If you're planning a Christmas party
for a group of elementary-age children, there are a myriad of
really fun games you can include. Be sure to have lots of prizes
and take lots of pictures because some of the games can be
silly!
To get the kids moving around, start with the "fill the
stocking" game. In this game, create teams so there are at least
3 people and no more than perhaps 6 people on each team. Have a
stocking for each team. Place the stockings on the wall and have
also a bowl of candy and spoons. The first person on each team
will put the spoon in their mouth (backwards, so the bowl of the
spoon is sticking out) and get some candy out of the bowl. Still
holding their spoon in their mouth, they must walk or run to the
stocking on the wall and get the candy in the stocking. They run
back to the line and the next child has a turn (each child
should have his or her on spoon). The game continues until the
candy bowl is empty.
The obvious prize for the stocking game is a big bowl of candy!
Another active game is an "unwrap the game" relay. Provide two
piles presents at one end of the room (these can be presents
with real teats inside, or "dummy" wrapped presents). The
children are divided into two teams and a relay is created. One
person runs to the stack of gifts, unwraps it, throws away the
paper and runs back. Then the next child in line runs up,
unwraps a gift, throws away the paper and runs back. If the
paper lands outside the trash can, the child must run back and
put it back in the trashcan before returning to the line and
allowing another person to take a turn.
If these to games are played first the kids might want a little
rest. Now's the time to play a sit-down Christmas party game,
like "remember this". Get a large cookie sheet or baking tray
and fill it with Christmas-themed items. You might include an
ornament, a candy cane, a Santa hat, garland, ribbon, etc. There
should be at least 20 items on the tray. Give each child about
20 seconds to look at the items, then cover the tray and remove
it from sight. Give the children another 20-30 seconds to
remember everything they saw on the tray. Have them quickly
write don their guesses. The prize is for whoever remembers the
most items!
Another good sit down game and one that's also a learning game
is a word find game. Provide children with a list of Christmas
words and have them find other words within those words. For
example, if one word is "reindeer" they might find in, deer,
red, den, and so on. Longer words are best, so think of words
like Christmas, snowballs, poinsettia, holly berry and the
like).
Children love games that involve sitting in a circle and having
fun that way. Here's a "circle" game children are sure to love.
This tests their ability to remember little details about other
people, like their voice. Have handy a sleigh, either one cut
out of cardboard or a small one purchased a gift or dollar
store. Blindfold one child and have another child hold the
sleigh. The child with the sleigh calls out to the blindfolded
child something like this:
Santa, where's your sleigh?
Someone's come and taken it away.
Who has it? Who?
The blindfolded child has to guess who has the sleigh. Give the
child 3 chances to get it right before giving the sleigh and
blindfold to other children.
For another sit down game, give each child a piece of paper and
a pencil. Tell them to close their eyes and then tell them what
to draw. Give them the shapes, but don't tell them exactly what
they are trying to draw (though most children will figure it
out). So, first tell them to draw three circles, with the
largest being on the bottom and the smallest on the top. Then
tell them to draw dots for eyes, and buttons for a coat. Keep
going until you have described a snowman. Then have the children
open their eyes to see what they have actually drawn. Award a
prize for the drawing that most closely resembles a snowman.