Senior holiday party games

The best holiday party games for older adults are easy to join partway through, work seated, and reward teamwork over speed. Here are fifteen that run well in a community room or at a family gathering.

Games for the whole room

1. Picture bingo. Holiday pictures instead of numbers. Print on cardstock and use big markers.
2. Holiday charades. Teams act out simple prompts like building a snowman or wrapping a present. Print the free charades sample cards.
3. Guess the carol. Play or hum the opening notes; tables write their guesses.
4. Holiday trivia by table. Read each question twice and let teams confer. The daily trivia page gives you fresh questions.
5. Finish the carol line. Read the first half of a well-known carol line and let the group sing the rest.
6. Pass the parcel. Wrap a small prize in layers, each with a joke or question inside.

Table and pencil games

1. Large-print word search race. Teams share one sheet and call out words as they find them.
2. Holiday word scramble. Unscramble TINSEL, WREATH and COCOA; give the first letter as a hint.
3. Team crossword. Project or read a crossword clue by clue and fill it in together.
4. This or that. Quick choices like tree or wreath, cocoa or tea; the debate is the fun.
5. Holiday A to Z. Name something festive for each letter of the alphabet as a group.

Active, seated games

1. Snowball toss. Soft yarn or paper snowballs tossed into buckets from a chair.
2. Balloon volley. Keep a balloon in the air as a seated circle.
3. Ornament ring toss. Rings tossed over a table-top tree or bottle targets.
4. Gift exchange with a twist. Roll a large die to swap, steal or keep.

Tips for a party that works

• Plan an hour total with two or three games, not ten.
• Use teams so nobody is on the spot.
• Keep prizes small and give everyone something.
• Have a volunteer at each table to read and help with pencils.
• Close with a familiar song so the party ends on a high note.

Free tools to use with this list

• Activity calendar builder: lay out the month and print it for the hallway board.
• Daily trivia: a fresh set of questions to read aloud each day.
• Word search maker: type your own seasonal word list and print a large-print puzzle.
• Sudoku and crossword: quiet-table puzzles at several levels.
• Free samples: a ready December program, charades cards and sample puzzle sets.