Christmas 2020 is going to be very different. But that does not mean that traditions can’t go on, and a tradition in many families is party games. This year, with our Christmas bubbles, we can have some members of our extended family in our house, but we may still want to maintain a safe distance from them. So, we have solved this problem with our pick of party games you can still play party games while maintaining social distance this Christmas.

Who Am I?

This is a classic in many homes each Christmas, and it always brings laughs – especially when Grandma has to try and guess Kim Kardashian. People that are in a bubble together can be responsible for writing down the famous figure that needs to be guessed on a sticky note and then pass it to the player to put it on their head. People can be spread around the room because they do not need to be right next to each other, as long as everyone can see the names on the sticky notes. You might need to pass Dad his glasses so he can see, though!

Umbrella Bounce

Umbrella Bounce is a simple game – you only need an umbrella and three tennis balls. The game works by having an open umbrella, (outside if you are superstitious), about 10 to 15 feet from where you are standing. Each person has three balls that they have to bounce into the umbrella. The person that has gone the most balls in at the end wins. This can be done socially distant by disinfecting the balls after use or having different balls for each person. The kids could also have their own little tournament with their kids umbrellas.

Wink Murder

Many of you may have played this at school, and it is an old favourite. You start with all your players placed around the room, (or dinner table). One person is the detective, and one person is selected to be the murderer. The murderer then winks at each of the other players – if you’re winked at, that’s your cue to perform a dramatic death! The murderer must do this while avoiding being seen by the detective. It is then up to the detective to work out who is the murderer.

The game ends when either the detective has guessed correctly, or the murder has killed all the other players. Extra points for award-winning deaths!

Simultaneous board games

If board games are what your family loves, you could still play them all together, but in a safe way. Have two sets of the same board game open and replicate the game on each board, but it means that each household can have their own equipment and they are not sharing with the other household.

Charades

For households that can’t be together, you can still play that old Christmas favourite, charades, with the help of technology. Compete against the other household or mix the teams up and try to guess across videocall. It will be like you are in the same room together and a good alternative that will help you keep up the Christmas tradition.

So, this Christmas may be very different to other years, but you can still keep the tradition of the family party games alive with our suggestions. Some may even become family favourites and will be played every year in the future.