Post your party games here...

[Tina]

This year will be the fourth for my annual cookie exchange. I dedicate each year to a great friend, Mickie Beckman, who hosted many cookie exchanges that I enjoyed when I lived in a different part of Illinois.

Because my mom is blind, I always look for games that are easily played by both mom and my sighted friends. Here are a few games that have been hits in the past:

Cooking Scents
Using corked spice bottles, put scented cooking oils on cotton balls - one per bottle. Keep the bottles closed when passing from person to person.
Cooking oils (some are used to make candy) may be found in specialty cooking stores. The scents: peppermint oil, eggnog flavor, cinnamon flavor, orange oil, anise oil, vanilla extract, rosewater, almond extract, caramel flavoring, lemon juice. Whoever gets the most correct wins!

What's in the Bag?
Use small Christmas gift bags (or decorated paper bags). Put only one item in each bag, be sure to number the bag and either tie or staple the top closed. Pass the bags around and have the guests guess what item is in each bag. Items: candle, snow globe, snowflake, Santa, candy cane, reindeer, potholder, wreath ornament, gift/present, snowman cookie cutter, ribbon on spool. Whoever gets the most correct wins!

Name the artist
Burn a CD Christmas Mix of both new and older Christmas songs. Have guests identify the singers. As guests identify the singers, they win a prize and are finished guessing. A few examples to consider: Barbra Streisand, Jim Nabors, Aretha Franklin, Diana Krall, Chuck Berry, Judy Garland, and many more.

Scrooge or Santa?
Using the Internet Movie Database website (www.imdb.com), make a list of actors (and actresses!) who are known for portraying either Ebeneezer Scrooge or Santa Claus. Ask the guests each name and whoever guesses Scrooge or Santa correctly wins a small prize (and then enjoys everyone else's guesses). Some of the actors I've used are: Tim Allen (Santa - The Santa Clause), Michael Caine ( Scrooge - The Muppet Christmas Carol), Edmund Gwenn (Santa - Miracle on 34th Street), Tom Hanks (both - The Polar Express). Use the actors you think your guests will recognize. You can also list these on a sheet of paper and whoever gets the most correct can be the winner.

I hope you and others might enjoy these games. Thanks so much for sharing and having a great website to visit each year!

[Narita]

Could Millie please share her 12 days of Christmas she wrote and details to her carol parody's? Thanks for a great site Robin! Narita

[jarsoflove]

DIRTY SANTA - Michelle or someone please explain this one to me??

[happiness]

Hi,
I call my game the stocking guess game.You fill a nice stocking with christmas things,candy cane,tape disspencer,bell,ect. Throughout the party the stocking gets passed around and and each guest writes down what they think is in the stocking.The one with the most right guesses wins...the stocking and it's contents.

[lynmor]

Hi, new here although I have visited this website for the last 3 years. This year will be my 4th annual cookie swap. There are some good ideas for games here and I have used some of them. I just wish someone would post more....One I used was I made candy cane necklaces and each guest wore one. They could not say the word "cookie" the person with the most necklaces at the end of the night, won a gift. We have played the dice l/r game which is always fun. I did a christmas trivia game which went over well also. any new ideas?

[Elizabeth 2]

To "Happiness" regarding the Stocking Guess Game...how do guests handle the stocking while they're trying to figure out what's in it? Do you have it sealed at the top so they have to feel around on the outside of the stocking?

[Tina]

I have a brand new game this year that I think will be lots of fun (we'll see).

CHRISTMAS JEOPARDY
My questions & answers are below. I came up with six categories of five questions each. I have the questions listed in difficulty order (with 1 being the easiest and 5 being the hardest).

I printed the questions on clear Avery mailing labels (#18663) and attached those to super sticky post-its (3.9 x 3.8) that have a Christmas motif (I purchased these at Office Max). I also printed on the clear labels the $ categories and attached those to post-its too ($200, $400, $600, $800, & $1000).

