The Best Christmas Party Games for Kids

Children love games. Any time that a group of them have gathered, it's always fun to organize some of the playtime to keep everyone in the Christmas spirit. In classrooms, it helps to burn off some energy and some of the excitement of the season without dampening spirits. At family functions, it keeps kids occupied until it is time to open the presents. At parties, they are, of course, a necessity. If you are trying some at a family function, pick up small prizes to award to add to the fun. Be sure to have a small prize for each child, in addition to those that can be won, so no one goes away empty handed.

Here are some fun favorites to try:

GUESS THE STOCKING STUFFER - This is a wonderful choice for children of all ages, because the contents of the stocking can be adjusted according to the audience, with older children getting harder-to-guess items. If the group has a wide variety of ages, one stocking can be used for "6 and under" while the other is for "7 and up."

Materials:

- Large Christmas Stocking

- Several safe-to-touch definable items (such as a candy cane, a rubber ball, a wrapped candy bar, a tiny toy train, a doll-sized Santa hat, etc)

Each player takes a turn reaching inside of the stocking, without looking, and feeling a item inside. In less than one minute, the player must guess what the item they are holding is (the time can be lengthened for younger players). The player then draws out the item to see if they are correct. The item is then set aside and the next player takes a turn. Players are awarded points for each correct guess. The first person with three points is the winner (or the person with the most points once all items are gone).

ALTERNATE VERSION: Use several smaller stockings and place one item in each. Each player chooses a stocking and then feels the item through the stocking to try to guess what it is.

COLD SNOWBALL - This game is also great for a crowd that has a range of ages because it is largely a game of chance. However, it will not hold the attention of older children for long. Another highlight of the game is that it is seasonally neutral. Therefore, it solves complications that could arise amid different family practices. For example, if you have some children in the group whose family does not believe in associating Santa Clause with the Christmas season, the game will still work for those children.

- A snowball created by coating a Styrofoam ball with glue and rolling it in glitter and beads, a white ball of yarn, or a white beanbag.

- Christmas music

This game is played like hot potato. Players sit in a circle and the leader turns their back and plays Christmas music. The players pass the snowball from one to the next. When the music stops, the person holding the snowball is eliminated and has to leave the circle. Play continues until only one player remains and that player is the winner of the game.

SANTA SAYS - This is a great impromptu game that works well if children need to be amused and there are no materials to set up a more formal game. Alternately, if you do not like to use the term "Santa" you could use "Candycane Sue" or some other seasonal name that keeps the spirit of the holiday alive while playing.

The game is played just like Simon Says, only with "Simon" replaced with "Santa." One person (usually an adult) plays the role of "Santa" and tells players to do various things, such as "Santa says touch your toes" and the players should touch their toes. Santa gives a series of commands, all starting with "Santa says," then drop the "Santa says" portion of the order. For example, "stand on one foot." Any player who performs an action that didn't start with "Santa says" is eliminated from the game. Play continues until only one player remains and that player is the winner.