.

Variations:

- You can just continue the game and help people out who are having trouble; or make a contest out of it- anyone who messes up is "out" until one person remains.

- End on "Z," or, if you have a crew with superior memories, just keep going and start with "A" again.

5) Name that Christmas Tune

Everyone sits in a circle. Choose who will go first. That person hums a Christmas tune (but does not give the words). Everyone should shout out their guess when they think they have it. The first person who shouts the right song title gets to hum the next tune.

Once a tune is done, it cannot be repeated. The game may be easy at first, but tends to get tougher as it moves along and people start coming up with more and more obscure songs.

6) Wrapping Races

Use up that leftover wrapping paper for a fun relay race.

People should break off into teams. You will need at least two teams to play, but there can be more. Or, teams can take turns, and everyone else can cheer on the teams during the contest.

Supply each team with a roll of gift wrap, ribbons, bows, scotch tape, safety scissors, a pen, and a gift card. One person will be the gift wrapper- the other person will be the gift! Be sure to tell kids, no faces- just bodies get wrapped.

The real catch: the gift wrappers have to wear mittens.

On go, the "wrapper" of each team attempts to wrap up the "wrappee." Watch as paper and ribbons fly, tape gets stuck to mittens, and human presents have bows stuck on their head. The first team to finish wrapping wins.

7) What's in Santa's Bag?

This is a memory game. If anyone there is not familiar with the room, you might want to give them some time to look around. Those who are familiar with the room should not get a chance to do this, as they have too much of an advantage already.

Everyone has to leave the room, except one person, playing Santa.

This person should have a large bag. It is very important that the bag cannot be seen through by anyone else.

"Santa" should take a few items from the room (nothing valuable or breakable) and put them into the bag. When Santa is done, everyone else comes back in.

The people who were out of the room have to take a look around. When they think they know what Santa took, they have to line up by Santa.

Each person takes a turn sitting on Santa's lap (or next to him). When sitting on Santa's lap, they have to ask for something that they think is in the bag. If they're right, Santa gives them the item.

If they're wrong, Santa gives them a lump of coal (or something representing it, such as a balled up piece of foil or a stone or ball).

8) Guess Who's Christmas List

Everyone gets some paper and a pencil.

Each person has to think of a well-known person or character. They should not reveal this character to anyone yet. Give everyone a few minutes to imagine what that character would ask Santa for, and write three to five things on a Christmas list for that character. It doesn't have to be realistic, the character can be fictional and the list can be a material or non-material item.

When everyone is done, fold up the lists and put them into a hat. Someone picks out the lists, one at a time, and reads them. Everyone has to guess who the character was that wrote the list.

For example, someone might write, "a new axe, a heart, and a quart of 10w40," for the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. Whoever guesses the most, wins the game.