I purchased one of those tri-fold cardboard science fair boards for
the game board. Basically I made heading cards for each category and then put a column of the questions post-its and then put the $ post-its on top of the questions. (I'll post photos as soon as I have some)

When we play I will give to each person with the correct answer the $ post-it and at the end will give prizes to the 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place winners (determined by how much $ they collect). I think this is going to be lots of fun.

Anyway, I thought others might be interested in the game too. I figure that if it turns out like I expect I can use the board next year too and just have new categories with new questions.

Categories followed by questions and (answers):
2007 CHRISTMAS JEOPARDY

Movie Quotes:
1- “I told you he’d goof it up” (A Charlie Brown Christmas)
2- “When a bell rings an angel gets its wings” (It’s a Wonderful Life)
3- “You’ll shoot your eye out kid” (The Christmas Story)
4- “There’s no Christmas in the Army” (White Christmas)
5- “They’re not twinkling Clark” (National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation)

Carol Riddles:
1- Yonder in the Hay Rack (Away in a Manger)
2- Quadruped with crimson proboscis (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer)
3- A dozen twenty four hour Yule periods (The 12 Days of Christmas)
4- Eight PM to Six AM Without Noise (Silent Night)
5- Exuberance directed to the planet (Joy to the World)

Books/Stories 1st Lines:
1- “Every Who down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot” (How the Grinch Stole Christmas)
2- “a jolly happy soul with a corncob pipe and a button nose” (Frosty the Snowman)
3- “The children were nestled all snug in their beds while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads” (A Visit from St. Nicholas OR ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas)
4- “Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.” (A Christmas Carol)
5- “One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all, And sixty cents of it was in pennies.” (The Gift of the Magi)

Traditions:
1- Used by Druid priests 200 years before the birth of Christ in their winter celebrations. A plant associated with the Scandinavian goddess of love, and it may from this that we associate kissing with it. (Mistletoe)
2- Some scholars believe these were developed to represent Jesus. The shape of a “J” or a shepherd’s staff, the white represents purity while the red symbolizes blood. (Candy Cane)
3- This item began as a Victorian kind of stationary. The first was produced by Sir Henry Cole who worked for the British Postal Service, and an artist he hired named John Horsley. It has a Christmas scene in 3 panels. (Christmas Cards)
4- According to tradition, he was born in the ancient Lycian seaport city of Patara. He became bishop of Myra. His reputation for generosity and kindness gave rise to legends of miracles he performed for the poor. (St. Nicholas)
5- This can be traced back to the ancient Romans who during their winter festival decorated it with small pieces of metal. In the middle ages, it was decorated with apples as a symbol of the feast of Adam and Eve on December 24. (Christmas Tree)

Classic Songs:
1- A traditional Welsh song at least 200 years old, repeats the refrain “fa la la la la la la la la” (Deck the Halls)
2- This carol was first published in Britain in 1833. The traditional words include “O’ tidings of comfort and joy.” (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen)
3- The music & lyrics of this song were put together by Mel Torme and Robert Wells in July 1945. Best known version was sung by Nat King Cole, and some believe the title is Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire. (The Christmas Song)
4- From Austria in 1816, likely the most popular Christmas carol in the world, “Round yon virgin Mother & child, Holy infant so tender & mild.” (Silent Night)
5- This simple popular folk carol is quite possibly from the 16th century. Includes “figgy pudding” and ends with “a Happy New Year1” (We Wish You a Merry Christmas)

Classic Family Board Games:
1- “Where you’re the doctor” A wonderful way for kids to improve fine motor skills removing ailments with tweezers – don’t buzz. (Operation)
2- “Be the first to find the castle” There are good reasons this game is a great 1st board game – no reading and based purely on luck. (Candy Land)
3- “The game of sweet revenge” By drawing cards, players move around the board hoping to make it to home sweet home. (Sorry)
4- “The game that ties you up in knots” Never a dull moment, this classic game includes physical skills of balance, coordination, and color identification. Left? Right? (Twister)
5- “The classic Naval combat game” Look for your opponents fleet by calling out squares on a grid – track both hits and misses. (Battleship)

