Holiday Games

Christmas Wrapping... You’ve challenged them to make the best ‘mummy’ using toilet paper - how about the best present using sheets of wrapping paper? Award marks for coverage, neatness and disguise (does it not look like a person?)

Teaching link: God’s gift to us is a person

Ho Ho Ho Game (not a warming up game!)

Everyone lies down with their head on the tummy of someone else... (see diagram above)

The first person says “Ho”, the next says “Ho, Ho”. The next says “Ho, Ho, Ho” and so on until the end of the line or until someone, anyone laughs... In which case you have to start again. A game that will

A-Z of Christmas

Play this any number of ways - on own, in teams. People write down as many things for each letter or just one..., allow just Biblical Christmas answers or answers to do with songs... Award points for most answers or the most original answer or even the team that matches your answer... either take 1 minute or you’ll give up after 25 mins!

12 Days of Christmas

Divide into 4 groups - give each group three days of Christmas... (eg 2, 7 & 10). Then ask them to come up with an appropriate action for each day... (I normally like the laying geese and the maids-a-milking, or leaping lords!)

Then play the song and as each day is mentioned that group has to jump up and act!

Quickly becomes manic!”

Play the Classics....

Pictionary... Charades

Make them different - do them as races...., in strange places, add variations... The possibilities are endless!

Play the newly becoming a classic...

Mafia   click here for brilliant page detailing this classic game!

Play the old-time favourites...

• The race to where you were born game....
• The follow the star game... Who can stalk for longest before capture?
• The “Who Was It” game when everyone drinks a bottle of gin then one person leaves the room - others have to answer the question “Who was it?”

Indoor Games with an honest theme

Cheat

One person tags someone and they must chase the other following the same movements as the tager. If they deviate from the path, witnesses shout CHEAT!

This demonstrates the importance of staying on the right path particularly as you never know who is watching and following your lead.

Call My Bluff

One person stands up with a card on which is a word not commonly used and gives three possible definitions, one true and two untrue.  The others have to guess which one is true. www.worldwidewords.org

Alternatively - every player creates a definition for an uncommon word. One person writes down the correct definition - then mixes all the definitions up (correct one and everyone else’s made up ones) - and reads them out. Everyone guesses which is the correct definition and gain a point if they guess correctly or if someone guesses their definition. This demonstrates how the truth is not always obvious...

Alternatively a person states 3 things about themselves - one of which is true. Others have to guess which one is true. This demonstrates how frustrating it is to be told lies – particularly when you want to know what the truth is.

“To Tell the Truth”

Game show seen at the beginning of Catch Me If You Can. Three people go outside: one of them shares a secret (I have a collection of 62 Top Trumps Packs / My Dad took me on a tandem last week) with the other two. All three then come in and claim to have “done” the secret. The others can ask questions of the three to try and find out more information about the secret and then have to guess who really has the secret and who are the imposters! (This is the programme that gave us the catchphrase 'Will the real whatever-he's-called please stand up')

This demonstrates how we find it easy to put on masks and pretend to be what we are not!

for the summer

Here are some water based games for you to try out on your young people. Get a few towels handy just in case! Try them at park, on field, at beach. Most will lead to a water fight!

Drowned Rat.  Distribute water balloons over play area. Position two volunteers (rats) at one side of the play area and everyone else on the other side. The game begins with the two ‘rats’ coming across the field, picking up as many water balloons as they can. Let them pick up some, then say “chase”. When you say “chase”, all of the youths on the other side run out picking up all of the other water balloons in the field and throw them at the two ‘rats’.

The two ‘rats’ can throw their water balloons at anyone, but the people they throw their balloons at must have a water balloon in their hand too! They cannot hit anyone who doesn't have a water balloon in hand, not even if they just threw a water balloon at them.

If a ‘rat’ hits one of the others without a water balloon then they are captured and whoever they hit gets to soak them with the water from a hose/bucket.

Curling. Get a long tarpaulin. Secure it on some grass, use a traffic cone or sand bag, (something visible & non-sharp). Wet the tarpaulin and squirt a good bit of washing up liquid at the take off area. (Ensure the tarpaulin remains wet and slippery!)

The object is to slide one of your team as far along the tarpaulin as possible. This is done by the designated team member laying down on the tarpaulin on their belly, with their knees bent and feet up, (works best when they are already wet), then have two pushers grab the designated team member by the feet and begin to push them.

You must set a cut off point where they must let go of the designated team member and let them sail. Winner is the team who sails the longest.

Death Squad – have one volunteer (choose a winner from previous game) – cover them in foam! Gather as many water propelling devices as possible and give one to as many other young people as possible. These then stand in a circle around the first volunteer and shoot! Repeat as desired!

Waterhead – ‘Leader’ writes a word (from an agreed category e.g. colours, boys names) on a piece of paper and holds a glass of water. Each person then takes it in turns to guess… if they match what’s on paper then water over head!ssible. These then stand in a circle around the first volunteer and shoot!