Christmas Games and other Fun Activities

Maybe no other single activity really embraces camaraderie, playfulness and fierce but friendly competition as heartily participating in playing indoor games with friends and family. Christmas games does all those things but also serves the purpose of bringing friends and family together to interact directly with each other in a competitive and happy way. Participating in Christmas games is another way of sharing, but it is also doing something tangible to get into the festive, jolly and relaxed mode for the holidays. Otherwise, its easy to get caught up in all the preparation and shopping and become ridden with anxiety. Here are some holiday and Christmas games that will cause fierce but friendly competition and leave everyone in a jolly mood. For the 'Gift Wrap' game, items needed will be small gifts, wrapping paper, scotch tape and music that can be turned on and off at will. Each gift item is wrapped in several layers of paper. The number of layers used will depend on the duration you want the game to last. A gift is given to the group which should start passing around the gift when the music starts. Whenever the music stops, whoever has the gift should remove one layer of gift wrap. This continues until the last layer of paper is removed. Whoever has the gift unwrapped gets to keep it. The items needed for the 'Sock Guessing' Christmas game are two or three thick new thermal socks, items used or seen during Christmas, pens, pencils and paper. Each sock is stuffed with 20-25 items that are used or seen during the Christmas season. These can be useful items such as scotch tape, ornaments, decorations etc. Each sock should have the same items and the opening should be tied with a ribbon so the contents inside aren't visible. The socks are then passed around for each person to try to feel and guess the items then write down what they think is in the sock. The person with the most correct guesses of objects is the winner and can be awarded a separate special gift or token. The 'Gift Grab Card Game' needs two deck of cards and a few small Christmas gifts that are wrapped to look very interesting and enticing. One deck of cards is passed out one at a time to guests. Each should have an equal number of cards from the deck. The gifts are then placed in the center of the group. Someone then calls out cards from the second deck. Whoever has an identical card gets to choose a gift. When all the gifts are taken, everyone can steal gifts from each other until the deck is finished and those with gifts get to open and keep them as prizes. The fun increases when the stealing begins because everyone will have different ideas about which gift looks interesting and try to hang onto it by stealing it over and over if it is stolen. Some people will also try to disguise the fact they have a gift, although they should be kept in sight. A children's Christmas game is 'Pin the Nose on the Reindeer,' which is the Christmas game version of 'Pin the tail on the Donkey.' The items needed are a drawing of a reindeer's head with an incomplete drawing of the nose and several noses with the names on one side and tape on the other. The picture should be placed against a wall so that children can reach the nose. Each child then gets a nose. They take turns being blindfolded spun around a couple times to disorient them a little then told to walk to the reindeer and place the nose on the picture. The child who places the nose closes to the reindeer's nose wins. A delightful Christmas game for work is the 'Match the Desk to the Item' game. A day or so before the Christmas party at work, someone needs to secretly take one item from each person's desk and assign a number to each item. At the party, all the items are displayed for everyone to guess whose desk the item belongs to.

Christmas Plays/Performances

It's always a good thing when families can enjoy outings together. Attending Christmas plays, performances and concerts offer wonderful holiday entertainment for all members of the family. Attending Christmas performances and concerts offers wonderful entertainment for the entire family and provides another way to enjoy the festivities of the Christmas season. Families usually don't have to venture too far from their home to enjoy a Christmas play or concert. That's because amateur actors, singers and budding musicians in their neighborhood will usually take part in several Christmas performances for local residents. These amateur but entertaining events can be found at local schools, churches or at a community theater or performance center. It's very popular for those groups to stage performances of the Nativity story, or other Christmas related works such as 'A Christmas Carol.' churches and school groups may even have a complete concert series that includes a full-length production of a play along with choirs, soloists and the band singing Christmas carols and other Christmas songs. What makes local Christmas performances special is that members of the community and maybe even of your own household can be among the entertainers. It is therefore special to see familiar faces doing something interesting and different. For those who are budget-conscious, the performances are usually priced to be very affordable, therefore offering an economic incentive to go out and have an enjoyable afternoon or evening. Those people who are lovers of the arts and who are more interested in seeing a professional performance will likely also have a professional theatrical company within reasonable proximity of their residence. Professional groups may also perform Christmas classics such as 'A Christmas Carol' or they may do another dramatic production from the works of other playwrights. Music lovers also have a variety of performances to enjoy at Christmas time. While one can always catch various groups singing carols in downtown areas or at malls, there are other places to hear rich, melodious performances of Christmas music. These include concerts by acclaimed or recognized conservatories, orchestras, symphonies and renowned choir groups. The beauty of hearing Christmas music by these groups is in the accompaniment of instruments and the harmonious blending of voices, which all happens in a venue that has acoustic features to optimize the auditory pleasure of the performances. The different components that together make the whole performance offers a richer quality to Christmas songs and carols that may be described as 'sounding heavenly.'Another popular artistic performance that is popular during the Christmas season is classical dance in the form of ballet, and particularly the performance of the 'Nutcracker' ballet. With music written by Tchaikovsky, the story is about a young girl who has a dream on Christmas Eve of a Nutcracker Prince and a fierce battle with a Mouse King that has seven heads. After a fierce battle between the Nutcracker, who leads an army of toy soldiers, and the Mouse King who leads an army of mice, the Nutcracker is captured. But the little girl throws her slipper at the Mouse King, hits him in the head and kills him. In the end, the Nutcracker turns into a Prince and takes the little girl to the magical and enchanting Land of Snow with dancing snowflakes and the Land of Sweets with the Sugar Plum Fairy. Attending Christmas plays, concerts or musical performances serves the basic purpose of providing enjoyment, but it can also help young people, and even adults, to develop an appreciation for the arts. Seeing different variations and the creativity in performances of Christmas plays, as well as hearing different renditions of Christmas songs, can be the first exposure that leads to a lifelong love of the arts and maybe a dream to pursue a career in the arts.