[Marion Kennedy]

I have been having cookie exchanges for about 10 years. The group changes alilttle every year, but I have some who have never missed. I try to keep the number of guests at 12 and we each make 12 dozen cookies, they bring an appetizer, and a $10.00 gift exchange. I also give prizes for best attire and game prizes, the best game we have played is a holiday relay race. I get two large shopping bags, and place like items in each bag. Christmas hats, light up necklaces, elf ears, xmas vest. etc. I try to get at least 8 to 10 things in each. Most come from the dollar store. The group is divided into two teams. The first person in each team runs to the bag, pulls something out, puts it on, races back to the team , takes off the item, gives it to the next person who puts it on then races to the bag, pulls some thing out puts it on, goes back to the next person in line, takes off both items, and the next person, puts both items on, and runs to the bag to pull out the next item, etc. until every thing is out of the bag. I try to find inflatable, Christmas items, so one person is stuck blowing something up. They hate that. I also did this with a summer party and made them beach items. This is always a big hit, and a lot of laughs, A friend is bring a Christmas karaoke machine, so that should be good for a few laughs too. Marion Kennedy Avon, Ohio

[MILLIE07IS12]

get all of your guests to remove their shoes and place them all in a big pile on the floor all sit in a circle around the shoes (game works best with people with different shoe sizes TIP: get younger/older sisters/brothers to play) the birthday girl/boy calls out a name of one guest then they get blindfolded and they grab 2 shoes from the pile unblindfold them and then they have to wear those shoes for the rest of the party!!(if you want to add humor play the game with boys and girls and girls might end up with one stiletto and one footy boot! thanks xx ;D;D;D

[mom2one]

Nov 2, 2006 21:41:43 GMT -5 @Tiffany Johnson said:

I gave everyone 5 minutes. I told them to right down all the ingredints to the basic chocolate cookie. I bought Nestle chocolate chips and used the recipe as the ingredeint reference. Who ever get the most ingredients won. If you wanted to make it more challenging you have them right down the measurments. This is when you sperate the real bakers from the rest. I found out that someone i would never think would know all the ingredients actually won. The women really enjoyed the game.

I also took the chocolate chips from the bag and put them in the jar and had them guess how many there were.

Tiffany :D

:)Oh, I like this one!

[Jessi]

What happened to the "Decipher the canticles of the yuletide season" from the party game page? When you click on it to get the alternate Christmas song names it says that the page was removed. If someone has it can they post it to share?
Thanks!

[Robin]

Nov 15, 2008 23:57:43 GMT -5 @Jessi said:

What happened to the "Decipher the canticles of the yuletide season" from the party game page? When you click on it to get the alternate Christmas song names it says that the page was removed. If someone has it can they post it to share?
Thanks!

Hi Jessi,
I moved some directories after my site was moved to a newer server in Oct.

The Canticles is here:
www.cookie-exchange.com/party_games/canticle_questions.html

[LeAnne]

i hosted an exchange that involved ladies that didn't know each other well. in order for them to get to know each other better, we played a little game.

as each lady came in, she wrote two things about herself on two separate slips of paper which were dropped into a corresponding mug:
1. her favorite hobby
2. her least favorite household chore

once everyone arrived, all participants were given a sheet of paper with each lady's name in a square and the numbers 1, 2, 3 below her name. I then pulled each slip from the mug for number 1, hobby. Participants guessed who matched that hobby by writing it below her name. I followed the same procedure for number 2, household chore. For number 3, we guessed how many people currently resided in each lady's household.

each participant then told the group her information while the others scored their own sheets. one point was awarded for each correct response. the winner won a prize and we learned more about each other!

