CHRISTMAS GAMES

Christmas Bingo, Snowball Fight, Bellz, Nativity Lacing Cards, what a great time of year to be able to use holiday games and toys in therapy. Here are some of my favorites with ideas for using them in therapy. Just click on the title to go to that item and get more information.
 

Christmas Rush - A card game that requires 3-8 players. Plays like a combination of musical chairs and spoons with a Christmas theme.

Christmas Vacation Twinkling Lights Game - Help Clark hang the lights, watching for patterns, before that pesky squirrel stops the fun. A card game based on the TV movie.

A Charlie Brown Christmas Family Bingo - A 4 X 4 grid with actual scenes from the classic Christmas TV show A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Barrel of Monkeys - Candy Cane Edition - Pick up 10 dangling red and green monkeys. Harder than you think.

Ed Emberley's Christmas Drawing Book - Simple drawings, step-by-step. Work on spatial skills, encouraging precision while drawing and writing.

Holiday UNO Card Game - There are no special instruction cards but the cards have holiday graphics in the background.

Santa Claus Go Fish - Four cards games in one box - Go Fish, Slap Jack, Memory Match and Old Maid. Colorful and whimsical graphics.

UNO Frozen and Holiday Card Games - The same UNO game we know and love, different themes.

Clue - North Pole Holiday Edition - Somebody made off with Santa's gifts on Christmas Eve. Be the first to figure out who, with what and where.

Christmas Sticker By Number - Complete Christmas pictures with mosaic shaped stickers. Not your typical simple sticker book. 28 projects per book, a good value. 

Christmas Lights Card Game - 12 games in one box! Festive, colorful graphics. I can't wait til December.

Bellz - Use a magnetic wand to separate your colored jingle bells from the pack. Takes some skill! A unique game.

Happy Holidays! The Christmas Carols and Songs Game - A trivia game that's all about the classics.

Ned's Head - I know I put this one on almost every list but just think of all the Christmas themed items you could put into it this time of year: a bell, a ribbon or bow, a candy cane, a small wrapped box, a Christmas ornament (perhaps with a nativity design), an old-fashioned Christmas light bulb, a snowball in a Ziplock bag, a small stocking, a star (check out your local dollar store for ideas). Or put in several plastic cookie cutters and try to guess each shape.

Merry Merry Christmas Bingo - A charming Christmas bingo game to put you in the spirit. Note: There are only 6 bingo cards in this game. More bingo games are listed below.

Lap Harp - Take it out of the box and play, without learning to read notes. Christmas tunes available.

Snowman Jokes - 24 free snowman jokes. Print them out, pass them around, spread the cheer. 

The Christmas Game - Not really a game IMHO.

I SPY Holiday Wishes - A non-traditional I SPY card game.

Inflatable Snow Shield - An indoor snowball fight.

Snowball Fight Card Game - A snowball fight without the cold and snow.

I SPY Holiday Wishes - A non-traditional I SPY memory card game for Christmas.

All-Family Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - A portable Rudolph-themed trivia game.

A Charlie Brown Christmas Tic-Tac-Toe and Checkers - Teach tic-tac-toe with a children's favorite.

Peanuts Christmas BINGO - Some of our favorite cartoon characters (Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy) are featured in this game. A 33 card set.

Nativity Lacing Cards - A set of 12 sturdy lacing cards with nativity pictures. Comes with laces.

Operation Rudolph - Operation now has a Christmas theme. Rudolph is the theme, but not the patient. Whew!

LEGO Build Up - This came out around Christmas time and has several Christmas related models including a reindeer, candy cane, Christmas tree, a gift box, and Santa. There are 24 models in all, so there are many that could also be used throughout the year. Models are small, just right for a beginner in therapy. Pieces range from around 15 pieces to 30+ pieces.

Memory Challenge Holiday Edition - One of the first I pull out each year. Sets include many Christmas, a few Hanukkah (dreidle, candles) and a variety that could just be considered winter (snowman, hot chocolate, etc.). This game also includes extra challenge cards for a fun holiday twist (optional, don't have to use them). Inexpensive, family fun. 

Reindeer, Santa, Elf, Snowman Poppers - Hog Wild sells poppers in lots of different seasonal shapes, including Santa Claus, snowman, and elf. Kids love these.

Indoor Snowballs - A kid pleaser. Lightweight, but not flimsy, these plush snowballs are for indoor play. I get a lot of mileage out of this one from December through February. Would probably be longer if I lived in the Midwest.

Scrabble Holiday Edition (Christmas) - Time for a party! Bring together your Scrabble friends for holiday treats and a Christmas themed Scrabble game. This one is for me!

Holiday Fluxx Card Game - Covers holidays from Halloween to New Year's. If you are working on following directions and adapting to change, you may like this one. 

Spot it Holiday - My favorite card game goes Christmas.

Jesus is Born Nativity Wooden Puzzle - 30 piece wooden puzzle depicting Jesus' birth.

