Family Fun
Family Fun for all Holidays
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Fun and Games for The Holidays...
With Christmas just passed if your kids are like mine, they’re just as excited about seeing family as they are about opening their long-awaited presents. In our family, it’s the one time a year when first, second and third cousins, from tots to preteens from as far away as California have free rein of Grandma’s house in Brooklyn and get to play from morning into the night.
They’re rarely at a loss of how to while away the hours, but that stretch between opening presents in the morning and dinnertime can sometimes be a long one to fill. So this year, we’re planning to play some fun party games that can be festive additions to any holiday gathering with a bunch of little ones. Hoping these ideas add some fun to the holidays for Suzy Said fans and your families!
Present Freeze Dance
This one was a big hit at a party my 7-year-old just went to and can be a fun one for kids and adults to play together and entertaining to watch. All you need is a roll of wrapping paper and all the bows from the presents opened earlier (you may have to put scotch tape on the back of some of the less sticky bows ahead of time). Designate a grownup to be the “present” and have all the kids “wrap” the paper around him or her. Then play music and have the kids stick the bows onto the “present”; whoever is adhering a bow when the music stops is “out.” Keep playing until only the winning child remains. A great way to use up all that holiday wrapping paper left over!
Rudolph Dash
Here’s a good one to play outside to get a little fresh air and burn off a little steam! And moms, dads, aunts and uncles can join in to make the teams a respectable size.
All you need is one red circle cut out of red construction paper for each kid and a container of Vaseline.
Divide the kids into relay teams. Have the first children in the lines put Vaseline on their noses and then put the red circles on their noses. They then race to the finish line, drop the nose into a bowl and return to tag the next person in line. The race continues with each new person adding their red nose to the bowl. If their nose falls off, they go back, add more Vaseline and reapply the nose. First team with all their noses in the bowl wins. Modify for Valentines Day with hearts or St Patty;s day with shamrocks!
Musical Present
Wrap identical small gifts (candy is always good) for each kid. Gather the crowd in a circle and give one of the children one of the presents. Play music and have them pass the present around the circle. When the music stops, the child holding the present gets to keep it. Then he or she drops out of the game. Start another present around the circle and keep going until every kid “wins” a present.
Fill The Christmas Stocking
Divide into teams. Have children line up at one end of the room. At the other end, hang a Christmas stocking for each team. Place a bowl of candy and a spoon in front of each team. Each child takes a turn taking a candy from the bowl with the spoon. They then carry the candy on the spoon to the stocking and drop the candy in the stocking. Race back to the next person in line, give them the spoon. First team to fill the stocking wins!
Santa Says
Play like "Simon Says" but replace the phrase "Simon Says" with "Santa Says." For instance, leader Elf says: “Santa says, ‘Put your hands on your head.’” All players should put their hands on their head. When the leader Elf gives an instruction without saying "Santa Says" and the followers do the action anyway, the leader Elf says "HO! HO! HO!" and the player must sit down. The last player left standing is the winner and can then be the leader Elf.
With Christmas just passed if your kids are like mine, they’re just as excited about seeing family as they are about opening their long-awaited presents. In our family, it’s the one time a year when first, second and third cousins, from tots to preteens from as far away as California have free rein of Grandma’s house in Brooklyn and get to play from morning into the night.
They’re rarely at a loss of how to while away the hours, but that stretch between opening presents in the morning and dinnertime can sometimes be a long one to fill. So this year, we’re planning to play some fun party games that can be festive additions to any holiday gathering with a bunch of little ones. Hoping these ideas add some fun to the holidays for Suzy Said fans and your families!
Present Freeze Dance
This one was a big hit at a party my 7-year-old just went to and can be a fun one for kids and adults to play together and entertaining to watch. All you need is a roll of wrapping paper and all the bows from the presents opened earlier (you may have to put scotch tape on the back of some of the less sticky bows ahead of time). Designate a grownup to be the “present” and have all the kids “wrap” the paper around him or her. Then play music and have the kids stick the bows onto the “present”; whoever is adhering a bow when the music stops is “out.” Keep playing until only the winning child remains. A great way to use up all that holiday wrapping paper left over!
Rudolph Dash
Here’s a good one to play outside to get a little fresh air and burn off a little steam! And moms, dads, aunts and uncles can join in to make the teams a respectable size.
All you need is one red circle cut out of red construction paper for each kid and a container of Vaseline.
Divide the kids into relay teams. Have the first children in the lines put Vaseline on their noses and then put the red circles on their noses. They then race to the finish line, drop the nose into a bowl and return to tag the next person in line. The race continues with each new person adding their red nose to the bowl. If their nose falls off, they go back, add more Vaseline and reapply the nose. First team with all their noses in the bowl wins. Modify for Valentines Day with hearts or St Patty;s day with shamrocks!
Musical Present
Wrap identical small gifts (candy is always good) for each kid. Gather the crowd in a circle and give one of the children one of the presents. Play music and have them pass the present around the circle. When the music stops, the child holding the present gets to keep it. Then he or she drops out of the game. Start another present around the circle and keep going until every kid “wins” a present.
Fill The Christmas Stocking
Divide into teams. Have children line up at one end of the room. At the other end, hang a Christmas stocking for each team. Place a bowl of candy and a spoon in front of each team. Each child takes a turn taking a candy from the bowl with the spoon. They then carry the candy on the spoon to the stocking and drop the candy in the stocking. Race back to the next person in line, give them the spoon. First team to fill the stocking wins!
Santa Says
Play like "Simon Says" but replace the phrase "Simon Says" with "Santa Says." For instance, leader Elf says: “Santa says, ‘Put your hands on your head.’” All players should put their hands on their head. When the leader Elf gives an instruction without saying "Santa Says" and the followers do the action anyway, the leader Elf says "HO! HO! HO!" and the player must sit down. The last player left standing is the winner and can then be the leader Elf.
