Kids Christmas Activities And Games
Printable Kids Christmas Activities – Ideal For Entertaining Kids At Home Or School. Includes Word Puzzles, Mazes, Christmas Games, Math Worksheets, Coloring Pages, Christmas Cards, Gift Tags And Much More. Bonus Kids Christmas Party Games Included.
Kids Christmas Activities And Games

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Christmas! The season which celebrates the birth of Jesus; when we spend time with family and friends, indulging in too much good food, and attending endless parties. It’s a time of great joy yet it can also be a time of great stress. One of these stresses may be the organisation of a church, office or club Christmas party. Here are six of the best Christmas games for groups, if you have the task of planning a party for a large group.

You may like to start with a Christmas icebreaker game where people can be introduced to each other and everyone can begin to enter the joy of a party. “All I Want for Christmas” is one example, where players sit in a circle. One player starts by saying “My name is… All I want for Christmas is…” The next player states their name before saying “All (name of first player) wants is… All I want for Christmas is…” Players continue around the circle. Any player who cannot repeat the list of everyone’s name and gift is out. You may like to restart the games when the list gets to about 10-12 names to make it a little easier.

Another element of many Christmas parties is a time to exchange gifts where each person brings one gift to a required value (say $5). This can be done by conducting a simple raffle, but why not make it into a game? One of the most popular and fun Christmas gift exchange games is the “Left Right Christmas Game.” Again, players sit in a circle, each holding a gift. The games leader narrates a story. Each time the word ‘left’ is mentioned, players pass their gift to the left. Similarly when the word ‘right’ is spoken, gifts are passed to the right. At the end of the story, each person opens the gift they have at that time.

One of the more active Christmas games for groups is “Balloon Relay.” Two teams line up at one end of the room. One team is given a red balloon and a wooden ruler. The other team has a green balloon and ruler. Team players must bat their balloon, using only their ruler, around a chair at the other end of the room and back in a relay.

Younger children may enjoy “Christmas Card Hunt”, where each child is given half a card. They must find the matching halves of the Christmas cards which have been scattered around the room. The first child to find three matching halves wins the game.

A Christmas carol game is an interesting way of testing your knowledge of Christmas carols in a team game format. There are a number of games you could play. One example involves one player from the team who is given the name of a carol and must draw a picture. The rest of the team must guess the carol and sing the first verse within a one minute time limit.

Finally, “All Tied Up” is another one of the active Christmas games for groups. Each team forms a circle and is given a ball of twine (one red, one green if possible). The first player winds the twine once around their waist and passes it to the next player who does likewise. The first team to wrap themselves completely in twine wins.

For further details on these and more Christmas games for groups please visit our website.

Andrew owns Family Games Treasurehouse which has over thirty ideas for Christmas party games. Visit http://www.family-games-treasurehouse.com and sign up for our free newsletter to download our ebook, “25 Family Dice Games”. This article is copyright but may be freely republished provided the text, author credit, site links and this copyright notice remain intact.

Easily the best way to find Party Games and Ideas is to obtain a copy of the free “Gifts For Kids” Guide which describes with illustrations hundreds of specially selected gift ideas including party games.

Find the best party games, themes and decorations. See more at:

Best Party Games and Ideas

Christmas is a great time of year and throwing a great party will serve to enhance the holiday for everyone. There are so many different kinds of holiday party that you can consider, but no matter which type you choose you will want to have lots of Christmas party games.

You have been planning your party for at least half a year. You have the decorations, the food, and the Christmas favors still you feel like you aren’t going to be ready until you find the right games for everyone to play.

There will be many different games to choose from and they are all going to be dependent of several factors such as the age group of your guests, the amount of people that are in attendance, and the gender of the people at your party. Once you are certain of all these factors you will be ready to choose your games.

Christmas party games:

During the holidays there are going to be many parties thrown. If you are going to have a party, you will want it to stand out from all the other parties that are being hosted. There is no better way to achieve this then by having some fabulous games for everyone to play. There are a wide array of games that can liven up your festivities.

