We had a laughter-filled Christmas Fellowship in our home with our small group from church this week. What a wonderful way to get into the Christmas spirit! We are a group of eight couples who meet together on Tuesday evenings for Bible Study. The last several weeks we have been going through The Truth Project (Focus on the Family) video series. (If you want a great study, I HIGHLY recommend this one!)

This week, however, it was all about fun, with Christmas treats to eat, singing carols, and the infamous White Elephant Gift Exchange. (This year, the most “stolen” gift was a scented candle, and the most unusual gift was a Crystal Chandelier! Seriously!!)

I put together some Ice-Breaker games, although our group needs little prompting to get the fun started. I thought I’d post these games here; in case you are having a Christmas get-together with family and friends.

Enjoy!

How Well Do You Know the Christmas Story? Click on the link for a great Christmas Quiz. Spoiler Alert: It will probably wreck how you see your Nativity scene for ever after!

A Christmas Carol Quiz

Can you decipher the REAL Titles of these exaggerated titles of very familiar Christmas tunes?

1.  From dark ‘til dawn, soundless and sanctimonious
2. Celestial messengers from splendid empires
3. In a distant bovine diner
4. Universal elation
5. Ornament the enclosure with large sprigs of berry-bearing evergreen
6. O miniature Nazarene village
7. May Jehovah grant unto you hilarious males retirement
8. Those of you who are true, come here!
9. Are you detecting the same aural sensations as I am?
10. The diminutive young male who plays a percussion instrument
11. Primary Yuletide
12. Heavenly Cherubs announcing in song – listen!
13. Reigning monarchs of the Far East
14. Proclaim it to the Hills
15. Sir Lancelot with laryngitis
16. A B C D E F G H I J K M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
17. Wanted in December: top forward incisors
18. Frozen precipitation commences repeatedly
19. Cup-shaped instruments fashioned of a whitish metallic element
20. I spied my maternal parent osculating a red-coated, unshaven, roly-poly man
21. Obese personification fabricated of compressed mounds of minute crystals
22. Of all the things longed for at Yuletide: my significant other
23. 288 Yuletide hours
24. The unfortunate accidental encounter between my mother’s mother and a cloven hooved animal
25. Our fervent hope is that you thoroughly enjoy your Yuletide season.

A Christmas Carol Quiz – Answers

1. From dark ‘til dawn, soundless and sanctimonious  – Silent Night
2. Celestial messengers from splendid empires – Angels we have Heard on High
3. In a distant bovine diner – Away in a Manger
4. Universal elation – Joy to the World
5. Ornament the enclosure with large sprigs of berry-bearing evergreen – Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly
6. O miniature Nazarene village – O’ Little Town of Bethlehem
7. May Jehovah grant unto you hilarious males retirement – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
8. Those of you who are true, come here! – O’ Come All Ye Faithful
9. Are you detecting the same aural sensations as I am? – Do You Hear What I Hear?
10. The diminutive young male who plays a percussion instrument – The Little Drummer Boy
11. Primary Yuletide – The First Noel
12. Heavenly Cherubs announcing in song – listen! – Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
13. Reigning monarchs of the Far East – We Three Kings
14. Proclaim it to the Hills – Go Tell it On the Mountain
15. Sir Lancelot with laryngitis – Silent Night
16. A B C D E F G H I J K M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z – Noel
17. Wanted in December: top forward incisors – All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth
18. Frozen precipitation commences repeatedly – Let it Snow, Let It Snow, Let it Snow!
19. Cup-shaped instruments fashioned of a whitish metallic element- Silver Bells
20. I spied my maternal parent osculating a red-coated, unshaven, roly-poly man – I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
21. Obese personification fabricated of compressed mounds of minute crystals – Frosty the Snowman
22. Of all the things longed for at Yuletide: my significant other – All I Want for Christmas Is You!
23. 288 Yuletide hours – The 12 Days of Christmas
24. The unfortunate accidental encounter between my mother’s mother and a cloven hooved animal – Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
25. Our fervent hope is that you thoroughly enjoy your Yuletide season – We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Lastly, the Famous or Infamous White Elephant Gift Exchange! Here are the “rules”:

A White Elephant Gift Exchange is a popular Christmas event where people vie to walk away with the best present.

 1. Each player brings one wrapped gift to contribute to a common pool  (Do not spend any money!  Bring something from home like a garage sale item…)

2. Players draw numbers to determine what order they will go in

Alternatively, someone can draw names from a hat, or the order can be set by the organizer prior to the event.

3. Players sit in a circle or line where they can see the gift pile

4. The first player selects a gift from the pool and opens it

Make sure everyone can see the gift!

5. The following players can choose to either pick an unwrapped gift from the pool or steal a previous player’s gift. Anyone who gets their gift stolen in this way can do the same – choose a new gift or steal from someone else.

To keep things moving along, there are a couple of limits on gift swapping:

• A present can only be stolen once per turn, which means players who have a gift stolen from them have to wait to get it back.
• After three swaps, the turn automatically comes to an end (otherwise things could drag on for a long time).

6. After all players have had a turn, the first player gets a chance to swap the gift he or she is holding for any other opened gift. Anyone whose gift is stolen may steal from someone else (as long as that person hasn’t been stolen from yet). When someone declines to steal a gift, the game comes to an end.