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Good Holiday Games

Holiday parties bring together people of different ages and backgrounds. Whether you’re throwing a party for friends and family or just inviting over a group of your child’s classmates, you’ll want some good holiday games. Build your party around the games, letting guests know ahead of time what you plan on playing. Bring out the games when guests start getting bored, or use the holiday games as an icebreaker. Let your guests get to know each other over a rousing game.

Holiday Scavenger Hunt
- Create a scavenger hunt, with items relating to the holidays. For example, if you’re throwing a Christmas party, include items like a stocking, tree ornament, candy cane or picture of Santa Claus. For a Valentine’s Day party, ask guests to find candy hearts, a red heart and a cupid. Vary the game, depending on the age range of your guests. For younger guests, hide items around your house or yard. If you’re hosting a party for teenagers or adults, let them find items around the neighborhood, including in their own home. Divide the party guests into small groups, and give each group a list of items. Award prizes based on who finds all the items on their list first or which team finds the most items within a specific amount of time.
White Elephant Gift Exchange
- Set a price for holiday presents, and ask each guest to bring a gift that falls within that price range. Ask the guests to wrap their presents, as they would any holiday gift. Arrange the gifts in a pile in the center of the room, and place numbered slips of paper in a hat. Let each guest draw a number, which determines the order to choose gifts. The first person picks a gift and unwraps it in front of the crowd. The next person has the option of choosing a new gift or taking the gift of the last person. Each guest can either choose a new gift from the pile or take someone else’s gift. If a person loses her gift, she has the option of taking a present from another or picking a new gift.
Pictionary Relay Race
- Write down different types of items relating to the holidays on small slips of paper. Put the slips into a hat, and divide your guests into different teams. Place easels on one side of the room, and arrange your teams on the other end of the room. When you blow your whistle, the first member of the team grabs a paper from the hat, runs to the easel and draws a picture of his item. When his teammates guess correctly, he runs back to the other side, and another teammate runs to the easel. The holiday game continues until one team guesses the correct answer for all of its drawings.

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