Inexpensive Christmas Games for the Family

There are as many Christmas traditions as there are families that celebrate them. One of our traditions is to play a few games while we wait for Santa's arrival. I have found that these games are just as much fun played at any Holiday gathering. Each game requires a minimum of props and preparation and can be played for any length of time.

1. Magic Candy Cane. You will need a Candy Cane, and two people who each know the secret of the game, a leader and his helper. The object of the game is to convince the other players that the Candy Cane can take a Magic picture of someone, or their Christmas Spirit. To play the game seat everyone in a circle, either on the floor or in chairs. The lead person will hold the Candy Cane and send his helper and another person from the group outof the room. The leader will choose one of the players in the circle and "take" their picture using the Candy Cane as if it was the camera. The leader sits back down in the circle and everyone then calls in the two people and hands the second person the Candy Cane. If they look very carefully, they will be able to "see" the picture of the chosen person. They may guess who it is. If wrong, the helper then looks at the picture and will be able to point out the real person. It's a Miracle! The person who's picture was taken now goes out with the helper and a new player from the circle leaves with the helper. Do you see how it works? All right, it does help if you know the trick, so here it is. After the leader takes the "picture" of his chosen person he sits back down in the circle and begins to copy cat that person's gestures, feet position and how they sit. When the helper comes back he or she simply looks for the person the leader is imitating. Hopefully the leader follows the change of movements carefully enough that the crowd doesn't notice the changes too easily. Young children generally do not figure out the secret, so this game is good for many playings. The Candy Cane prop can be changed to match the Holiday, such as an Easter Egg, Turkey Feather, even a Magic Spoon, will work.

2. Snowball Scoop. This game was old in the 1950's, but it still is fun today. You will need a plate, a spoon, a timer, cotton balls and a blindfold. The object of the game is to scoop as many of the Snowballs, (cotton balls) onto the plate. The player sits on the floor, or a table with the plate in front of him or her. The snowballs are scattered around the plate. Put the blindfold on the player, no peeking please, and hand them the spoon. Once the timer is started he can try to scoop up the snowballs and dump them onto the plate. The fun begins as the crowd cheers on each attempt to scoop. Oooh, you have a whole bunch, oooh you just missed that one, you're really piling them on now! The problem is you can't actually feel how many cotton balls you have on the spoon. The player can't use his fingers to secure the snowballs to the spoon, nor can they push them against the plate and then flip them onto the plate. The winner would be the person who has scooped the most snowballs, but the real fun is in the cheering. This game works equally well at Easter, especially if you use colored cotton balls.

3. Who has Rudolph's Nose? Another classic game with a Holiday Twist. To play you will need a red pom pom, small red ball, or small red plastic ornament. The object needs to be small enough to hide in little hands. Just as the circle of life goes on, games often are best played in circles too. Have all the players, except one, sit in a circle on the floor. As the game begins, one person stands in the middle and covers their eyes, please no peeking. Once their eyes are covered, the circle starts passing the red ball, Rudy's nose. When the center person calls "STOP", he waits a moment while everyone puts their hands behind their backs, including the person who ended up with the ball. Keep it well hidden in your hands! The center person, may have 3 guesses as to who has Rudolph's nose behind their back. If they guess they can play again, or if they miss all 3 chances, the person who actually had the Nose, gets to be in the center. This again is an adaptable game by simply changing the object that is passed around.

I hope your family, gathering or Church group enjoys these games as much as we do. Plesase have a fun, safe Holiday season.