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Family games for Christmas are a great idea! Links to lots of games your older kids and teens will love. Start a new tradition this Christmas!
Do you have a family gift tradition? Some families open new pajamas on Christmas eve. Some give a family movie or have a tradition of hot chocolate in new mugs.
We are a game playing family, and so we like to wrap up a new family game to open on Christmas. It started when the boys were quite young. Hungry Hungry Hippos was the first game made a family gift. Over the years our games have grown up with the boys.
If you’re looking for some unique ideas for a game for your family, I’ve compiled a round up here to give you some ideas. While many of these would be great for upper elementary aged kids and older, we got them because they’re games that both teens and adults enjoy playing.
Family Games
The Next Wave of Family Board Games
If you’re looking for strategy games, you’ll find them here. Unique games that you might not have heard of make for fun game nights. These are the games we play most often.
Who doesn’t love a good party game? Word games, trivia games, and games that guarantee lots of laughter.
We play the first game listed here at least a few times a month. And the second one can be played with cards or downloaded as an app.
One of these was our family Christmas game last year. We just played it last week…still love it! The other one is a must get if you’re a Harry Potter loving family.
Games we can’t stop playing. These games are super fun and kind of addictive!
Click here to get quick links to all of our favorite games, arranged by category.
Time Traveling Family Game Night
Our gift game this year is actually going to be add-on expansions to a game we just got hooked on. The game is called Time Stories. It’s a cooperative game and the basic set-up is that you are a team of agents who travel through time to solve something. It’s definitely aimed at older teens and adults.
The base game comes with one scenario, a Paris sanitarium in the 1920’s. The agents each inhabit the body of a patient, having to deal with their particular “issues”. (My character was Mademoiselle Doume. She’s not crazy, just a bitter old lady who annoys everyone. The patients also include a heroin addict and a child cannibal. So, yeah, not a game for the younger set).
As you move around gathering clues, you lose time. Once your time runs out, the agents have to return to modern day, but can return.
It took us several time hops into the game to solve the mystery, which equaled several nights of family gaming. Other scenarios include ancient Egypt, zombies in the 90’s, 1419 Spain, and a haunted Hollywood mansion.
It seemed odd to me that in order to play another scenario, you have to purchase it. But my husband pointed out that to take the whole family to a movie, we pay for one night of entertainment. In buying an expansion, we’re paying for several nights of entertainment. Makes sense to me. Even better that my husband found a Black Friday sale at a local game shop and got 3 expansions sets for half price!
**Note** Although the artwork on the cards is impressive (we love that each expansion’s art has a different feel per the theme of the game), we did use a black Sharpie to modify a couple of cards that had revealing images that we were uncomfortable with. It’s a good reminder to always go through cards before playing with your family!
It’s not too late to order a game for Christmas. Which one would your family love?
We love games at our house, and I have switched over in the last few years to gifting a new game to family and friends with multiple children. Something they can enjoy together. I’m looking up Time Stories right now!
It’s definitely for older kids. Games make the best gifts! We often give them as wedding gifts, too…some fun 2 player games.