Christmas party games - multi generation!

[Bemyclementine]

I'm having a family gargling between Xmas and New year sbd want to do a party game night. Ages range from 6, through teens, their parents and grandparents. I need a few easy but fun games.

We play things like Hno, Dobble, monopoly but want some proper party games.

Going to do pin the nose on the reindeer. A present swap game. What else??

"Legs". A letter of the alphabet is chosen, and everyone writes down all the things they can think of that have legs; people, objects, animals, etc. A simple but very effective game.

Lateral thinking puzzles, such as in the game Mindtrap, can be good ones. "How many minutes does it take to cut a log into ten pieces, if each cut takes one minute?"

A Christmas/New Year game I remember fondly from childhood was the "flying ride", at which all the children had a turn. One by one, we were blindfolded and taken to another room (or outside, weather permitting), and sat in a chair. We were told to put a hand on somebody standing next to us, then would feel the chair move upwards (two adults lifting it a tiny bit), while the person we were touching moved down, and someone would talk about the tiny scenery far below. I learned later that the chair was only lifted a few inches, and that the person I was touching crouched down, but it really felt like flying, especially when they gently lowered a book on to my head to make it feel like I had reached the ceiling, or the sky. The adults said they enjoyed my (mostly happy) reactions as well. I guess it could be done as a "magic carpet ride" if you have enough adults to hold the four corners of a rug, with a child in the middle.

Google the paper plate game

We have a similar age range and everyone loves the Emoji game.

Bingo
Who I am
Name that tune
Pictionary

Similar to the Legs game we play one called Royal Academy, Roman Baths. No idea of this is just our family, hope it’s not as hideously outing 😁 … write the alphabet down the middle of the page then choose a letter - R in the example in the name of the game - and try to find a phrase / place / set of words against each letter … so you could continue with Remote Control, Reasonable Doubt etc You can flex the rules on whether names are allowed, and if anyone has a duplicate then they get removed. Person with the most answers wins. Some excellent arguments on whether answers are allowable or not … the rules can get a little vague dependent on alcohol consumption 😁

I love the idea of a family 'gargling' OP. I have a mental image of you all standing around, gargling wine for some reason

I've bought six second scribbles off a recommendation on here, for just this! Looks great.

My sister always plays an Ellen DeGeneres game on the iPad that's hilarious. You hold it above your head and everyone has to mime/shout clues about the name above your head. It records everyone, so you can watch it back. Always properly hilarious.

Or a couple of fun games where one or two people know the answer and others have to work it out … two that come to mind. First where you pass a pair or scissors around the room and each time state whether you are passing them “crossed” or “uncrossed”. Everyone try’s all different types of ways of holding them etc but the crossed / uncrossed bit actually relates to your legs, nothing to do with the scissors.

second is the forks game - on the floor you arrange a set of forks in a pattern and then state that this is the number 4 or whatever, next person does the same and might be number 8 … again nothing to do with the forks but how many fingers you are holding out when you at the number (think hands resting on knees all casually but with 4 fingers sticking out).

both lots of fun as more in the room work out what’s going on and start to get the answer right each time and others get more and more frustrated.

would love to know more games like this, love a parlour game.

For a party game: wrap the snowman. Teams of 2 or 3: one person in each team is wrapped in loo roll to look like a snowman, with a face being drawn on with felt pen at the end. Take photos of all then the quickest and the best both get prizes. You can refill the paper if you like to limit waste.

Split into teams. Have a list of words.
Quiz master gives team A the word ("Sky" for example") and each team has to think of a song with that word in it
Team A - Mr Blue Sky
Team B - Lucy in the Sky with diamonds
Team A - Spirit in the Sky
Team B - 4th line from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
etc
until one team can't think of one
(or can have 3 teams if that works better)

Easy words can be words like 'love' or 'baby' or you can use any word
Or topics - like 'Colours' or 'numbers'

Make up your own rules basically - can include Nursery rhymes / hymns / pop / musicals / children's songs

Can't wait for my family gargling 🤣 what a typo.

Thanks for the suggestions, does anyone kniw any "race" type games, like the one where you pass the balloon along without touching.

We do the flapping fish one! Just split into teams and have a previously cut out fish made from paper, a4 ish size that you flap along the floor using a newspaper in a team relay.

Another good one, not racing though is like musical statues but you lay pieces of paper on the floor and when the music stops you jump on a piece of paper, taking one away each time, so you always have one less piece of paper than number of players.

does anyone kniw any "race" type games, like the one where you pass the balloon along without touching.

Pass a balloon between the knees - 1st person turns and they have to pass to knees of next person

Orange / tennis ball under the chin - goes to under the chin of the next person (no hands)

Matchbox sleeve on the nose - on to the nose of the next person

Everyone has a matchstick which they hold with their teeth - sticking out of mouth. First person has a polo on their match stick which they have to slide on to the next person's match stick.

Last one isn't a race, but you have a bar of chocolate on a sturdy plate in middle of circle . Pass round a dice. When you throw a 6, you rush to the middle, put on a bobble hat / or party hat and a pair of gloves, then have to pick up a knife and fork and cut in to the chocolate. You can eat what you can before the next person gets a 6.