Often times you don't even think about it on Christmas Eve, but playing a few games can be a lot of fun.
A fun game that is great for anxious children but is also great for adults if you want to add a little fun to the gift. For kids, this is a great way to spice things up and make things a little longer.
You can hunt with clues, so kids must follow the clues to find their gift. For example, instead of putting a gift under a tree, you can put it elsewhere, but the children will follow the instructions to find it. For this game, anything you can use to write your clues. You can use Christmas cards in envelopes with additional accessories, use Christmas tree shapes for this, or use ornaments.
Whichever method you choose, write a document for each of your articles and leave them at home. Start by giving each child the first clue. You can say, "You sleep here at night," and the children run to their beds.
I put another clue on their pillow that might say, "Mother's eggs taste better," and the kids go to the spice cupboard and find another clue about salt. The final clue (depending on your children's age and tolerance, you may only have 5 clues for this game or a lot more) is the gift itself. Make a gift under the tree for more fun. Your children will not experience this!
If you have a big party on Christmas Eve, try playing the song. Ask everyone to stand in a circle, and the first person starts with "There's an apple in my barn for Christmas" and the next adds, "There's an apple and a shoe in my barn for Christmas."
Each person continues to remember previous items and add their items in alphabetical order. If you miss an item, you are out of the game and the winner is the one who successfully memorizes all the saved items, each time having to read the items and add them to the list.
Looking for some physical activity on Christmas Eve? How about an exciting chair game with Christmas music? This can be great if you're using fun Christmas music.
Use songs everyone knows and ask them to sing and dance as they race for the chairs. This adds an extra element of fun as you likely have at least one person who is engrossed in music and dancing and hasn't noticed that the music has stopped. This game is played with a chair like any traditional game where the loser is the one who does not take the chair when the music stops.
Since the big event on Christmas Eve is the arrival of Santa Claus, do you play Where's Santa Claus? In this game everyone is seated in a circle and one person is chosen to be Rudolph. This person leaves the room for a minute.
Santa Claus is chosen from among those who stay in the room. Rudolph returns and goes in search of Santa Claus. Rudolph has to stand in the middle of the circle and try to find out who Santa Claus is. Meanwhile, Santa Claus winks at the other people in the circle. If someone winks at him, shout "Ho ho ho ho".
When Rudolph finds out where Santa Claus is, another Rudolph and another Santa Claus are selected and the game continues.
Your Christmas cards have been on display for weeks on Christmas Eve, so it may be time to play with them. Ask someone to put a laundry basket or gift box a few meters away (distance depends on the age of the players and your skills).
Ask them to put the cards in the chest or basket. This sounds easy, but different cards of different weights and styles react differently and they can be more difficult to put in a chest or basket than expected.