Xmas day games for entertaining elderly guests

[Istanbol]

We have DH’s elderly mum and aunt coming for Xmas day. They are very much of that generation where they expect to be hosted “properly” and sit there like pot dogs, expecting tea and entertainment brought to them throughout the day. This differs wildly from my own family where things are much more relaxed and it’s absolutely acceptable for some people to be playing a board game in the corner and the rest slouching in from of the TV after dinner.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a board game or similar that would be appropriate for two people with limited mobility, eyesights and hearing? Their lives have shrunk over the years as their health has declined so general chit chat can be limited. I’m hoping to find something that will keep everyone entertained and stop MIL from complaining that the teens have sloped off to their rooms. I tried scratch cards on the dining table last year and they looked at them like they were from Mars!

I know you were looking for helpful suggestions - and have received some really good ones - but would it be really awful to let them sit there a bit prune faced while the rest of you enjoy Christmas?

We do a game where we have a number of small prizes in the middle of the table, I wrap them up, although that's not essential. You need 2 packs of cards, you deal out one pack and then work through the 2nd pack one card at a time. The person who has the matching card choses a prize, and so on as you work through the pack. Once all the prizes are gone the players then 'steal' from each other, and they keep the prizes they end up with. If you put in enough chocolate you might even tempt the teens to join in.

One advantage of this is that people can play even though they don't understand the game, invaluable for one of the groups I play it with. If you wrap up the prizes you can include some whacky things, loo roll always goes down well. If you have a large group you can deal out 2 packs of cards, so that there are always 2 people after the same prize.

Another thought, if you do a quiz a round on the royal family tends to go well with the elderly, and you can give them an advantage by including events they recall, eg the coronation of Elizabeth II.

We had success with Timeline, a card game where everyone adds a card to a timeline in relation to the other events already put down. It works well in teams of 2. (Those with poor eye sight paired with those with the least general knowledge kind of thing!)

Probably best with 14+ crowd. It went down really well with elderly family though.

www.boardgamereviewsbyjosh.com/2013/03/timeline-review.html?m=1

This thread has reminded me of a game called Tell Me that we used to play at Christmas in the 1980s
There was a pack of cards each with a question e.g. Name of a animal? A TV Show?
The dealer would turn over the cards and ask the question of the group then spin a wheel where the arrow would fall onto a letter. The first person to name an animal beginning with L (or whatever) won.

It was a great game for all ages from 5 to 95. You can buy old ones on ebay.

I bought an oversized pack of playing cards which were a big hit with my older guests, They turn up in Flying Tiger every now and then but you can probably get them on Amazon too.

Cards Against Humanity. Definitely.

Not all elderly people want 'parlour games,' bingo, card games like snap and happy families, and old re-runs of 1960s and 1970s sitcoms and variety shows!

We played Cards Against Humanity with DH's elderly aunt this past Easter, (she's 83) and she said she had never laughed so much!

My Mother enjoyed dominoes lat year at 99 she also likes sevens with cards admittedly large size ones. Sadly rummy is a bit much for her now. It does cause hilarity when she tries to change the rules. My Aunt was playing scrabble well into her 90’s again it was a set for those with site problems

Lots of good activities suggested, but I’d also suggest to arrange lifts home for a specific time. My DF and MIL would both come for Christmas before they died. DH would pick them up and take them back home - we used to tell everyone what time to arrive, what time dinner would be and what time the ‘taxi’ would be taking them home (usually 8pm). The teen DC had to be on best behaviour until taxi time then they could do whatever they wanted - which was to play more games with us!

@thistimelastweek Made me laugh too, I assumed it's those pairs of Staffordshire pottery spaniels that used to grace so many elderly rellies' mantlepieces. That's certainly the mental image I got.

Another vote for Cards Against Humanity. Entertaining for broad-minded adults of any age. And particularly funny when the instructions to give mild answers when it was grannie’s turn were roundly ignored by her grandchildren.

or maybe get the family version or something like What’s My Meme.

My posh great aunt pulled out a bingo set every Christmas but it was referred to as something else - lotto, maybe?

If you can get a pack of the very large playing cards you could do Play Your Cards Right.

Picture quiz with big photos on a iPad

There's a game called "Apples for Apples" which is like a PG rated version of Cards Against Humanity - lots of opportunities for hilarious combinations of concepts, but the comcepts will have more puppies and bus conductors and fewer butt plugs and genital references. So long as they can read quite large print on cards, it's actually great fun for a wide range of people.