[mary]

I like this one too

[sannfarm5]

This is a game that is harder than it sounds, but oh, so much fun. Before the snowy weather arrives, I drive around the area, taking photos of old landmarks, very odd or different public items such as odd shaped trees, church steeples, part of a public building etc. Then print them off, put them on a display board, and as each guest arrives, they are given a piece of paper and pen to write down their guesses. The person with the most locations identified wins a prize. The most frequent comment is, "I just know I have seen this a million times, but can't remember where I have seen it." Since we live in a rural area, I am careful to take pictures that are common to all in the group. I really enjoy my special day-out taking pictures as much as watching my guests try to figure out where these pictures are from, the night of the party.

[Thersa]

My Mom and I host a party every year, this year we are having a fall themed party. It's just too hard for our friends to get together in late Nov or Dec. Anywho.... our game we made up is, the Apron game. One volunteer is picked to wear an apron (a full front one not just the lil waist ones) each person then gets timed at how fast they can tie the apron string while wearing OVEN MITTS! It is sooo funny and sooo fun. We try to convince the thinnest person there to be the volunteer so that we have more apron string to work with LOL The person with the shortest time gets the apron and mitts as their prize. This really is a blast. We also give everyone a necklace of some kind ( last year we put jingle bells on red and green ribbon, this year being a fall theme, I got small pumpkins to put on ribbon) to put on and when that person is caught saying the word "cookie" the person that caught them gets their necklace. The person at the end with the most necklaces wins a prize.

[daleslgndlvson3]

Oct 7, 2009 10:11:50 GMT -5 @Thersa said:

My Mom and I host a party every year, this year we are having a fall themed party. It's just too hard for our friends to get together in late Nov or Dec. Anywho.... our game we made up is, the Apron game. One volunteer is picked to wear an apron (a full front one not just the lil waist ones) each person then gets timed at how fast they can tie the apron string while wearing OVEN MITTS! It is sooo funny and sooo fun. We try to convince the thinnest person there to be the volunteer so that we have more apron string to work with LOL The person with the shortest time gets the apron and mitts as their prize. This really is a blast. We also give everyone a necklace of some kind ( last year we put jingle bells on red and green ribbon, this year being a fall theme, I got small pumpkins to put on ribbon) to put on and when that person is caught saying the word "cookie" the person that caught them gets their necklace. The person at the end with the most necklaces wins a prize.

OK, this was my post I need to explain that the person wearing the apron is NOT trying to tie it on themselves LOL They go around the room and everyone else ties it. Then the apron wearer gets their turn when everyone else is done by putting the apron on someone else. It really is harder than it sounds. Trying to tie those little strings into a bow with those big mitts on is quite challenging LOL

[susanpa]

Oh my goodness, Theresa ... this game sounds hysterical! I'll have to try this out myself, and see if I can do it!

[KD]

I am almost ready to host my first CE. I can not begin to tell you how excited I am. I was speaking with a lady that works in one of the stores I shop in about my CE, she is on my guest list. Another lady who was shopping over heard and now she is coming as well. Ok now the reason I am answering on this area is because of the BINGO question on the news letter. I made a table on the Microsoft Office Tool on my computer. I choose many of the pics I am using for my match game (thank you for such a fun game idea) and just kept changing them out and saving them and printing them until I had 30 bingo cards. I also sealed them so I may use them again and again. One other thing I am doing is I am bagging all the ornaments for the left/right game. To save money I am using white lunch bags and closing them up with a pretty ribbon and a candy cane. one of the bags will have a star on the bottom for the last part of the game. After the story no one is to open their bag until the person with the star decides to keep or exchange their bag with with someone else. This is kinda like dirty Santa. I am adding a gift card to one of the bags. I haven't decided yet if it will be the one with the star. The story I found was on-line. It is lefty elf, so most of the time we are going left. ;D We are also playing the antler game so I am having a time buying everything. I lucked up and my local Dollar Store had my flashing nose on sale for 50 cent, I stocked up on them. I cant wait to get pictures taken and share them with everyone. I hope everyone has fun planning their party's and I look forward to seeing them posted.

[Shelly Rule]

When looking at the pictures of all your exchanges I saw alot of people playing the REINDEER ANTLER Game. Any one know the rules?