1. Christmas movie trivia: Divide your guests into teams of four and give each team to go off by themselves with index cards and markers. Each one of the teams needs to come up with the same amount of Christmas movie trivia questions and put it on the card along with the answers on the back. Once that is finished you can have one member from each team take turns reading the cards and trying to stump everyone. The team with the most right answers wins. You can have pre-made goodie bags handy to pass out to the winners.

2. Name That Christmas tune: You as the host can divide the room up into two teams who will take turns guessing Christmas songs with only a line being read to them by you. The winning team can each have some type of Christmas favor as a prize.

3. The stocking game: This is done by filling several stockings with the same things and tying the tops of them shut. Divide the room into several even teams and give them the stockings, a pen, and a piece of paper. Set a timer and see which team has the most correct answers written down before the time is up. You will be amazed at what some of the guesses are.

4. 26 ways to say Christmas: Pass around a piece of paper to each person and have each person write out the alphabet going down one side. Have each person write down a Christmas related word that begins with each letter. The person with the most words will win the biggest prize of the night. It can be anything such as a holiday ornament or something else that is special.

Throwing a great Christmas party is a lot of fun. By being well prepared and having lots of party games your party is sure to be a hit.

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Easily the best way to find Party Games and Ideas is to obtain a copy of the free “Gifts For Kids” Guide which describes with illustrations hundreds of specially selected gift ideas including party games.

Find the best party games, themes and decorations. See more at:

Best Party Games and Ideas

Christmas party games make any holiday celebration fun. Party games get the party going and keep it going. Like most Christmas traditions, Christmas games were enjoyed throughout the centuries as an important part of holiday celebrations.

As early as the 16th century it was customary to play games at Christmas. Late medieval English law allowed servants and commoners to play games at Christmas that were forbidden the rest of the year. These games included tennis, dice, cards, billiard and others.

Christmas games enjoyed in the modern period were blindman’s bluff, feed the dove and hot cockles. In Hot Cockles each player in turn is blindfolded. The blindfolded player puts his hands behind his back, palms up. One of the other players hits the hands of the blindfolded player. The blindfolded player must guess which of the other players has hit him. If he does so correctly, he may penalize the player whom he “caught.” Those who preferred a greater mental test might retire to a game of chess, while the physically agile might challenge each other to tennis or skittles.

The English also enjoyed playing cards and gambling at Christmas time, especially with dice. During the reign of the Tudor kings, working people may have found greater pleasure in these games than the well-to-do, since they were prohibited by law from playing games except at Christmas time. In the sixteenth and 17th centuries the Puritans condemned those who celebrated Christmas by playing games and gambling.

In Victorian England parlor games remained popular Christmas entertainments throughout the 19th century. Victorians favored such games as Snapdragon, Forfeits, Hoop and Hide (Hide and Seek), charades, Blind Man’s Bluff, Queen of Sheba (a variation on Blind Man’s Bluff), and Hunt the Slipper. In Snapdragon players gathered around a bowl of currants covered with spirits. A lighted match was dropped into the bowl, setting fire to the alcohol. Players challenged one another to grab a flaming currant out of the bowl and pop it into their mouths, thus extinguishing the flames. A bit of light verse describes the fearful delights of this game:
Here he comes with flaming bowl,
Don’t he mean to take his toll,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
Take care you don’t take too much,
Be not greedy in your clutch,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
With his blue and lapping tongue
Many of you will be stung,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
For he snaps at all that comes
Snatching at his feast of plums,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
But Old Christmas makes him come,
Though he looks so fee! fa! fum!
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
Don’t ‘ee fear him, be but bold-
Out he goes, his flames are cold,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!

Players heightened the effect of the glowing, blue flames by extinguishing all other lights in the room except that cast by the burning bowl.

In Hunt the Slipper players formed a circle around one person. They held their hands behind their backs and passed a slipper around the outside of the circle. The person in the center of the circle had to guess who was in possession of the slipper at any given moment.

