Games to Play with Christmas Stockings
Christmas stockings are often included as part of your holiday décor. They are a beautiful addition to a fireplace mantle. They are attractive when used along a stair rail, hung on door knobs, or displayed in various other areas of your home. But, rather than just using Christmas stockings as part of your decor, you can use them for party games and basic Christmas fun.Many Christmas stocking games can be adjusted to accommodate various age groups, including adults. Listed below are just a few Christmas stocking games you might want to add to your holiday activities.* Guess what’s in the stocking is a game that can be played in teams or individually. It can be played at a child’s party or as entertainment at an adult gathering. If playing in teams you will need two stockings with identical items inside of them. If the game is to be played by individuals, the number of stockings you fill will affect how quickly the game is played.For young children, fill the stocking with Christmas items that they are familiar with such as a candy cane, Christmas ball, various holiday themed toys, a toy reindeer, Santa figurine, plastic snowman, or other simple items. Have them reach inside the stocking and whisper to you what they believe is inside. The child who guesses the most items correctly wins. You can set a time limit for how long the person has to come up with their list so that the game doesn’t become long and boring for others.When staging the game for adults, have them write the items on paper, set a time limit, and require that they be more specific with their answers. For example, a child might say they feel a piece of fruit or a nut inside of the stocking whereas an adult would have to write what type of fruit or nut. Pecans, walnuts, hazel nuts, and all other varieties of nuts have a distinct texture and shape making it easy to identify them. The same is true for various types of fruit.* Hide small Christmas stockings filled with inexpensive items such as candy or party favor type toys. Let the children have a Christmas version of an Easter egg hunt.As a variation to this for older kids, you could hide small stockings that contain numbered clues leading to the location of a large stocking filled with Christmas goodies.* Pin the Prize on the stocking is simply a Christmas version of the familiar “pin the tail on the donkey” party game. Draw a large stocking and attach it to a cork board. Cut out circles and write the name of a prize on the circle. Place the circles on the board on either side of the stocking. Let the participants see the board briefly. Then blindfold them, have them remove a circle from the board and place it on the stocking. If they are successful, they win the prize that is written on the circle.* Pass the stocking is a fun and simple game for all ages. It is helpful to separate the guests according to general age groups. Give everyone a stocking that has a small gift inside. Play Christmas music while everyone passes the stockings from one person to another. When the music stops the participants can feel only the outside of the stocking they are holding to determine if they want to keep that stocking or continue playing the game in hopes of getting a different stocking. You can actually request, on your party invitations that everyone bring a small stocking with a minimally priced gift (set the amount so that no one feels burdened by this request) in it. Have them tie the top of the stocking to conceal what’s inside.This is just a small list of the games that could be played using Christmas stockings. You can alter many traditional games to make them ideal Christmas party games.
