A Thrifter in Disguise: christmas day activities

Quick, Easy, and Fun Games for Christmas

Something to do while the turkey cooks!

If you have a family made up of ADHD personalities (like mine), you may find that guests will get bored waiting for the food to cook on Christmas day. Keep them occupied with these five fun activities.

5 Family-Friendly, Alcohol-Free Activities for Christmas Gatherings

1. Yankee Swap or White Elephant Game:
We're trying the Yankee Swap for the first time this year, and I'm excited! There will be about 15 of us playing, so who knows what will happen! Check out the variation we'll be playing here.

2. "Guess the Number" Games
A classic. Everyone knows this game. And everyone's going to want a chance to win a cute mason-jar-inspired insulated mug FULL of M&M's! Player with the best guess takes all.

3. Test Your Estimation Skills
This one is trickier than you might think! Inside this ornament (I used a plastic one after breaking several glass ones while playing around--they're $0.80 at AC Moore right now!) there is a STRAND of BEADED GARLAND. Guess how long that strand is. You may be surprised. Winner gets the ornament (or whatever prize you choose).

The second variation would be best for kids. How many pom poms can you find AND how long is the rope inside?

4. Christmas Crackers
This is a fun activity for the kids, and I'm planning to have them play while the adults exchange gifts during the Yankee Swap. I've seen more expensive versions (some at Homegoods were gorgeous but almost $10, but this kind from Christmas Tree Shops is perfect for kids. It was $3.99 and will be great to occupy them for five minutes or so ;).

5. Peppermint Pig
Have you heard of the Peppermint Pig? It's a cool, old-fashioned tradition that started back in the Victorian Era. You might not know about it if your aren't in the Northeast; it started in Saratoga, NY, a fabulous little town, perhaps best known for the Saratoga Race Course (which I recently found it is the oldest standing sports facility in the country!).

Basically, you get one of these big, cute, candy pigs, put it in a little sack, then pass it around the table. Each person takes a turn tapping it with a little hammer and sharing a story of something good that happened during the year. Then you all gobble up the little candy pieces as a symbol of "good health, happiness, and prosperity."

To put a little more eloquently, here's a quote from the Saratoga Sweets website: "This 'Peppermint Pig'™ as aptly it was named, was cast of hard candy similar in fashion to candy cane and festive pink in colour. And while the pig is honored in Victorian holiday tradition as a symbol of good health, happiness and prosperity, these special 'Peppermint Pigs',™ unique to Saratoga Springs, New York, came to represent much more. They proudly stood for and old-fashioned Yuletide itself-a wonderful time when red-cheeked children laughed and rode old wooden sleds over fresh snow, when church bells pealed and fond recollections were shared by family and friends. After the holiday dinner, the Pig was passed amongst those gathered, each in turn giving the pouch a firm tap and sharing a tale of the past year's good fortune. The delicious broken peppermint and warm memories were enjoyed by all in hopes of prosperity for the coming year."

I got my pig in Saratoga on Shop Small Saturday, but you can order them online here.

Hope you find something that's perfect for your Christmas gathering. Wishing you a holiday season full of peace, joy, and happy families :)

Don't forget to follow me on Pinterest to see more of my favorite things.

Help Me Organize the Perfect Yankee Swap!

What works? What doesn't? What am I missing?

We're hosting Christmas for the first time this year, and we have decided to do a Yankee Swap. Neither Ben nor I have been involved in one before, and since {ahem} Ben wasn't particularly keen on doing it at all, I did my best to compile the "rules" for our families. But there seems to be one point of discussion (mostly among my siblings, who, let's face it, can be slightly argumentative... present company excluded, of course. LOL.), and I can't decide out what to do about it.

So, here's the big question: Do we open the gifts as we go along (as I originally outlined, see below) OR do we wait until the end to open them?

Here are the rules I complied. Is this how you have played? Please interject (well, comment) with any mistakes, suggestions, or fun variations! What are the benefits/drawbacks to opening them as you go along? Potential pitfalls? Nightmare experiences?

Yankee Swap Rules

1. Every person brings a wrapped present to Christmas (just adults, I'll do something else for the kids). That means you and whoever you come with bring separate presents (e.g., Ben and I contribute different gifts, moms and dads bring different gifts) & gifts are placed together on a table when you arrive.
2. We draw numbers to determine who picks first (and the person who picks first also gets to pick last).
3. The person with the lowest number goes first. He or she chooses one of the wrapped presents, opens it, and takes it back to their seat with them.
4. Each person in order then gets to pick a present, open it and decide whether to KEEP IT or SWAP IT for any other open present (e.g., person #2 can steal person #1's gift, etc., ect...).

5. Whoever gets a gift taken from them must pick a new, unopened gift, but does not have the option to swap.

6. Opening/swapping continues until all presents have been opened. BUT, there is a 3-swap maximum; a present cannot be swapped more than 3 times. The third swap on any particular present is the last, and that person keeps it for good.
7. Lastly, the person who picked first gets to pick their choice from all of the open presents (unless a present has already met the 3-swap maximum).

So, what do you think? Do we open them as we play OR wait until the end? Is there a cool variation I'm missing? Is the three-swap rule a good one or too restricting?

I'd kinda like to avoid a situation like this one below!

Thanks for your help! I want to publish a finalized rule sheet next week, so any advice you can give me to help make this fun for everyone would be appreciated!