Santa-Reindeer-Elf
If this game was in your Christmas stocking it would be some novelty socks: a nice idea, but utterly irrelevant outside of December.
10 mins
This is an active variation on the classic rock-paper-scissors game. Instead of using hand signs to indicate the choice, this game involves using the whole body to show which element is chosen. And, of course, it has a Christmassy vibe.
The three choices are Santa, Reindeer, and Elf, and are indicated as follows: Santa - puff out your cheeks in the manner of a jolly old man, and shake your sides with your hands as if chortling with Jolly-St-Nick mirth. Reindeer - make two extravagant antlers with your arms / hands coming out from your head, and paw the ground with one foot as if preparing to take flight. Elf - crouch down as small as possible, and make a hammering motion with your hands as if constructing some sort of wooden toy.
Demonstrate these actions to your group, and explain that Santa beats the Elf because he is their employer, the Elf beats the Reindeer, because they look after and feed them and the Reindeer beats Santa, because if there were no Reindeer to pull the sleigh there would be no way of getting the presents to all the little children. As per rockpaper- scissors, two matching actions is a draw, and no one wins.
Having explained the premise, get your group to pair off and play best-of-three series of engagements to find a collection of winners. Get the winners to pair off and do a best-of-three again, repeating until you have a final pair. The pairs then do a final showdown in front of everyone to find the ultimate Christmas champion.
Snowball fight
If this game was in your Christmas stocking it would be a selection box: perfect for any cold winter evening when everyone needs cheering up.
15 mins
In the unlikely event that we have a white Christmas, simply take your group out to the church car park and let chaos ensue. Failing that, explain to your group that the foam balls that you normally use have been replaced by snowballs (which happen to have exactly the same size, texture and colour as the foam balls) and that you’re going to have an indoor snowball fight.
Divide your group into two equal teams and your playing space into two halves with some sort of dividing line that players aren’t allowed to cross. Explain that, as in snowball fights, the aim is to avoid being hit by the (snow)ball while simultaneously trying to hit as many of the opposition as possible. If a player is hit by a ball thrown by the opposition (restrict this to below the waist only to reduce risk of accidental head shots) without the ball bouncing then they are out, and have to leave the playing area. Make sure your leaders are watching carefully for any hits, and call out any players who don’t voluntarily remove themselves.
Use as many balls as you have, and throw them haphazardly into the playing area at the start to recreate the atmosphere of random snowdrifts providing ammunition, and ensure that no player crosses the dividing line to fetch the balls from the opposition half. Play until one team has eliminated the opposition. Repeat until frostbite starts to numb fingers.
Christmas list
If this game was in your Christmas stocking it would be a Rubix cube : confusing with no end in sight, but ultimately satisfying.
10 mins
A good quick game for playing in a circle. Get your group seated comfortably, and explain that you are going to share your Christmas present list. The challenge is that you will go around the circle and invite them to take turns to guess something that may be on your Christmas list, while you will tell them whether it is or not. Explain that they need to try and work out the rule that you are using to decide whether something is on the list or not.
Get them to use the formula ‘On my Christmas list this year is...’ and then suggest something that might be on your list. The secret rule is this: only if the suggestion starts with the letter that the last correct item ended with is it on the list. So for example if you begin with, ‘On my Christmas list this year is a jumper,’ then the next person would need to say an item beginning with an ‘R’ for it to be on the list. So if they said rabbit, then that would be on the list, whereas if they said cat then it isn’t.
Once a person has had their guess, and you’ve confirmed whether it’s on the list or not, the next person has a go. To make it more tricky, it’s only the last letter of the last correct item on the list that counts. So if in our example someone guessed ‘dog’, the next person would still have to suggest an item beginning with ‘R’ for it to be on the list.
Make sure people who’ve worked out the rule don’t shout it out and spoil it for everyone who’s still trying to guess. You can keep this going over a number of sessions if you like as people get frustrated trying to work out the rule!
Present wrapping
If this game was in your Christmas stocking it would be the wrapping paper. Obviously.
5 mins
Divide your group into small groups of three or four, give each group a roll of (cheap!) wrapping paper and sticky tape, and explain that they need to wrap a present for the rest of the group. The present has to be one of their group members, and they have five minutes to turn him or her into a beautifully wrapped gift. Let them be as creative as they like, just ensure that the ‘presents’ are able to breathe! The winning team is the one with the most presentable gift.
