The winter holidays are an exciting time for children, which is a blessing and, well, sometimes a bit less of a blessing. On the one hand, it’s great watching those eager little faces. On the other, that much energy needs to be channeled or it’s going to finds its own, potentially unwanted, outlets. That’s where holiday games for kids come in. Here’s five games to help keep kids happy and active as they wait for the winter festivities to reach their peak.
Snowman Wrap
This game requires some supervision, but it’s guaranteed to have kids dissolving into giggles.
The concept is easy. Cut two black construction paper circles for the snowman eyes, an orange triangle for nose, and a series of small black dots for the smile. You’ll also need some tape, and a few rolls of cheap single-ply toilet paper.
One person is the snowman. The rest use the toilet paper to wrap the volunteer with toilet paper to make the snowman. When the person is completely wrapped, tape the nose, eyes, and mouth to the snowman, snap a couple of pictures, then unwrap your brave volunteer. If none of the children are brave enough to be the snowman, they’ll love wrapping an adult.
What’s in Santa’s Hat
A much quieter game than the Snowman Wrap, What’s in Santa’s Hat is ideal for playing in front of a glowing Christmas tree. All you need is a Santa hat and some small seasonal items—pinecones, candy canes, beads, and small decorations. Each player—without looking—feels the outside of the hat and writes down what they think is inside. The person who makes the most correct guesses wins.
Snowman Bowling
One of the most popular holiday games for kids, Snowman Bowling can be quickly set up in a hallway and doubles as a holiday craft. You’ll need:
- 6 white Styrofoam cups
- Orange and black construction paper
- Glue
- Rolled up white socks.
Turn the Styrofoam cups upside-down. Use the craft paper to make eyes, smiles, and noses for the snowmen and glue them to the cups to make smiling faces. Once dry, stack the cups into a snowman pyramid and bowl them down with the sock “snowballs.”
Pin the Star on The Tree
This is simply the old party standby Pin the Tail on the Donkey with a Christmas twist. Cut out the outline of a Christmas tree from green construction paper, make some cut-out stars from yellow paper and pin the tree to the wall. Stick a pin through the middle of each star, and have blindfolded players try to position it on the top of the tree—with supervision of course.
Snow blowers
Another simple holiday game with the potential to keep little ones amused for extended periods, Snow blowers only requires some plastic cups, white ping-pong balls, straws, and a little tape. Tape the cups to the side of a table. Players race to see how many ping-pong snowballs they can blow into their cups using the straws.
In addition to holiday games for kids, make sure to have a few coloring books and puzzles available for the winter season. The more activities you have ready, the more involved and engaged your children will be.
