You don’t have to serve alcohol at a holiday party in order for your guests to have a good time. There are plenty of ways you can keep your friends and family members entertained without busting your budget on a bunch of booze.
Rather than stocking your bar before your guests arrive, have several games and activities on hand to keep everyone busy. Just be sure to have a variety of fun things to do so all of your guests can participate. Also, game directions should be clear and not overly complicated. Avoid forcing your guests to play long games which eat up a ton of time and cause some to excuse themselves because of boredom.
It’s best to stick with group games, such as “Guess That Christmas Carol.” You can spice up the game by having guests place bets on how quickly they can guess the tune. For example, Aunt Jo could suggest guessing the song in five notes, while Uncle Harry does her one better by trying to name the ditty in four.
Another group game that can be played by guests of all ages is “Pass the Stocking.” The premise is similar to “Hot Potato,” though you can make the game more challenging by blindfolding the players.
Finally, Holiday Present Pass is always a crowd favorite. To play: Select a small object that is not easily broken, such as a candy bar, a pack of gum or a mini plush ornament. Next, wrap the item in several layers of wrapping paper (no less than five layers). Then, have your guests sit in a circle and pass the gift from player to player while Christmas music plays in the background. Designate a person to randomly stop the music. The player who is holding the gift when the music stops unwraps one layer of wrapping paper. Repeat this until only one layer of paper remains. The person who unwraps the last layer gets to keep the gift.