Dream Gifts
Give everyone a slip of paper to write down their dream gift, if money were no object. Put them all in a Santa hat. Have each person draw a gift and then try to match the gift with the person who wants it. It can be fun seeing how well they know each other. The kids may surprise you as to what they come up with for their dream gift.
Pin the Tail Variations
Use a picture of reindeer and play “Pin the Nose on Rudolph”. Another way to play is to put Santa’s hat on his head. You could have a package that needs a bow on top. If you want to make it more complicated, for older kids, have a picture tree with several decorations that need to be hung on the tree. Whoever gets the most on the tree wins.
Shake, Rattle and Know
Take some small dollar store type gifts, enough for one for each guest, wrap them in small boxes and number them. Give each guest a piece of paper and pencil. Pass the gifts around and allow them to shake them and see if they can guess what is inside. Once everyone has had a chance to guess all the gifts then start with the youngest to the oldest (or draw numbers) and let each child select a gift. Once everyone has a gift, unwrap them to see how many gifts everyone got right. Each child gets to keep the gift they unwrap.
Snowman Scramble
Divide the children into two teams, with one person from each team as the “snowman”. Put the snowmen at one end of the room, with a box of clothes and other things to dress the snowman in. You could use hats, scarves, jackets, even a nose on a string, like a clown nose. Have a relay race to see which team can completely dress their snowman first.
Freehand Frosty
Give each child a piece of paper and pencil and a blindfold. Tell them to draw a snowman, telling them which part to draw next. Younger children could be given a paper with the outline of the snowman already in place and some eyes, nose and other parts cut out of sticker paper to add to the snowman. The winner is the child who has the most parts in the correct place.
Blizzard Blitz
This is a game for those who have a large area and don’t mind a bit of a mess. Get a bag of packing popcorn and spread it out on the floor. Give each child a bucket and a toy shovel. There are a number of ways to play the game, as a relay race (from the pile to the bucket, handing off the shovel), see who can get the most in a certain amount of time or come with another creative variation on your own.
To learn more, check out the Mom’s Talk Guide to Raising Happy & Healthy Kids – Tips and resources address nutrition, exercise, sleep, routines, and much more.
