There’s no time like December to dig out the games. And there’s something very wonderful about the simple tactility of playing with pen and paper. So grab your Christmas tipple, ensure the snacks are by your side and gather everyone one together to give these merry games a try.
1. Roll Your Own Gingerbread Game
A deliciously simple game of dice rolling and doodling.
Object of the game:
In turn, players roll a dice to determine which part of a gingerbread person they can draw. The first player to finish drawing their gingerbread character wins.
Number of players:
2 or more
What you’ll need:
One 6-sided dice
Pencil and paper for each player
How to play:
Choose a player to start the game at random. The player rolls the dice, then draws a part of the gingerbread person on paper depending on the number rolled.
1 = Gingerbread body
2 = An eye
3 = Mouth
4 = A button (x3 needed in total)
5 = Icing
6 = Santa hat
There are some rules on when each part can be drawn: You must draw the body first – all other parts cannot be drawn until the player has rolled a 1. Rolling a 4 means you draw one button (three are required in total), and rolling a 5 means that you draw icing details of your choice.
If a number is rolled that matches a body part that cannot be drawn or that the player has already drawn (for example, the player rolls a 1 but they have already drawn the body) then the player’s turn ends.
Once a player has rolled the dice and drawn their gingerbread part, pass the dice clockwise to the next player who takes a turn. Keep going until somebody wins the game.
A complete gingerbread will have a body, two eyes, a mouth, three buttons, decorative icing details, and a Santa hat. The first player to draw all parts of their gingerbread wins.
2. Festive Forehead Detective Game
The guessing game we know and love but with a festive twist.
Object of the game:
To correctly guess as many words on your forehead based on the clues provided by fellow players.
Number of players:
2 or more (best played in a larger group)
What you’ll need:
Pens and paper
A timer
A bowl
How to play:
Write out well-known festive foods, Christmas characters and seasonal objects on scraps of paper to create your game. Fold up the pieces of paper and put them in a bowl. Choose a player at random to start the game.
Each player must pick a piece of paper, unfold it and stick it on their forehead without looking at what it says. Set the timer to 60 seconds while the player asks a series of yes and no questions to the group to figure out who or what they are. If they guess correctly in the time limit, the player receives a point.
The player to their left goes next and repeats the process. Once the bowl is empty, the player with the most points wins.
Here are some ideas we wrote earlier:
Christmas objects
~ Baubles
~ Candy canes
~ Stocking
~ Tree
~ Christmas card
~ Wrapping paper
~ Bell
~ Sleigh
~ Chimney
~ Frankincense
Christmas food & drink
~ Stuffing
~ Eggnog
~ Pigs in blankets
~ Figgy pudding
~ Mince pie
~ Yule log
~ Nut roast
~ Mulled wine
~ Brussel sprout
~ Cranberry sauce
Christmas characters
~ Mariah Carey
~ Mrs Claus
~ Buddy the elf
~ Cindy Lou
~ Kevin McCallister
~ Ebenezer Scrooge
~ George Michael
~ Rudolph
~ Tiny Tim
~ Jack Frost
3. Paper Reflections Game
An emotion-provoking game of written prompts to reveal more about you and your year.
Object of the game:
Look back on 2021 and ahead to 2022, and acknowledge how you feel. Reflect, laugh, cry, learn.
Number of players:
2 or more
What you’ll need:
Pen and paper
A gift bag, box or hat to put the prompts in
How to play:
Write out your chosen written prompts on scraps of paper, fold them up and place them into a hat, bag or box or some sort. Each player takes it in turns to pick out a prompt, read it aloud and share their answer. Alternatively, you can take it in turns to answer the entire batch of prompts. The game is best played sat in a circle or around a table to aid connection.
Here are some prompts we wrote earlier:
My happiest memory of the year...
My Christmas karaoke song is…
The thing that made me laugh the most this year...
The best Christmas present I ever got...
The worst present I ever got...
This year I am proud that....
The person I’d most like to meet under the mistletoe...
2021 has taught me...
Last Christmas if you’d told me me ________, I wouldn’t have believed you
The thing I’m letting go of this year…
My highlight of the year...
Next year I will ______
The gift I probably need most right now...
The song that describes my year best...
If my year was a novel it would be called...
All I want for Christmas is…
Ready for another game? There are lots more ways to play with pen and paper. Try these ideas.
