Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. For Christmas Eve, my family all gets together at my Grandma’s house to celebrate. Usually we hang out for a bit, eat dinner, do secret Santa, and leave. I felt like we needed to mix things up and interact more so this year I created the Christmas Game Tournament and let me tell you, it was a BLAST! I’ve outlined all the games and included pictures. Everyone had so much fun working together as teams to win. The teams were randomly drawn out of a hat so the families were all kinds of mixed up, which worked perfectly.

Jingle Bell Shake

What you need:

• Jingle bells
• 2 empty long tissue boxes
• 2 long pieces of ribbon (cut the tissue box to thread the ribbon through to tie around your waist)

Instructions:

1. You will need one person from each team.
2. Each person will tie a tissue box full of jingle bells around their waste.
3. They will have 1 minute to shake out as many jingle bells as possible.
4. Make sure the two people are separated enough so you don’t get their jingle bells mixed up as they fall out.
5. You can’t use your hands or have any help from teammates.
6. The person who shakes out the most jingle bells wins!

Antler Toss

What you need:

• Inflatable reindeer antlers (from Amazon)

Instructions:

1. You will need all team members to participate.
2. Teams will pick one person to wear the antlers.
3. Everyone else will stand a few feet away from the person wearing the antlers and will each toss 1 ring.
4. Each ring that lands and stays on an antler will give your team 5 points.

Marshmallow Madness

What you need:

• A bag of mini marshmallows
• 2 sets of chopsticks
• 2 cups or bowls

Instructions:

1. You will need two people from each team.
2. Each participant will have one chopstick.
3. The two volunteers have to work as a team while each only using one chopstick to get as many mini marshmallows into the cup/bowl as possible.
4. They will have 1 minute to complete the task.
5. You cannot stab the marshmallows or use anything other than your chopsticks.
6. Whoever gets the most marshmallows in their cup/bowl wins!

Christmas Art

What you need:

• Non-glossy paper plates for each player
• A marker for each player

Instructions:

1. Everyone will participate in this round.
2. Hand each person a paper plate and a marker.
3. Have everyone put their paper plate on their head. They can hold it on there with their hand.
4. They will follow along with the instructions you give them.
   1. Draw a line for a floor.
   2. On the left side of the plate, draw a Christmas tree.
   3. In the middle, draw a fireplace with a mantle.
   4. Put 5 ornaments on the tree.
   5. Draw 3 stockings hanging on the mantle.
   6. Draw a star on the top of the tree.
   7. Draw 2 presents on the floor under the tree.
5. Have everyone calculate their score based on these criteria.
   1. 2 points if your presents are between the tree and the floor.
   2. 3 points for each stocking that touches the mantle.
   3. 5 points if your star is on the top of your tree.
   4. 1 point for every ornament actually on your tree.
   5. 3 points if your fireplace doesn’t touch your tree – that’s a fire hazard!
6. Once everyone tallies their individual scores, take the team average. The highest average wins!

Snowman Darts

What you need:

• A print out of a snowman’s face (I used something similar to this one)
• Darts
• Dartboard

Instructions:

1. You will need one member from each team.
2. You will get 5 darts to throw from a set spot.
3. 2 points are awarded if a dart hits one of the snowman’s eyes, 3 points for landing on the snowman’s nose, and 4 points for landing on one of the dots for his mouth.
4. Those points are added to the team’s total.

Festive Flip Cup

What you need:

• A solo cup for every team member
• A card table
• A small amount of any beverage in each person’s cup

Instructions:

1. Everyone will fill a solo cup with a small amount of any beverage in the bottom.
2. One team lines up on one side of the table. The other team on the other side of the table.
3. Make sure everyone knows how to play flip cup.
   1. When it’s your turn, you drink what’s in your cup and put the cup bottom down on the edge of the table, barely hanging over.
   2. Use one and to flick the hanging edge of the cup so it flips in the air.
   3. The goal is for the cup to land open end on the table, so the cup is upside down.
   4. Then it’s the next person’s turn.
   5. Both teams play at the same time.
4. The first team to make it all the way through the line wins 15 points for their team!

Candy Cane Drop

What you need:

• 2 boxes of candy canes
• 2 ribbons tied onto the back of 2 sets of chairs

Instructions:

1. You will need one person from each team.
2. Each person will stand on the seat of a chair (we kneeled because the chairs were taller barstools).
3. They will hold their arm out straight from their shoulder and drop candy canes onto the ribbon.
4. Points are awarded to the team who gets the most candy canes to land and stay on the ribbon.
5. Players can switch to the other chair on the end of their ribbon at any point if they want.

Trivia

What you need:

• 2 sets of trivia papers
• Pen/pencil for each team

Instructions:

1. Each team is given a trivia paper to complete as a team.
2. Phones must be placed away from the teams so there is no cheating.
3. The team to turn in the trivia paper first gets 3 bonus points. So you have to think carefully, but also be quick!
4. Teams get as many points as they answer correctly on the trivia questions.

Christmas Trivia Questions

1. 1. How many ghosts visit Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol? (3 points)
      1. 4
   2. Where was baby Jesus born? (3 points)
      1. Bethlehem
   3. In Home Alone, where are the McCallisters going on vacation when they leave Kevin behind? (3 points)
      1. Paris
   4. Which actor played six different roles in The Polar Express? (3 points for correct answer, 1 point for each character you can name)
      1. Tom Hanks
         1. Conductor
         2. Santa
         3. Homeless man
         4. Ebenezer Scrooge
         5. Boy’s father
         6. Adult Boy
   5. Which country did eggnog come from? (3 points)
      1. England
   6. What are you supposed to do when you are under the mistletoe? (3 points)
      1. Kiss
   7. Which one of Santa’s reindeer has the same name as another holiday mascot? (3 points)
      1. Cupid
   8. What percentage of Americans buy artificial Christmas trees? (3 points)
      1. 43%  2. 82%  3. 56%  4. 91%
   9. Which country started the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree? (3 points)
      1. Germany
   10. Which fairy tale were the first gingerbread houses inspired by? (3 points)
       1. Hansel and Gretel
   11. How many languages can you write Merry Christmas in? (2 points for each language)
   12. What is the best-selling Christmas song of all time? (3 points)
       1. White Christmas by Bing Crosby
   13. What was Frosty the Snowman’s nose made out of? (3 points)
       1. A button
   14. In the 1964 movie Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, what was the name of Rudolph’s elf friend? (3 points) What did he want to be? (1 bonus point)
       1. Hermey, a dentist
   15. What was the first company that used Santa in advertising? (3 points)
       1. Coca-Cola
   16. What Christmas-themed ballet premiered in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1892? (3 points)
       1. The Nutcracker
   17. How many “sizes” too small was the Grinch’s heart? How many “sizes” did the Grinch’s heart grow at the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas? (2 points per correct answer)
       1. 2 sizes too small
       2. Grew 3 sizes
   18. Visions of what sweet food danced in children’s heads as they slept, according to the poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas? (3 points)
       1. Sugar plums
   19. In the song Winter Wonderland, who do we pretend the snowman is? (3 points)
       1. Parson Brown
   20. Write out the 12 days of Christmas in order. (1 point for every correct answer)
       1. Partridge in a pear tree
       2. Two turtle doves
       3. Three French hens
       4. Four calling birds
       5. Five golden rings
       6. Six geese a-laying
       7. Seven swans a-swimming
       8. Eight maids a-milking
       9. Nine ladies dancing
       10. Ten lords a-leaping
       11. Eleven pipers piping
       12. Twelve drummers drumming