Holidays are a time for family gatherings. Cousins of all ages see each other for the first time in months and enjoy playing for hours. We have fun sharing stories and learning from each other. Sometimes, however, the cousins need a push to get the play started. Try any of these fun multi-age games and activities during your holiday celebrations.
- Hide and Go Seek, or even better Sardines! Sardines is very similiar to hide and seek, but there is one hider and several seekers. One person hides while everyone else counts. When the seekers reach 20 (or 50 or 100), they all go their separate ways to find the hider. (They cannot seek together!) When a person finds the hider, they must hide with him/her. As the game continues, more and more people are hiding (stuck together like sardines in a can) until finally the last person finds everyone.
- Cookie or gingerbread house decorating. Sit everyone down at the table with decorating supplies and let their creatively go. Pair older cousins with younger ones so they help each other and you can worry about other things (or take a moment to relax with the rest of the adults!).
- Sidewalk chalk or paper and crayons. Kids of all ages enjoy drawing.The kids can create artwork for the grandparents or write letters to their friends.
- Put on a show. Kids can spend hours working together to put on a show. They could create a play or do a talent show. The final treat is sitting down to watch their hard work in action.
- Old photos and family trivia. Gather the family around to look at old photos from holidays past, swap stories or even invite the children to guess the answers to some family trivia.
- Capture the Flag can be a lot of fun with family. Designate some common rules and create fair teams that take consideration kids age and skill level. Here are the basic rules to Capture the Flag.
- One Fish, Two Fish is a fun challenge for groups. The object of the game is to take an item from the leader when they have their back turned and sneak it back across a line. Learn how to play One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish here.
- Kick the Can is an old neighborhood favorite. One person starts as finder and must protect the can. She covers her eyes and counts while the others hide then calls out and begins looking for them. If the finder sees someone, they call out that person name and he must go to a holding zone. If a hider can get to the can and kick it over, then everyone one in the holding zone is released and may hide again. Teach your kids how to play Kick the Can then let them run the show.
- Freeze Tag is a simple and fun game. If a tagger tags someone, that person must freeze. They can only be unfrozen when another player comes over and gives them a high five. The game continues until everyone is tagged or the tagger is ready to change roles.
What does your family enjoy to do when they gather for the holidays?
