Oh the games we will play…

Cookie Exchange Holiday Party

Every party needs games! I had to think of games that would not require me to purchase anything online as it would not arrive in time. Everything I needed for the games had to be sourced locally or something I already had in my home. We so often take for granted the creature comforts that come with living in our home country. Here are the fun games that we played.

The Turkey Chop

For Thanksgiving and Christmas, many families have Turkey for dinner. So what better way to incorporate food into a game than playing the Turkey Chop? No, we are not chopping live or refrigerated turkeys. This is a game of partners, where one is the turkey and the other is the chopper.

All teams get a cardboard axe with a blade made from aluminum foil and a blindfold. A center table is placed on the carpet, and turkeys must walk around the table while the choppers stand at the edge of the rug and blindly swing axes. The team with the last surviving turkey is the winner.

Marshmallow Munch

The players eat a bowl of mini marshmallows and a few large ones hidden at the bottom and drink a cup of hot chocolate first or in the allotted time. We set a two-minute timer.

Word Scramble

The word scramble is a timed team (2 - 3 people) puzzle where each team was given a 24-question holiday-themed word scramble to solve. The first team to finish or the one with the most correct answers at the end of eight minutes wins!

Cookie Competition

Cookie exchanges usually have rules. However, I did not provide any. Some people invited were staying in a hotel or had small kitchens that did not have a large oven. Guests were asked to bring cookies and informed that there would be a hot chocolate bar and light refreshments. When the guests arrived, I told them I had turned the cookie exchange into a competition!

The competition categories were:

• least thoughtful

• most festive

• most unique

The party guests were the voters! To be fair, the least thoughtful winner had store-bought cookies and received a prize of baking utensils to help get them started on their baking journey. Everyone at the party was able to take a container of cookies with them.

The party was all fun and games and everyone enjoyed themselves. The game winners left with a small prize.