Hobbies And Interests
I'm Going to Grandmother's for Christmas and....
Give this traditional word game a Christmas twist! This game is played in a circle, with one person beginning the game by saying "I'm going to grandmother's for Christmas and I'm bringing..." and stating something to bring that is both Christmas-y and begins with the letter A. The next person will repeat what the first person said to bring and will add his own beginning with the letter B. This will continue until the alphabet has been exhausted. If there are more players than letters in the alphabet, begin the alphabet again.
Christmas Concentration
Purchase a Christmas game of Concentration at your local toy store, or make one by cutting out cards and drawing two matching Christmas pictures on it. Players will turn the cards over on their backs and flip over cards two at a time. If a player gets a match, the cards are his. This continues until all the cards are turned over. The player with the most matched pairs at the end of the game wins. You can also play this game online at DLTK's Holiday website and Game Puzzles.
What's Missing
This is a game that tests short-term memory and works well in a classroom. Place several Christmas items, such as stuffed reindeer, gingerbread men, Christmas trees and ornaments on a tray. Give students a few minutes to study the items. Have the students close their eyes and then take away one or two objects. See if they can guess which object was taken away.
Drawing from Memory
Place a detailed item in front of your students or family and friends, such as a gingerbread man with a Santa hat and multi-colored buttons or an extremely detailed nutcracker. Take the item away and ask your friends and family or students to then draw the object, using as many details as possible. How many were they able to get right?