‘Tis the Season to Party!

The holidays are here! And let me tell you this is my favorite time of year! I love the holidays because it means lots of opportunities to spend time with friends and family. After all, what would the holidays be without great holiday parties and social gatherings?

Over the years, I’ve discovered that nothing makes a party like the perfect game. Party games have the ability to break people out of their shells and bring them closer together. A great game can liven up even the dullest of social gatherings. So I’ve put together a list of my top 5 favorite holiday party games, so you can bring even more fun, laughter, and enjoyment to your gatherings this holiday season.

Gift Wrap Relay

Line up all your gift-wrapping tools, including the gifts, wrapping paper, ribbon, tape and scissors. Now divide all of your party guests into teams. And then it’s an all out race to wrap! Give the fastest wrapper a prize and donate all of your freshly wrapped gifts to the local toy drive.

Fill The Stocking

Have teams work together to use spoons to fill stockings up with candy. The fastest to fill their stocking wins!

Snowman Building Contest

This can be done in teams or pairs. Setup a box of fun accessories to use and then give away a prize for both the fastest and the most original.

Name That Carol

Play the first few bars or provide a few lyrics to a Christmas carol (not the title). The first person to name that carol wins a prize.

Christmas Gift Fact Exchange

Ask guests to bring a gift with them to your party. As they arrive, number each gift before you put it under the tree. The person who brought the gift should receive a corresponding number. On the opposite side from the number, have them write a little known fact about themselves and throw it into a bowl. When gift exchange starts, the host draws a slip and reads only the fact. The first person to guess the owner correctly gets the package with the corresponding number. Once someone guesses correctly, they are out of the game. The game ends when there is one gift left for the host.

These are some of my favorite games to play at holiday parties, but if they don’t quite suit your fancy, that’s OK! But even if you don’t go with one of these options, the weight of providing entertainment for your holiday party still doesn’t have to fall on your shoulders. Instead, consider having a themed gift exchange. You could ask everyone to bring a wrapped party game, such as Scene It, Catchphrase, or Apples to Apples—it’s like a party in a box. Now that’s a gift that will keep on giving!