Alternative holiday games for break

Dani Gagnon

A&E Editor

With Thanksgiving not far behind us and winter break approaching quickly, we’re going to find ourselves reunited with family soon — although this time we are going back without the usual few weeks of cool off time. We’re going right back without our cushion of small talk composed of what we’ve done since we last saw each other. We’re going to have to actually interact — or I suppose we could play games. Talking about games doesn’t really count does it? These holiday themed games will keep everyone and the conversation moving and the attention away from your Lowry belly.

Stump >Tree:

Christmas/Winter Solstice/Festivus trees usually make their way to the top of everyone’s holiday list. But this year, maybe reconsider the traditional six foot tree and zero in on the essential part of a tree for fun: the stump. The game of stump is a lumberjack/college favorite and the throwing and catching of a hammer and hammering in your opponents’ nails into the stump forces people to pay attention and get into the game. It’s so easy to adapt for family fun. It’ll get everyone up and engaged in the activity with hammers flying around. The player with the best throw gets to keep all their toes.

Cranberry Sauce or What?:

Cranberry sauce seems to always managed to make an appearance on the holiday dinner table. This year, try making the phenomenon a game. One relative at a time should close their eyes and take two sample bites to decide which is cranberry sauce and which is road kill gelatin.

Reindeer Races:

No one loves reindeer more than little cousins. Coincidentally, no one gets more rambunctious than little cousins when cooped up inside, therefore they’ll love the game Reindeer Races. The younger cousins give their older cousins reindeer rides galloping around the house outside. The last reindeer cousin standing gets to help Santa’s reindeer land on the roof and learn the truth about Christmas.

King’s (Stocking):

Think stocking stuffers on a new level. Think King’s cake but with stockings. Everyone reaches into their stockings without looking. Whoever finds a hedgehog in their stocking gets a new pet!

The Fruit Cake:

Gifts have become encoded messages that symbolize our personal relationship with the recipient because it’s just so much easier than actually saying it. But gift giving has also become a means of expressing frustration. So in an effort to get past the subtle messages, Fruit Cake is a game that gets all that aggression out in the open. The fruit cake is the gift and every family member votes on who should receive the cake. The person who is voted fruit cake is the family member that is loved the least.

Santa’s Workshop Simulation:

When you’re home and there are too many people in the house, pretending you’re somewhere else usually helps. Santa’s Workshop Simulation is just the game for you. One person — maybe you — gets to dress up and be Santa. The rest of your family dresses up as elves and make one hundred handcrafted dolls. For bonus points, play in a refrigerated room.

Circle of Life:

Build a snowman. Go inside and watch it until spring when it melts.

Happy Holidays!