Classic Kids Board Games for Christmas

Christmas Day is often a time of great chaos. The house is filled with guests and wrapping paper, Grandma has already had too much sherry, you're trying to cook the lunch while your other half is showing off his new gadgets instead of helping and the kids are running riot in a blur of festive excitement. To combat this, you need to think ahead. Make sure Santa has included a board game or two in the Christmas stocking (or sack). Board games for Christmas can often be the answer to keeping a quieter household, even just for a short time. Everyone can get involved and you can continue making lunch in peace!

Kids board games are always in high demand at Christmas for this very reason. While new ones are being released all the time, classic kids board games for Christmas are the best kind. The older relatives in the family will probably know the rules already so they can be explained quickly, and they are simply all round good fun. Here are some of the best classic kids board games for Christmas.

Classic Kids Board Games for Christmas

Mousetrap

Mousetrap is a game that will provide lots of fun for all the family! Simply move around the game board, collecting pieces of cheese to help you build a mousetrap. When the mousetrap is complete, the object is to set it off and try to capture the opponent's mice. This is not your average mousetrap though - it comes in many pieces and triggers a clever mechanism that will keep your family amused! The winner is the player whose mouse is the last to be captured!

Pop Up Pirate

Pop Up Pirate isn't technically a board game because there isn't a board but it's usually considered a board game anyway. This is highly ranked among classic board games for kids because it has been around for many years and is still as popular as ever. In this game, you get a barrel with slits around it, some coloured swords and a pirate. The pirate is pushed down inside the barrel and each player takes a pile of the coloured swords of their choice. In turn, they push a sword into one of the slits in the barrel, never knowing which one will cause the pirate to fly out! The player who makes the pirate pop up is out, and the rest of the players remove their swords and start again. The winner is the player who has managed not to make the pirate pop up!

A word of warning - don't play this game with people of a nervous disposition because waiting for the pirate to pop up can get really tense!

Operation

Operation is another game that requires nerves of steel and a steady hand! In Operation, you get a "patient" with removable internal organs and a big red nose. Each player takes turns to pick a card and perform an operation with the tweezers provided. If you remove the organ successfully, you win some play cash but if you make a slip, it sets off a buzzer and the patient's nose glows red! This is also another of the great classic board games for kids and teaches hand to eye co-ordination and slight - albeit humourous - knowledge of the human body.

Cluedo

Cluedo has been a family favourite for generations and shows no signs of losing popularity. In Cluedo, a murder has occurred in a country house and the players must go from room to room trying to decipher who the killer was, where the murder happened and which weapon was used to commit the crime. There is much logic needed to win this game and everyone will need to use their powers of deduction to crack the case.

Monopoly

Everyone knows Monopoly. It is one of the best loved games of all time. In Monopoly, the aim of the game is to buy as many properties as you can while bankrupting the other players and trying to avoid jail. It requires a small degree of skill and a lot of luck to land the best properties on the board. If classic Monopoly might not appeal to your children, there are many other Monopoly versions available including Simpsons and Disney editions.

The benefits of classic kids board games for Christmas are many. They encourage skill development, family bonding time and most importantly, some peace and quiet for you!