Holiday Charades - Another of my favorites for motor planning fun. Can just turn into role playing also if it is just another person and me in a therapy session.

Christmas Bingo - Most kids like Bingo and you can work on numerous skills with this one too. Grab a few inexpensive prizes and bring on the fun.

It's a Charlie Brown Christmas Android app - My favorite cartoon kids explain the true meaning of Christmas. Lots of interactive fun.

It's a Charlie Brown Christmas Look and Find - Find the pictures hidden in the backgrounds from this Christmas classic. Figure ground fun.

Charlie Brown Christmas Board Game - Spend time with the Peanuts gang while they get ready for Christmas.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Game - Recover the Christmas presents from the Grinch to help save Christmas for the Whos in Who-ville.

Angry Bird Christmas Dice Game - A holiday-decorated, card/dice game based on the popular app.

Find It - Elf on the Shelf - Twist and turn the tube to find the 40 Christmas/winter related items hidden inside. Search-and-find cards add extra fun.

Scaventure Kids - Sort through the cards and pick out a few Christmas themed activities such as:

• Locate three different types of Christmas tree ornaments.
• Find a cone from a coniferous tree.
• Recite the items that someone's true love gave for every day of Christmas.
• Draw a holiday symbol.
• Track down a candy cane.
• Make up your own!

Candy Memory by eeBoo - This memory game is all about candy and has several holiday matches I associate with Christmas including candy canes and ribbon candy. 

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Dominoes - Traditional domino game with Rudolph themed characters. Each tile has a picture to match as well as a number for keeping score. Does not show the usual dots.

Let's Match! Merry and Bright Memory Game - Round cards, 24 sets, 12 could be used as winter without Christmas.

Christmas Sticker Scenes - I have used sticker scenes from Oriental Trading for years. They come in everyday scenes as well as holiday and seasonal. Inexpensive fine motor and visual perceptual fun.

Cheese Dip

Use the mice tails to pick up the letters you need.

A spelling game with whimsical manipulatives that an OT can appreciate. Your job is to pick up the cheesy looking letters that you need to spell your word. The fun part is that you will be picking them up out of a bowl of letters using only a mouse tail.

To determine which word you will be spelling, you will draw a card. The words come in 8 sets of 5 words. Some of the words are shorter and have pictures, some are longer. The longest words I see are 5 letters. Here are some of the words: light, hay, car, rain, zoom, prune, smile, cat, away, sweet, pool and tree. The mice are a softer, flexible plastic.

The yellow and orange letters are a hard plastic and have many holes all over them, but you will be putting the tail through the big hole in the middle. The die is oversized and will determine what you will do on your turn. Here are the options:

• Throw a solid color and use that color mouse to try and hook a letter that you need.
• Throw the side with all four colors and each player will get a change to hook a letter.
• Throw the side with the picture of the cheese wedge and you will have to put one of the letters you have already collected back in the bowl.

Set up:

• Put the bowl in the middle of the players and place all the letters inside the bowl.
• Choose one color set of word cards and stack them by the bowl.
• Each player takes one of the word cards and chooses one mouse.
• Place the die near the bowl.

Play:

The first player throws the die and proceeds according to the directions I gave above. To hook a letter, hold the mouse and turn it so that you can put his tail into one of the holes. Lift the letter (on the tail) and carry it to your word card. Then take it off. You don't have to pick up the letters in order of the word. If a letter you need is not on the top, push the letters around in the bowl with the mouse tail. You may not use your hands to pick up or move the letters. Players take turns until someone spells their word, winning the game. 

Try this:

• Practice picking up the letters with the mice tails before playing a game. Start with them flat on the table top if this is easier. 
• Turn the hand to pick up the letter at different angles, don't turn the whole body.
• Start by playing with the letters flat and separated on the table top if the individual has trouble with figure ground, visual form constancy, or visual closure. Then move to putting only the necessary letters in the bowl, or just the necessary letters plus one or two.
• Put only the necessary letters in the bowl and take them out in the order needed to spell the word.
• Give instructions how to pick up each letter by saying things like pick up the letter by the hole in the middle or by a hole in the corner.
• Leave the bowl in one position, do not allow the player to turn it so that he does not have to adjust the position of his hand/arm.
• Cup the hand and roll the die in it before throwing. Since it is oversized, it is easier to roll than shake. If the individual has difficulty cupping the hand, place a small ball in the palm and cup the fingers around it, then remove the ball.
• Play alone. Use spelling words instead of word cards. 
• Work on visual discrimination, visual closure, figure ground, visual scanning, spatial relations, manual dexterity, shoulder stability, palmar arches, eye-hand coordination, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 37 letters (26 consonants, 11 vowels), 20 2-sided cards (8 sets of 5 words), 4 mice, bowl, die

 

If you are interested in purchasing this item or just want more information, click on the image below.