A number of other English Christmas games have now disappeared so completely that only their picturesque names remain behind. Folklorists cannot now say how they were played. These forgotten games include Shoeing the Wild Mare, Steal the White Loaf, Post and Pair, Feed the Dove, Puss-in-the-Corner, and The Parson Has Lost His Cloak. Before a Christmas party broke up for the evening, the sleepy guests might play one last, quaintly named game called Yawning for a Cheshire Cheese. The players sat in a circle and yawned at one another. Whoever produced the longest, most open-mouthed, and loudest yawn won a Cheshire cheese.

Christmas Games are also played in other Countries. Some traditional Christmas games are for children. In many nations Advent calendars amuse children with a kind of counting game in the weeks before Christmas. Children in Mexico often play games with pinitas at holiday season parties. In Iran youngsters play egg-tapping games at Christmas time. Most Christmas games, however, involve adults and younger people. In a number of different countries sporting matches, games of chance, or fortune-telling games are associated with one or more days of the Christmas season.

In past times Swedes used to play games with Christmas gifts, which they call Julklapp, on December 24. On St. Stephen’s Day both Swedes and Norwegians used to race horses (see Norway, Christmas in). Ethiopians celebrate Christmas Day by playing ganna, a sport that resembles hockey (see Ethiopia, Christmas in). In the United States, many people enjoy watching football bowl games on New Year’s Day. In Lithuania people entertain themselves on Christmas Eve with fortune-telling games.

Some popular Christmas games we enjoy today are Yankee Swap, Elephant Gift Exchange, cookie exchanges, caroling and others. There’s no doubt that Christmas party games still play a big part in making the season special and memorable.

Terri Hunziker founded GamesAndLetters.com. Games and Letters provides hundreds of print-and-play games — Christmas party games, bridal shower games, baby shower games, and more! For immediate access to hundreds of fun games and ideas for your next party, visit, gamesandletters.com.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Easily the best way to find Party Games and Ideas is to obtain a copy of the free “Gifts For Kids” Guide which describes with illustrations hundreds of specially selected gift ideas including party games.

Find the best party games, themes and decorations. See more at:

Best Party Games and Ideas

Everyone loves a Christmas Party, and Christmas Party Games are great ice breakers as well as fantastic, fun entertainment! The following Christmas Party Games are great for kids Christmas Parties, but could probably be adapted to family settings as well.

Round Robin Christmas Games!

A simple variation on the more traditional Round Robin game is to simply add a Christmas Flair! Arrange guests in a circle. Have some prearranged, Christmas themed starters such as “”Santa likes “”Sam”" (substitute one of your guests names) because”" and instruct each person to add a phrase afterwards. Have an adult who is a quick writer ready to take down the phrases, so they can be read as a story when each guest has a turn, and be sure each person knows to add a word such as ‘and’, ‘when’, ‘because’ etc. and be ready to help by adding these words yourself, if your guests are very young. You will be surprised at how funny these stories become as each guest adds his or her contribution to this Christmas version of the traditional Round Robin!

Christmas Whispers Game

This game is sure to leave everyone laughing! Have phrase cards made ahead of time. Increase the complexity of the phrases the older the guests are. Obviously a younger guest list will require simple sentences.

Just make sure your sentences are Christmas themed and somewhat unusual. (One example sentence would be: “”Santa Clause ate some cookies and milk, and he shared them with Comet, Cupid, and Vixen, but forgot to give any to the other reindeer, so Mrs. Clause made some especially for them!”") Begin by whispering this Christmas phrase to the first person in the line. Have each person whisper the sentence to the next person in line, and see how much everyone laughs when the last person says the phrase and then you read what the phrase was initially.

Christmas Party Games do not have to be complex to be fun, in fact, the more simple the game, the better most guests seem to like them, and the less work they are for you!

Mrs. Party… Gail Leino takes a common sense approach to planning and organizing events, celebrations and holiday parties with unique ideas for Christmas party supplies and fun Christmas party games. She explains proper etiquette and living a healthy life while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. The Party Supplies Hut has lots of party ideas with hundreds of free holiday printable games and free birthday party activities. Over 100 adorable Themes including Christmas Party Supplies to fit your birthday celebration, holiday event, or “just because” parties. Party themes include cartoon characters, sports, movie, TV shows, luau, western, holidays, and unique crazy fun theme ideas.

