Make the Most of Your Time This Holiday Season with Fun Party Games
While hot chocolate and twinkly lights definitely get you in the Christmas spirit, nothing says it’s the holiday season more than friends and family coming together to enjoy some festive (albeit competitive) fun. Holiday party games are just the thing to get even the grinchiest person to enjoy any upcoming family gatherings. Create your own games or take notes on the following suggestions to make the most of your time with your family and friends this holiday season:
The Saran Wrap Ball
If you enjoy watching those you love do ridiculous things for entertainment, then this is the game for you this holiday season. Don’t worry because you can join in on the fun, too, and everyone can laugh at each other as you all frantically try to unwrap the saran wrap ball to get more prizes. Here’s how you play:
First, you are going to need a roll of saran wrap, or more depending on the size of the ball you want to make. The more gifts you want to add to the ball, the more saran wrap you are going to need.
Next, start packing in the prizes. You can include gifts like candy, packs of gum, chapsticks, cash, scratch off tickets, gift cards, small jewelry items, and if the players are over 21, those small $1 alcohol bottles. Really you can put anything in there that you want and think others will enjoy. Remember to put the most valuable items in the center of the ball. Tightly wrap all of the prizes into the saran wrap until you have a nice sized ball.
You’ll need a pair of oven mitts and two dice. Gather your group into a circle and wait for hilarity to ensue.
Give one person the ball to start and have them put on the oven mitts. The person to their right will roll the dice until they get doubles. While they are rolling, the person with the ball will try to unwrap as much as they can, keeping any prizes that fall out during their turn. As soon as the person with the dice rolls doubles, it is now their turn to have a go at unwrapping the ball. Pass the ball and the mitts to them, and give the dice to the next person in line.
The oven mitts definitely make the game harder, but that’s the fun of it. Watch as your family and friends struggle to win the most prizes, and then have a go at it yourself.
White Elephant Gift Exchange
Another game that you can play during the holiday season with your friends and family is the White Elephant Gift Exchange. This game is also known as Dirty Santa or Yankee Swap.
For this game, you have to prepare beforehand by having each of your guests bring a wrapped gift to the party. Most groups set a low price limit for these gifts, such as $5 or $10. When all of the wrapped gifts have arrived, place them in the middle of the room. Write out numbers for each of your guests and have everyone draw. For example, if there are 12 guests, have everyone draw a number between 1 and 12.
Now, you are ready to play. Whoever drew the number “1” gets to go first. This person gets to pick a gift from the pile and unwrap it. The person who drew the number “2” goes next. They can choose from the pile of gifts and unwrap another gift, or they can “steal” the gift that has already been opened. If this person chooses to steal, leaving the original gift possessor without a gift, they get to choose another gift or steal. This goes on until someone chooses to open a gift from the pile again.
You continue taking turns in numerical order and everyone has the choice of stealing a gift or opening a new one. But here is the catch: every gift can only be stolen three times. Once a gift is stolen for the third time, it is off of the table and the current possessor gets to keep said gift.
This is a great game for a group of friends or families. You can send out instructions with your invites so that your guests come prepared for the fun. It’s a perfect Christmas Eve game to give everyone a preview of Christmas morning where they will get even more gifts.
Have fun with this gift exchange game this holiday season. It always makes for great fun and a little family rivalry.
Pin the Nose on Rudolph
Pin the Nose on Rudolph is a classic game that is fun to play for all ages. Take a trip down memory lane with your friends and family this holiday season by being a kid again with this festive party game.
All you need to play is a poster of a reindeer up on a wall, some sort of red ball (like a clown nose) with adhesive or a pin so that it can stick to the poster, and a blindfold. Whoever wants to go first gets the nose, has the blindfold put on them, and then is spun around. Their goal is to try to get the nose as close to the correct spot on the reindeer as possible. Take turns and whoever gets the nose the closest wins and can get a prize.
While this game is very simple, it is extremely entertaining to play at any holiday party with kids, friends, family, or even coworkers.