Seaandstars, we all still play Tell Me at every family gathering as all the generations love it and even those that start off not wanting to play end up shouting out answers.

Who Am I? might work - each player is given the name of a famous person but taped to their own forehead so they can't see it & must guess who they are by asking other players yes/ no questions. (If the taping paper imperils personal dignity, a paper crown with the name can serve instead.)

@HildegardP beat me to it - this is great fun as a multi generational game! Also very simple with no fiddly pieces etc. We have had hours of fun with this one….

The Sock Game went down well with the elders in my family, it requires you putting your hand in a large sock filled with small objects and finding the required one. They can sit on the sofa and play, it was good fun and they were in their 80's. Another one they enjoyed was the inflatable antler ring toss, they could stay on the sofa and throw the rings to the kids sitting on the floor. Good luck, it's hard to keep everyone happy when there is such a big age range.

Is it just the day they are coming for or are they staying?
If just the day, arrival & departure time can help manage things but so can when you eat as we basically factor in an hour’s nap for the elderlies now when everyone else gets to escape to their room. I even sneak up to the DC’s room shortly before this and leave a drink & snacks up there. They may not eat/drink them due to general consumption during the day but they appreciate the thought. Our elderlies stay and we all go off & do park run in the morning and ignore any suggestions that they might come & spectate as it’s our time in the car there & back.
As for games, I agree with many of the suggestions above. Herd Mentality is brilliant as no one can be wrong. Who am I seems to get more challenging as there is an increasing cultural divide between the generations and therefore who can be used. We also tend to play things like Snakes & Ladders or Frustration as they bring back lots of memories, don’t require strategy & are over quickly.

I second Herd Mentality - it was a big hit in our house last Christmas with 80 year old grandparents, my family with primary aged kids and SIL family with teens to twenties kids. Under 10s can be in a ‘team’ with parents if needed and you can read the questions out loudly for those hard of hearing. We also had some players just saying their answer rather than writing it down (MIL has trouble writing now). Plus there is a scoring for those who care about maybe winning but just as easy and fun to play without scoring.

We also played with older cousins in their 30s so versatile across all ages! We bought the main game and the Christmas add on as one of the kids Xmas presents. It’s still a popular pick 10 months later!

I hear you, and have done that over the past few years but it’s just exhausting to have them sat there silently judging me. MIL think I’m an alcoholic because I had wine at lunchtime last Xmas day FFS, so now offers me a glass whenever I visit even if it’s morning.

OP, I hardly see my MIL due to similar bullshit, though she is nowhere near as old. What does your DP do when she offers you wine in the morning 'because you are an alcoholic, because you drank a glass of wine at lunch time last Christmas'?

I don't think there is a magic formula for making them nice on Christmas day I'm afraid.

You can either learn to ignore their cats bum faces, laugh about it (play Miserable MIL Bingo/turn it into a drinking game?) or have a frank conversation with your DH about how difficult they are being and how they are ruining Christmas for you, and whether or not it is going to continue in this way.

I hardly see her too due to the crap she pulls and if the teens weren’t there I’d just hide in the kitchen with a fabulous bottle of champagne. I’m doing it for the kids really. DH knows how awful she is and won’t address it with his mum because she’s 91 and the only family he’s got. It’s complicated. I’m just gritting my teeth in the knowledge she won’t be around for much longer.
In the meantime, it’s just one day to get through with a couple of silly games until they are taxied home by DH

We played Bird Bingo one year. The children helped the older generation find the birds. They all enjoyed it.

This may be a bit 'common' for them, but every year we do a family painting competition. Everyone has their own small canvas and you can paint what you like. We do little prizes and it's always been a massive hit in our house with visiting relatives at Christmas.

We all love Christmas Day bingo , we go to somewhere like Home Bargains and buy a load of £2 max gifts random things from face rollers to shower puffs and tiger balm. Another one is who am I - someone puts a famous name (age appropriate) on a post it and sticks it on the guessers forehead who then has to ask a series of questions to guess who they are

Pray you never get old, @Istanbol… Pot dogs? Nothing on earth would persuade me to spend Christmas with someone who disliked me as much as you seem to dislike these prospective guests.

You’re honestly sitting there looking forward to one of them dying soon?