With Christmas right around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about how you’ll embrace this festive season before we have to say goodbye to it and welcome the new year. Scheduling game nights with family and friends is the perfect way to enjoy one of the most important parts of Christmastime: spending time with the people you love. Scroll down to explore some fun Christmas games for seniors.
A Few of Our Favorite Christmas Games for Seniors
Candy Canes
If you’ve ever played the card game Spoons, you know how to play Candy Canes. All you have to do is replace the spoons with candy canes to give the game a festive twist! Use this guide to understand the rules of this fast-paced game, but basically, you’re trying to get four-of-a-kind. When someone gets four-of-a-kind, they grab a candy cane from the center, and everyone else must immediately follow suit. The person left without a candy cane loses, and the game continues until only one person — the winner — is left!
Candy Jar Guessing Game
Simply fill a translucent jar with Christmas candy (maybe red-and-green M&Ms or Hershey’s Kisses), and ask everyone to guess how many candies are in the jar. At the end of the party, count the candy and give the winner their prize!
Holiday Trivia
Take advantage of the internet to grab a list of trivia questions relating to holiday history, songs, movies, and more. For example, you could check out these options from The Today Show, Parade, and Southern Living. Then, host a little trivia game!
Pin the Nose on Rudolph
A twist on “Pin the Tail on the Donkey,” this game simply requires an illustration of Rudolph and red stickers. Blindfold your participants and then ask them to step forward and place the sticker wherever they believe Rudolph’s nose must be. Let the laughter commence!
Name That Carol
People may dispute the correct time to start playing Christmas music, but no one can protest a Christmas carol in December. For this game, you’ll just need a soundtrack of holiday tunes. Play a few seconds of each song and then stop and ask participants to write down what they think the song is called. At the end, whoever guessed the most songs correctly wins!
Christmas Charades
I bet you can guess how to play this one! Give charades a dash of Christmas spirit by choosing festive songs, movies, and even activities (making snow angels, decorating the tree, baking gingerbread cookies, etc.).
What’s in the Stocking?
For a fun sensory game, put various items into a stocking. Then, ask participants to feel the outside of the stocking with their hands and try to guess what’s inside.
Blindfolded Pictionary
Of course, you could just play regular Pictionary with some holiday-themed clues. But if you want to amp up the difficulty, blindfold participants so that they can’t see what they’re drawing. Be sure to use a thick marker so that all the participants can easily see what’s being drawn — whether it’s a masterpiece or an utter mess!
Gingerbread House Contest
Building gingerbread houses is a fun, creative, and undoubtedly sweet activity, whether you bake your gingerbread from scratch, opt for a pre-made kit, or create your houses from graham crackers. Once you’ve got the houses sorted, all you need is a wide assortment of candy toppings and white icing. To give the activity a competitive edge, make it into a contest and ask everyone to vote on their favorite abode at the end!
Christmas Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt takes some time to prepare, but it’s always worth the effort! Divide the group into teams, and create a list of festive tasks to complete. Whichever team successfully completes all the tasks on the list first wins! If you’re not sure what tasks to include, check out the following fun and festive ideas:
- Find a blue ornament on the tree.
- Sing a full Christmas carol together.
- Create a graham cracker gingerbread house that uses at least 6 types of candy.
- Make a paper snowflake.
- Send someone a Christmas card.
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We hope you enjoy these Christmas games for seniors, but remember that even if you don’t want to engage in one of these festive activities, you could always play one of your favorite card games or party games. Simply put on some Christmas carols for background music and grab some holiday snacks to give the game some festive flair.
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