Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Games for kids at Christmas-help!

14 replies

JimandPam · 07/11/2018 21:14

Hi all

Am hoping to use all your creative juices to help me with some ideas for Christmas games for 5 and 9 year old (boy and girl!)

We have friends coming to stay with us over Christmas (DPs with my DB in Scotland, PIL abroad and their house being extended so thought we'd do a friends Xmas for once!)

We don't have kids and our house is probably quite boring! We have a dog who is the source of great amusement to them both but I really want to make sure they are involved and enjoy the day so would love some ideas that don't wreck the house but create some fun!

I'm after help in two areas

  1. we will probably spend a lot of the day in our kitchen/diner prepping food, having some drinks and nibbles. What can I do/create to keep the kids entertained that's not too involved from the adults but allows us to dip in and out while they are (hopefully) having some fun?

  2. we all enjoy a good quiz and will probably have one in the evening when some other friends will be joining us. Any ideas for some rounds that will make the kids feel part of the team and allow them to answer some questions?

Any advice or ideas would be so welcome! Thanks

OP posts:
Asj0405 · 07/11/2018 21:45

Origami set, the older one could help the little one.
Jewellery making set for the girl/jigsaw for the boy
Find it jar
Pack of cards
Jenga
Buzz wire

All of these can be picked up for few £s each from home bargains/b & m/the works/pound shop so not expensive and none of them messy.

The quiz I would Google questions relating to kids films etc

fuzzyKitty · 07/11/2018 21:55

Crafty stuff (paper/pens/things to colour in, pick stuff up from The Works / Wilko's / The Range even Poundland) do not buy glitter under any circumstances.

Dobble is great - first to spot the matching symbol between 2 cards wins, so doesn't matter about reading ability. Works for the kids to play together by themselves, with people joining in for the odd round, or you all play together.

Also heard good things about Headbandz - everyone is an animal, you wear a headband that holds a card with that animal on, others have to guess who you are. Looks like Argos has one with 6 headbands....

JimandPam · 07/11/2018 22:27

Thank you both so much @Asj0405 and @fuzzyKitty

I am now furiously looking up all these fantastic games and words I've never heard before (Dobble!!) 😆

I'm completely in the dark but just want to them to have some fun too but without any glitter whatsoever no way, I'm still finding glitter 6 months after baking with my niece!

OP posts:
CountingToThree · 07/11/2018 22:34

Quiz could include picture round of cartoon characters or Mr men

My kids (9 & 7) also like writing quizzes, love catching adults out so maybe you could ask them to write a round to test you out.
A good jigsaw could give everyone something to dip in & out of - cartoon style are easier than photos, around 500 pieces is doable in a day.

The 5 yr old could want more adult involvement and the 9yr old may want to spend time with grownups too. Could they do stuff in the kitchen to help too eg colour/make placecards for the table?

Nanasueathome · 08/11/2018 05:38

I’ve boughtbgood old fashioned bingo for my grandsons
They have never played it
Bought bingo cards and balls in a bag..all from amazon
Will get small prizes for anyone who gets a ‘house’

Alanamackree · 08/11/2018 06:09

Something like these colour-in play house if you have the room.

If you have a local library you could take out a range of books (mine allow me to borrow up to 12 per ticket)

A box of kapla planks (aldi and Lidl do similar sets for about £10). They look like nothing but keep my kids entertained for ages. It takes a lot of coordination, imagination and concentration.

A random box of lego (which you could get second hand and run through the dishwasher in a net laundry bag) is another really engaging toy.

A ream of plain white paper and some colouring pencils. Don’t buy the cheapest pencils as they break easily and pare away to nothing.

Football and skipping rope if there’s any option to get outdoors. (If you don’t have a garden, consider incorporating a walk into your plans) In my experience a good bit of time outdoors is the key to relaxed, well behaved children.

Junior monopoly is surprisingly good; easy enough for a 5 year old to manage with a bit of help, but not too dull for an adult.

Quiz questions. Make about half the questions child friendly because they will really challenge some of the adults. Think along the lines of...

In the fairytale Cinderella what animals did the fairy godmother turn into horses?

Who is Ash Ketchem’s Pokémon partner?

In Minecraft how do you make obsidian?

Just check with the parents to find out what their favorite shows, games and obsessions are and google quizzes on those subjects.

Name this dinosaur ...

ILiveInSalemsLot · 08/11/2018 06:22

I second some garden time or outdoor time.

Sticker books are good for the 5 yr old. Perhaps dinosaur ones. The Works has lots of good crafty things.
Activity books.
Put on a film on for them with popcorn and treats.

Chrisinthemorning · 08/11/2018 06:40

Jenga?

reluctantbrit · 08/11/2018 07:44

I would ask the parents to bring some games they already have with them, you don’t need to spend a lot of money then.

Also ask them to bring whatever present they really like so they can continue playing with them.

Some colouring in is nice as a break. Yes u can get lots of free sheets online, just get some pencils and a good sharpener. The idea of a colouring in house is also good, add some stickers to the mix. Or as PP said, sticker books are good and can entertain them for a while.

Quiz: why don’t you ask them to do one or two sets of questions for the adults, I organise quiz nights at work and DD, 11 now, loves giving me input with hilarious ones.

If you want to buy things, check charity shops for games, lots of people have clear outs so you could get some stuff cheaper.

BlueChampagne · 08/11/2018 13:17

You could set up a treasure hunt round the house (and garden), with clues so they can do it as a team? Small prize for completion.

JimandPam · 08/11/2018 19:00

Wow! You guys rock 😃
I've gone from not a clue to loads of ideas!!

We are planning a dog walk to the local park in the morning so perhaps they could bring back some leaves or something and make something from that (furiously clutching)

Love the idea of involving them in the prep and making table settings ... and bingo sounds like great fun!

Thanks so much for the quiz questions-and I agree, I think they'd love seeing us some questions.

Guess the dinosaur-one of them LOVES dinosaurs so this is fantastic!

Honestly, I can't thank you all enough for such awesome ideas! Feeling much more confident now 👍🏻

OP posts:
JimandPam · 08/11/2018 19:08

Missed treasure hunt and puzzles and Jenga too...

Honestly, I reckon I've got enough here to keep them entertained for a week 😆

OP posts:
CAAKE · 08/11/2018 19:14

The Djeco card games are great fun and can be enjoyed by small children and drunk adults alike.

www.jeujouet.co.uk/djeco-card-games/

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.