Easily the best way to find Party Games and Ideas is to obtain a copy of the free “Gifts For Kids” Guide which describes with illustrations hundreds of specially selected gift ideas including party games.

Find the best party games, themes and decorations. See more at:

Best Party Games and Ideas

Christmas season, for many the best holiday of the year. Who doesn’t like the celebrations, family gatherings, food, gifts and merriment of the season? Of course, all that merriment is the result of a lot of work on the part of some dear one who enjoys sharing the season as a holiday host. Is that you? Are you hosting a holiday party or planning the office Christmas party this year? Add some Christmas cheer to your holiday party with Christmas party games for the whole gang!

Christmas party games will get your gang talking, laughing and add fun to your next holiday celebration. Printable games will make your party planning easier – just print it and forget it. Choose it, print it, done! A quick and easy way to make sure your guest will have a great time at your Christmas gathering!

Hosting the holiday family get together this year? How about an assortment of children’s Christmas party games to keep them busy (and out of your hair!)? Kid’s Christmas party games like: Pin the Star on the Tree, Christmas Lost & Found, Reindeer Mix Up or a number of other printable children’s Christmas games! For the adults how about: Name that Christmas Tune, Christmas Pictionary & Charades, Famous Christmas Birthdays.

Everyone loves games and these Christmas party games will get your family laughing and entertained!

Hosting an all adult Christmas party? Spice it up with some adult Christmas party games! Some are naughty, some are nice and all will get your guests talking, laughing and in a festive mood. How about The Night before Christmas Game – an old story with a spicey twist – who was doing what with whom on that fateful night? Your guests will want to play this Christmas party game every year!

Planning the office Christmas party? Need to entertain a wide age group with varied interest – no problem! These Office Christmas party games will keep everyone involved and entertained. How about Christmas at the Movies? Or Date that Toy? For the brainiacs, how about Christmas Calculations – a great games for teams. Which department will solve this Christmas riddle first?

Organizing the school Christmas party for the kids? These Kids Christmas party games will keep the kiddies playing and laughing! Try Reindeer Mix Up – who can find and name all Santa’s reindeer? Don’t forget the red-nosed one! For the littlest ones – Santa’s Nose & Toes. Funny clues lead the little ones to naming Santa’s parts—Kids love this game!

No matter what Christmas party or holiday gathering you’re planning, Christmas party games will involve, entertain and add to the merriment of the celebration. Choose it, print it, done! Printable Christmas party games are your ticket to an easy and festive party!

Terri Hunziker founded GamesAndLetters.com. Games and Letters provides hundreds of print-and-play games — Christmas party games, bridal shower games, baby shower games and more! For immediate access to hundreds of fun games and ideas for your next party, visit, gamesandletters.com

Easily the best way to find Party Games and Ideas is to obtain a copy of the free “Gifts For Kids” Guide which describes with illustrations hundreds of specially selected gift ideas including party games.

Find the best party games, themes and decorations. See more at:

Best Party Games and Ideas

Christmas season, for many the best holiday of the year. Who doesn’t like the celebrations, family gatherings, food, gifts and merriment of the season? Of course, all that merriment is the result of a lot of work on the part of some dear one who enjoys sharing the season as a holiday host. Is that you? Are you hosting a holiday party or planning the office Christmas party this year? Add some Christmas cheer to your holiday party with Christmas party games for the whole gang!

Christmas party games will get your gang talking, laughing and add fun to your next holiday celebration. Printable games will make your party planning easier, just print it and forget it. Choose it, print it, done! A quick and easy way to make sure your guest will have a great time at your Christmas gathering!

