Christmas! The time of year when we remember the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, while we also enjoy catching up with family and friends, eating too much good food and attending an unending round of parties. It is a time of joy yet it can also be quite stressful. One of the stresses can be if you are called upon to organise a Christmas party for your church, club or office. Here are six of the best Christmas games for groups to make your task a little less stressful.

To help players become introduced to each other and join the party mood, you should start with an icebreaker game such as "All I Want for Christmas". Players sit around in a circle. One player starts by saying, 'My name is ... All I want for Christmas is ...' and names a real or imaginary gift they want. The player to their left repeats the first players name and gift before adding their own, saying, 'My name is ... All (name of first player) wants is ... All I want for Christmas is ...' Each player continues around the circle to say their name and list all the gifts of the previous players. Any player who cannot repeat the full list is out. When the list gets to 10-12 gifts, it may be easier to start again with a new list.

Group Christmas games will often include a time where each person exchanges a gift they have brought to a pre-arranged value (say $5). A simple raffle can be conducted, but it is a lot more fun to make it into a game. One example of these fun Christmas gift exchange games is "Left Right Christmas Game", where players are seated in a circle holding a gift (not necessarily the one they brought). The games leader reads a story. As the word 'Left' or 'Right' is mentioned, players pass the gift in the corresponding direction. When the story finishes, players open the gift they are holding.

An active Christmas game for groups is "Balloon Relay". Players form two even teams. One team has a wooden ruler and a red balloon while the other team has a wooden ruler and a green balloon. Each team must bat the balloon to the other end of the room and back in a relay, using only the wooden ruler.

If there are any younger children in your party, they can enjoy their own game of "Christmas Card Hunt". A number of old Christmas cards are cut in half, with the bottom halves scattered around the area. The children are given the top half of three cards. The first child to find three complete cards wins.

Christmas carols are an integral part of any Christmas celebration. Try one of our Christmas carol games to test your groups knowledge of carols. One game involves a player from one team being given the name of a common carol. The player must draw a picture so the rest of the team can name and sing the first verse within one minute.

Finally, one of the best Christmas games for groups is another active team game called "All Tied Up". Two teams form separate circles, each with a ball of twine (one green, one red, if available). The first player on each team winds the twine once around their waist and then passes it to the player on their left who does the same, and so on a round and around the circle until one team wins when they are wrapped completely in their ball of twine.

For more details on these and many more Christmas games for groups, please visit our website.