Have you got loads of excited kids around during Christmas time? If you’re wondering what to do to get everyone into the Christmas spirit, there are loads of awesome indoor games for kids you can plan to provide some fun at home.
Santa’s Christmas Limbo
Let’s get started with a festive game of limbo. Make it a Christmassy limbo by using a string of Christmas lights or a strand of tinsel strung between two points instead of a limbo stick. Here is where the humour comes in – you add a Santa belly for each child. You will need a larger t-shirt than each child would normally wear, some pillows or cushions, and a tie or a belt to attach the belly to each kid playing. With this as an extra challenge, the kids will laugh and make their pillow belly shake, which adds even more hilarity.
Use Christmas tunes to find out how low the little ones can go. Let the adults join in too if they are feeling ‘limber’ enough!
Snowball Toss
The chances of us seeing snow in December in the middle of summer are pretty much below zero. But that doesn’t mean we can’t create our own snowball toss game. You can play this game with any number of players and it is fun for even the littlest ones. You will need a large basket, scrunched up balls of paper (a great way to use up your office scrap paper before you recycle it) and some small prizes.
Children need to stand in a line and throw their balls at the basket, trying to get them in. You can vary the distance they stand away from the basket according to age, to make it fair. The child who gets the most balls in the basket wins a prize. The prize could be individual, or a large bag of sweets so that the winner can share with the others.
If you have a large number of kids playing, you can play in teams with a basket for each team and 3 -5 snowballs for each team member. The team with the most snowballs in the basket after everyone has had their turn are the winners of a team activity prize.
The Awesome Christmas Maze
This is an exciting Christmas game, especially if you are having a party. It requires a bit of work before the children arrive. You will need:
- half a ball of wool
- a prize
- a pencil for each child
Christmas Dominoes
Take a classic game and make it a Christmas one. You can download and use this pdf template to print off a set of ‘Christmas Dominoes’ with matching pictures instead of dots. Laminate the dominoes, or stick them to some sturdy card. A green or red coloured card will add a festive border to each domino, and you are ready to play.
Christmas Card Jigsaw
This is great way to use up old Christmas cards. It’s also a nice calm Christmas game to play just before dinner or bedtime, while still getting into the Christmas spirit. Grab 10 – 20 Christmas cards, and cut off the backs. Then, cut each card into four pieces, shuffle them up, and lay them out on a table or the floor. Then, put them all back together again.
You can play as individuals, or in teams. If playing in teams, the winners will be the first ones to get all the cards back together. You can store the cut up cards in a shoebox to play again and again, and keep for next year. If the game starts getting too easy, or the children are a little older, you can up the ante by cutting the cards into smaller pieces.
Keeping the children entertained and full of Christmas cheer can be simple, cost effective, and fun. Tell us about your favourite Christmas games here.