Hosting the holiday family get together this year? How about an assortment of children’s Christmas party games to keep them busy (and out of your hair!)? Kid’s Christmas party games like:
– Pin the Star on the Tree. The Christmas version of the all time favorite kids’ game!
– Christmas Lost & Found! The perfect game for kids who can’t read & those who can! Children match a game card to the matching picture on the “lost” items sheet. A Christmas game for kids of all ages!
– Kids Christmas Trivia. Just for the kids! Players will have fun trying to answer questions about Santa’s reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, the Grinch and other children’s favorite holiday interests. A fun kids Christmas game sure to produce giggles!

For the young-at-heart, try these fun adult Christmas games:
– Name that Christmas Tune. You can sing the lyrics but can you name that tune?
– Christmas Pictionary & Charades! Two all time favorites designed just for Christmas fun!
– Famous Christmas Birthdays. We all know one historical person who was born on December 25th but there are lots of other famous people also born on Christmas Day! Given clues, who can name them all!

Hosting an all adult Christmas party? Spice it up with some adult Christmas party games! Some are naughty, some are nice and all will get your guests talking, laughing and in a festive mood:
– The Night before Christmas Game. An old story with a spicey twist! Who was doing what with whom on that certain night? Players are asked to answer a variety of questions. Little do they know their answers will become new words to this famous poem! The questions can be nice or naughty! A hilarious adult Christmas party game your guests will want to play every year!

Planning the office Christmas party? Need to entertain a wide age group with varied interest — no problem! These Office Christmas party games will keep everyone – Christmas at the Movies! How many Christmas-themed movie’s can you name? A great game for playful competition!
– Date that Toy. Players try and match classic toys with the year it was introduced. You’d be surprised how many toys you’ll remember!
– Christmas Calculations. For the brainiacs in the bunch. Played in small groups who calculate these crazy holiday problems! A great game for teams. Which department will solve this Christmas riddle first?
– Ho, Ho, Ho, Who Do You Know? A great holiday party ice breaker! Each player is given a sheet with a list of holiday items such as ‘Has ridden in a horse drawn sleigh’ and ‘Born in December’ Players then go around the room trying to find a player to sign each item. A great way to get the group talking!

Organizing the school Christmas party for the kids? These Kids Christmas party games will keep the kiddies playing and laughing!
– Reindeer Mix Up. Santa has his reindeer’s names all mixed up! Who can un-mix this jumble of letters to come up with all the reindeer names A certain reindeer song will help the kids with this Christmas game!
– Santa’s Nose & Toes. Great for the littlest ones. Given these fun little word clues, who can figure out the names of these common parts of Santa Clause! Kids love this Christmas game!

Need a Christmas fund raiser for your civic group or organization? How about a Christmas raffle? Everyone loves the chance to win a raffle. Designate one or more prize winners per raffle and choose a charity for the proceeds.

No matter what Christmas party or holiday gathering you’re planning, Christmas party games will involve, entertain and add to the merriment of the celebration. Choose it, print it, done! Printable Christmas party games are your ticket to an easy and festive party!

Terri Hunziker founded GamesAndLetters.com. Games and Letters provides hundreds of print-and-play games — Christmas party games, bridal shower games, baby shower games, and more! For immediate access to hundreds of fun games and ideas for your next party, visit, gamesandletters.com.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Easily the best way to find Party Games is to obtain a copy of the free “Gifts For Kids” Guide which describes with illustrations hundreds of specially selected gift ideas including party games.

See pictures of gifts, along with customer comments, more details and special pricing at:

Best Party Games

There’s no doubt that Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays in America. But how did the Christmas celebration begin? This look at Christmas from it’s origins to the celebrations of today reveals an informative and eye-opening look at this popular holiday.

Like many American traditions, the Christmas holiday can be traced back to Europe. During the fourth century, Romans celebrated a “Feast of the Nativity” held on December 17th. This celebration was based on the Christian observance of the birth of Jesus. Pagan feasts and rituals were also popular during this time period. Many Romans paid homage to their deities during a week’s long celebration held from December 17 through January 1st.

Concerned by the increasing popularity of pagan worship and the annual pagan festival, the Roman Church changed the official date of the Nativity Feast to December 25th in an effort to curtail rampant pagan celebrations.

