Christmas - parlour games?

pmlindyloo

Our favourite all time game is the Alphabet game. (I'm sure others call it something different)

You make a list of various things (I print them out in a downwards list)) like Flower, Tree, River, Country, Town, Animal, Car, Bird, Fish, Celebrity etc, then choose a number between 1 and 26 and then use that letter of the alphabet (1 for A, 2 for B etc) to find a name of the subjects beginning with that letter.

When everyone has finished you go round and call out the answers one by one. You are awarded a point for every one you get right and no one else has chosen.

We pair up the younger children with an adult and they can suggest the more obvious categories.

There is a lot of 'oh no, I had that one' and it can last for ages.

Have played this with my very elderly mother who was really good at it (knew more unusual flowers than us).

Need pencils/pens/lists of chosen subjects/books to rest on.

Tiddlywinks

We always play Jenga... good for young to oldies.

Also, in the evening we have pass the parcel with dressing up bits n pieces and we take photos of people in the various props.

Funny moustaches, hats, spectacles with funny eyes, cheap hairpieces (really hilarious on older male relatives), funny pants (that you can put on over your clothes) etc... all from pound shops. It just gets everyone moving and talking again in the evening lull.

Some of our favourite photos have been of the fun from this game.

meer53

We used to play "The moon is round" too !

Another good game is "Photographs"

Two people are "in" on the trick. One of the two people leaves the room. The other takes a "photo" of someone else in the room. (pretend photo of course)

The one taking the "photo" then sits or stands in the identical position to the person they have "photographed" and calls the other person back in. When they re-enter the room, they look around (add a bit of drama here ) and successfully identifies the person who has had their photo taken ! Ta-dah !!

It baffles people for hours, there will be lots of theories about how it's done and when someone guesses the trick, they can join in the secret too. Just tell them not to tell the others !

Turtle

One I love suitable for any age, cut out fish from newspaper and use a rolled up newspaper to 'flap' it across the room. Winner is first to the other side.

Also, put dried peas in a dish then use a straw to transfer them to another dish (ie suck through the straw so the pea sticks to it then stop sucking when you want to drop it in the second dish). Winner is the one to transfer the most peas in a set number of time.

Another one is to have teams of 2, a 'runner' and a 'drawer'. One person sits with an object in a separate room, runner has to look at the object then run to their partner and describe what it is then the 'drawer' has to try and draw it. Obviously there has to be rules about how they can describe it (ie no point saying 'it's a tin of Heinz beans' as that's clear what to draw). Can get some very funny results from that but might not be as good for the youngest kids.

Oh yes and the Beetle drive is a brill game as well.

Wickedkitten

Not charades. Play Wink Wink Murder

DigForVictory

+1 for Beetle - we still play it at Scouts and the competition between the 6 year olds & their grandparents is great fun to be part of!

UserX

I have a vague recollection of playing a game called Put and Take, with pennies - can't remember the rules! Anyone?

savingjenny

our Xmas favourites are Black Maria played with 2 packs of cards so there are 2 Queen of Spades and Pictionary. Pictionary is quite expensive but you can get cheap sets on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PICTIONARY-Board-Game-Classic-Black-Box-/231096994150?pt=UK_Toys_Games_Games&hash=item35ce744966

jellyhead

My younger ones enjoy playing 'I went to market' which is a simple memory game. It can be played in the car too. We used to play it at brownies, etc.

The first person says "I went to market and I bought ... apples" or whatever. The second person went to market and bought apples and ... eggs, or whatever. Then it goes around and the list gets longer, and you have to remember everything on the list.

We change the setting too, it's not always the market. My nephew likes 'I went into the Prime Minister's office and on his desk I saw ...'

I am going to play 'the minsiter's cat' now, it sounds fab and will help my youngest with learning the alphabet. We also play animal alphabet, food alphabet, mythical creatures alphabet, etc.

realised

+1 for Articulate! Really fun game can be played by a large number of people of all ages.

There is another game which is similar to Articulate where you have to pick a letter and guess things with the same letter but i cant remember what it's called.

E.g. fruits, girls names, tv shows all have to begin with 1 letter