*This story was originally published on teensinprint.com. Teens in Print is an inclusive WriteBoston program created to amplify the marginalized voices of eighth to twelfth grade Boston students.
Christmas can often feel like the longest day of the year; although it can be an amazing holiday it can bring stress to many. After the fun parts are over, the rest of the day is still left to enjoy. There may be some things you could do to occupy yourself for at least 2 more hours but once the holiday traditions are all over you’ll still need to occupy your family and guests for the rest of the evening.
Since the holidays are coming up, I wanted to share a couple good ideas on what to do around Christmas time to make the day with their family even better. Every single year me and my family look for the best three Christmas games we’d play with each other to cherish the night and make it even better. This is something I look back on each year, having them all in a short list would be pretty helpful for the upcoming holidays. This short list is perfect for anyone that may be pretty indecisive and might not want to narrow down hundreds of activities down from a huge list of games.
1. Secret Santa
Secret Santa is a game that’s gone on in my family for over a decade. The game can be amongst any group of people whether that be co-workers, friends, or family. One of the many pluses of Secret Santa is only needing to buy one gift for a friend, and it eliminates the struggle of trying to find gifts for all friends.
2. White Elephant
The white elephant gift exchange, a game where amusing gag gifts are exchanged during the holidays. The goal of this gift exchange is to entertain guests rather than to gain a practical or highly sought-after gift.
3. Plastic wrap gift competition
My sister introduced this game idea to my family and I just a week before Christmas. After hearing the idea it wound up being questionable but for the part 2 or 3 years my everyone gathered around to play this game and it’s one we look forward to playing every December.
The show family feud is watched amongst households all across the country, its family friendly, inclusive of all ages, and is just a fun game overall. Turning that into a fun game and involving that into your Christmas traditions makes it all 10 times better.
5. Decorating Contest
A Christmas decorating contrast gets you right into the Christmas spirit, you can decorate anything from gingerbread houses, bedrooms, living rooms, mini Christmas trees, cookies, cake, and more. Turning that into a friendly competition just makes the game more enjoyable for everyone