Over the next thousand years, the observance of Christmas followed the expanding community of Christianity. The spreading Christian community took the holiday far Northward into England. From the 13th century on, nearly all of Europe observed Christmas.

These Christmas celebrations involved heathen indulgences that were discouraged the rest of the year. The annual celebration included over-eating, dancing, singing, card playing and gambling; pleasures which escalated to magnificent proportions over the years.

In 1607, King James I insisted that a play be acted on Christmas night along with the playing of Christmas games. In another account of the secular nature of the holiday a feast noted 16 different dishes for the first course. In 1626, the Duke of Buckingham charged the entire crew of three ships, including the ship’s captains, with abandoning their service in favor of Christmas revels, leaving their vessels preys to any enemy.

As the magnitude of the Christmas celebration grew, religious institutions of the day struggled to gain control of the holiday. However, it continued to be a religious event celebrated through the pleasures and indulgences that went against the holy teachings of the day.

During the 1600 and 1700′s Puritan Reformers took aim at changing the lack of religious activities of the Christmas celebration. They declared it a day of mourning rather than a day of rejoicing. This along with the economic and social upheavals of the day began to alter English life and the way Christmas was celebrated. The spread of the Puritan Reformers movement took hold and its policies continued to chip away at the pagan nature of the celebrations. In 1642, Parliament outlawed seasonal plays and ordered monthly fasts which fell on Christmas day during December. Christmas celebrations were “strongly prohibited” and in 1652 fines were imposed on businesses that decorated or closed in observance of the holiday. There was some resistance to the law but the largess of previous celebrations was drastically reduced to small reverend observances.

It was within this turbulent era that English Christmas customs entered early Virginia and New England. Though most settlers observed the holiday, the types of celebrations varied throughout the regions. Some celebrated it as a feast and some as a purely religious holiday. While most observed Christmas there were some that didn’t such as the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony. And in some areas the hardships and challenges of the land did not permit the settler’s free time for celebrations of any kind.

The observance of Christmas was recorded in non-English settlements as being more religious in nature. The French settlers of St Croix Island off the coast of Maine held religious observances and spent the remainder of the day playing games.

As the first settlements grew into more established colonies patterns of Christmas observances began to form that were unique to the geographic area. The distance from European homelands, the disparate religious and ethnic groups and the hardship of the new beginnings disrupted old habits and holiday traditions.

Pennsylvania was home to a large group of Quakers who, like the Puritans, were against observance of the holiday. They believed that most Christmas revelers spent the day in riot and drunkenness. Though Quaker areas did not celebrate Christmas, the Moravians, Dutch Reformers and Anglicans all held observances in their own way. By and large, most settlers in the New World welcomed Christmas as a day of respite from the routines of work and hardship that came with establishing new lands.

The disparate Christmas observances continued until the American Revolution. The next hundred years following the Revolution shaped the way Americans celebrated the holiday. During the 1800′s as areas grew in population and prosperity Christmas observances began to resemble the Christmas celebrations as we know them.

Today it is observed as a family centered celebration complete with traditional foods, Christmas tree, decorations, parties and gift-giving. Many celebrate by attending religious ceremonies and participating in religious practices. Much like its origins, today’s Christmas celebrations remains to be an observance of a religious event with much festivity and merriment. As America’s most popular holiday, it is celebrated as a season of joy, peace and hope for humankind.

Terri Hunziker founded GamesAndLetters.com. Games and Letters provides hundreds of print-and-play games — Christmas party games, bridal shower games, baby shower games, Christmas party games and more! For immediate access to hundreds of fun games and ideas for your next party, visit, gamesandletters.com.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Easily the best way to find Party Games is to obtain a copy of the free “Gifts For Kids” Guide which describes with illustrations hundreds of specially selected gift ideas including party games.

See pictures of gifts, along with customer comments, more details and special pricing at:

Best Party Games

Christmas – games, parties and fun! Who can resist the joys of the holiday season all the decorations, traditions, contagious cheer and endless parties! If the holiday spirit has swayed you into hosting a Christmas party you’ve come to the right place! With a little planning you can host a memorable Holiday soiree that will be remembered long into the new year!

