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Christmas 2008 holiday guide

6 Of The Best: Family Christmas Games

You've unwrapped all the presents, devoured the Christmas dinner, and polished off the chocolates. What are you going to do now - turn on the telly?

Charades

Possibly the most traditional Christmas game in the world! The problem is, most people end up stuck for inspiration by the second round. This year, plan ahead and print out some seasonal suggestions from our list:

A Charlie Brown Christmas (Christmas movie - 1965)

A Christmas Carol (Book by Charles Dickens and movies)

Angels We Have Heard on High (Christmas carol)

Away in a Manger (Christmas carol)

Blackadder's Christmas Carol (Christmas TV show - 1988)

Deck the Halls (Christmas carol)

Ding! Dong! Merrily on High (Christmas carol)

Frosty the Snowman (Song and TV movie)

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Christmas carol)

I Saw Mommie Kissing Santa Claus (Song)

It's A Wonderful Life (Christmas movie - 1946)

Jingle All the Way (Christmas movie - 1996)

Little Drummer Boy (Christmas carol and TV movie)

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (Christmas movie - 1983)

Miracle on 34th Street (Christmas movie - 1947)

Silent Night (Christmas carol)

The 12 Days of Christmas (Christmas carol)

The Bells of St. Mary's (Christmas movie - 1945)

The Holly and the Ivy (Christmas carol)

The Night Before Christmas (Book by Clement C. Moore)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (Christmas movie - 1993)

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Book by Dr Seuss and movie)

We Three Kings (Christmas carol)

Pin the tail on the reindeer

The same as Pin The Tail On The Donkey, but with a festive theme. If you're playing with younger children, consider awarding prizes for near-misses as well as direct hits.

Letter to Santa

A seasonal variation on the alphabetical memory game:

'I wrote a letter to Santa and asked for an ... android.' 'I wrote a letter to Santa and Asked for an android and a... Barbie.' 'I wrote a letter to Santa and asked for an android, a Barbie and a... computer.'

Take it in turns to repeat the list and add an item - using alphabetical order makes it easier on the memory but harder on the imagination.

Queen's Speech

Best not to try this is you're spending Christmas with a staunchly monarchist granny! Split into two teams. Both teams compose the following list:

01. A traditional Christmas foodstuff
02. A kitchen utensil
03. A UK tabloid newspaper
04. A male celebrity
05. A part of the human body
06. Something you'd use to clean the bathroom
07. A cartoon character
08. A contagious disease
09. A UK soap opera
10. An exotic holiday destination
11. A small, furry animal
12. The name of one of Santa's reindeers

Now the teams swap lists and have 5 minutes to compose and perform an authentic-sounding Queen's Christmas Speech, mentioning each item on their list in order. Points can be awarded for delivery and creativity, not to mention delivering the speech in a suitably regal manner.

Sprout or sweet?

A slightly revolting game for all the family. Taking it in turns, the victim is blindfolded and another player holds their nose whilst feeding them EITHER a slice of cooked sprout OR a piece of chocolate truffle. The victim has to guess what he/she is actually eating and if they get it right, they win another sweet (probably to take the taste away). Guessing is harder than it seems, as it's difficult to taste anything without using your nose.

In the manner of the word

Noisy and silly, the name of this game explains it all. One player decides on an adverb e.g. merrily, furiously, quickly and whispers it to the player sitting to the right. This player has to sing a Christmas carol in the manner of the word, and continue until the adverb has been guessed by the rest of the players.

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