The Christmas holiday is fast approaching! Are you ready or do you feel a bit overwhelmed by the upcoming busy holiday activities such as shopping, baking, holiday parties and decorating that can easily fill up your calendar? An overly stuffed calendar can easily create a stressful holiday season for you and your family.
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So what can you do about it? Don't worry I have the perfect solution for you so your holiday stress is reduced and your holiday cheer can shine through!
What is my secret to a stress free holiday?
A Holiday Plan
Having a holiday plan in place before the season starts is key! If you've never had a plan for the holidays it isn't too late to start one now. You are probably wondering where to begin and what a holiday plan looks like. Don't panic the perfect plan is just waiting for you and includes EVERYTHING you need to make this holiday the best for you and your family.
Sunny Day Family has done all the hard work for you by putting together a Printable Christmas Planner that includes 140 planning pages including:
- Blank Monthly Calendar
- To Do Lists
- Budget
- Activity & Acts of Kindness Planners
- Christmas Card Planner
- Wish List, Gift Giving Planners, Shopping List, & Online Shopping Tracker
- Gift Tags
- Letters to Santa
- Decorating Plan & Project Planner
- Party Planning Sheets
- Menu Planner, Baking Planner, & Grocery List
- Recipe Cards
- Baking Labels for Gift Giving
Seriously, I don't think there is a single thing missing from this planner. All you have to do is print off the pages that apply to your needs, fill them out and begin enjoying the benefits of being organized this holiday season.
I'm always worried I forgot to get someone a gift, or I forgot to write down a Christmas party on my calendar, or heaven forbid, I left someone off my Christmas card list! Not this year, my friend because this year my Christmas planner will be parked on my counter in sight so I can add and check off my to-do's as I complete them.
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Fun Group Games To Play At Your Next Holiday Party
Quite often during the holiday season I end up hosting a party at our house. I love hosting family or friends for the holidays and I do my best to come up with some fun activities to keep everyone entertained. Since there is usually a big age range to my guests it can be challenging to find games and activities that everyone can participate in and enjoy playing together. Over the years I've found a few fun activities that are super fun that I want to share with you. Here are my top 3 Group Games you can play at your next holiday party:
1 - The Name Game
Difficulty: Easy | # of Players: 6+ | Time to Play: 10-30 minutes per round
This game requires very few supplies and is super simple to play. All that is needed are small slips of paper and a pencil for each person. Select one person from the group to be the "reader". This person selects one of the following categories for the first round of play: person, food or city in North America (as you begin to play this game you can come up with your own categories to add).
For explanation purposes let's assume the Reader selects the category "Name".
The rest of the players write down a name on their slip of paper, fold it and give it to the Reader who collects all players papers. Examples for the Name category could include, but not limited to: Dolly Parton, Spiderman, Mom, or even Peppa Pig - the options are endless! The reader unfolds the slips of paper and reads all the names written on them to the rest of the group twice.
The person to the right of the reader starts the first round by asking one of the other player if they wrote "Spiderman" (select a name from the list read aloud).
**The reader is not allowed to re-read or remind the rest of the players the names that were written on the slips of paper.
If the player who was asked if they wrote "Spiderman" on their slip of paper did write it on their paper then that player joins the player that just asked them and they become a team. The player asking continues asking other players until they get a guess wrong. Play then passes to the next person to their right.
The goal is to get as many players on your team by guessing the correct names each player wrote on their slip of paper. The game ends when one player has successfully guessed all players names correctly and has all players on their team.
To begin the next round of play, select a new player to be the Reader.
2 - Christmas Music Bingo
Difficulty: Easy | # of Players: 2-8 | Time to Play: 10-15 minutes per round
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| via: Sunny Day Family |
With 3 fun ways to play this simple game it is sure to be a hit at your next gathering - or even in the car as you travel over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house! To play this game you will need these printable Christmas Bingo Set that includes 8 Bingo cards and 24 clues (on 2 pages). The clue cards are cut out, shuffled and placed in a pile face down. Each player needs their own Bingo card and something to mark with (Christmas candy, holiday stamps or even stickers would work).
Select which of the 3 ways you will play first. Here is how each are played:
- Name That Tune - the bingo caller chooses a card and reads only the lyric at the top of the card. The rest of the players need to identify the name of the song and mark their card accordingly. First player with five in a row wins (if they got them right!).
- Match The Title - super easy way to play by reading the song title instead of the lyrics. First player to get 5 in a row wins the BINGO round.
- Listen and Play - perfect version to play at parties or on a road trip! Use your Amazon Music Unlimited to queue up some Christmas tunes and mark each song as you hear it. First player with 5 in a row wins! This is a great way to pass time in the car on a long road trip.
3 - Name That Shape
Difficulty: Easy | # of Players: 10+ | Time to Play: 10-15 minutes per round
Prior to playing this game the host should prepare by drawing a different shape on 10-15 separate pieces of paper or 3 x 5 cards. The shapes should be somewhat simple like these: heart, flower, sunshine, sailboat, smiley face, house, a hand, a bird, star, football. Divide your group into teams of 5 players. Each team should line up five people deep all facing forward. Each team should be given a pad of paper and pencil that is placed at the front of the line for each team.
Play begins when the host selects one of the papers with a shape to show the last person in line of each of the teams. After the last player in each team has seen the shape they try to draw this shape on the back of the teammate in front of them. The person drawing has 2 tries to draw the shape before the person being drawn on must now draw that same shape on the person in front of them.
The drawing continues until the person at the front of the line has had the shape drawn on their back. The player at the front of the line then has to draw the shape on paper and show their team what they drew. The team with a shape closest to the original drawing wins a point.
To start the next round the person in the front of the line now shifts to the end of the line and gets to see the next shape card selected by the host.
Happy Holiday's and Merry Christmas
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