It’s Just Around the Corner – Plan Early!

In case you haven’t noticed (but we’re sure you have), the month of December is crazy busy and gets crazier as Christmas comes near. Best advice on this topic is to PLAN EARLY! Planning in November will assure you have time to organize the party and still tackle your own Christmas “To-do” list. You’ll also be able to get the invitations out before your guest Christmas calendars fill up.

Mind the Pocketbook – Set a Budget

The first, and most important, step is to set a budget! Determine how much you can comfortably spend. Setting a budget (and sticking to it) will not only keep some Christmas cash in your pocket but will also help guide your party planning decisions.

The Whole Crew and Aunt Sue Too – Make the Guest List

Be realistic about how many guest you can handle. Take into account the size of your place and the work involved in entertaining a group. Remember too that ’tis the season to be jolly and someone will likely bring an extra guest or two. Better to have a shorter list of closest friends and family unless you plan to have some hosting help and can afford to feed and entertain a larger crowd.

Any Day Now – Choose a Day and Time

‘Tis the season for full social calendars so choose your date early and wisely. If possible, it’s best to give guest at least three weeks notice. Saturday is usually the best day for most people to attend but Sunday can be good too. Remember to consider your schedule, make sure to give yourself plenty of time to prepare for the party and tend to your Christmas “To-do” list.

It’s All about the Food – Plan the Menu

Your budget, guest list and party time will help guide this step. You can choose a potluck event a catered affair or anything in between. Perhaps a formal dinner and invite guest to bring their favorite dessert. The only rule on party food is the time of the party. If the hours of your party include the dinner hour you should serve heavier entree foods. Evening parties can serve lighter to heavy hors d’oeuvres and desserts. Don’t forget the beverages! Alcoholic drinks are not mandatory so don’t feel obligated to serve them. Perhaps wine options are a better fit for your affair. If you do offer alcoholic drinks be sure to have alternatives for those who don’t drink and designated drivers. Keep the bar drinks simple to avoid the added work of playing bar-tender and the extra expense of stocking the bar. Should any of your guests have one-too-many be sure they do not drive home.

Get the Party Started – Plan the Fun

Above all else your Christmas party should be fun! Plan fun activities to get the party started and keep it going.

- Christmas party games. Games are a great way to get your guest talking and mingling.

- Trim the tree. Have all your tree decorations out and let your guest trim your tree.

- Christmas caroling. Take the party outside and sing carols for your neighbors.

- Decorate cookies. Prepare a table with cookie icings and sprinkles and let your guest decorate the cookies. They get to take their decorated cookies home.

- Exchange gifts. Either secret Santa or grab bag style. Be sure to include this on your invitations along with a spending limit.

Ya’ll Come – Send the Invitations

Now that the party plans are in place, it’s time to send out the invitations. Remember, three weeks notice (or more) is best so get those out ASAP!

It’s the Thought that Counts – Party Favors

This is not always necessary but it is nice to give each guest some small token of thanks for their attendance. This can be as simple as a slice of cake to-go to a beautifully wrapped party favor gift. Again the watch cry is…budget!

Count Down – Final Steps

Shop for decor and party accessory items 2 weeks before. This will give you time to find any items that prove hard to locate. If you plan to order Christmas party games or other party supplies online, shop three to four weeks before the party.

Buy Food items and beverages the night before the party. Also, prepare any food that can be prepared ahead of time the night before. This will give you time to decorate, prepare food and get ready for your guest.

There you have it, plans for a event full of Christmas party games and merriment! Have fun and remember, no matter what the budget or theme your guest will appreciate the time spent sharing the season’s joys with family and friends Above all else, keep it fun and you can’t go wrong!

Terri Hunziker founded GamesAndLetters.com. Games and Letters provides hundreds of print-and-play games — Christmas party games, bridal shower games, baby shower games and more! For immediate access to hundreds of fun games and ideas for your next party, visit, gamesandletters.com

See pictures of gift ideas for kids, along with customer comments, more details and special pricing at

Christmas Party Gifts