Festive fun: three DIY board game ideas for this holiday season

The holiday season is a time filled with fun, friends, family, and lots of chaos. So, if you need an escape from the festive frenzy, why not take a break and try crafting some of your own seasonal games? DIY games can make a personal and memorable addition to any holiday celebration and provide the perfect chance to relax and unwind with family. Plus, with the holiday season being so expensive already, homemade crafts are a budget-friendly way to inject some fun into the celebrations. Here are three simple craft ideas that everyone can try: 

DIY Christmas coasters
Based on the popular Christmas table game Mince Spies, our first craft can be a lively addition to a holiday dinner. This classic game involves handing out different coasters to each guest at the table. Each coaster features a different ‘mission’ or challenge. Some examples from the game are ‘steal some food from the plate of at least two people around the table’ and ‘integrate Christmas carol lyrics (at least one line) into all your conversations,’ with the challenge of completing your mission without the other guests guessing what it is.  

This game is super easy to recreate as a DIY. You can craft the coasters using simple materials like cardboard, marker pens, and some holiday-themed stickers. Creating personalised missions for each other can be a unique touch to your holiday and is also a great conversation-starter for the evening or at the dinner table.    

An excellent way to create a personalised holiday tradition

Holiday themed Taboo 
If you’re familiar with the game Taboo, then you already know how much fun it can be to play in a group setting. It’s a fast-paced, chaotic game that requires smart thinking and inevitably lots of shouting. Players must try to guess the word written on a card based on the clues and prompts their teammate gives them. However, you must not use the given ‘taboo’ words, which makes describing it a lot more challenging. For example, for the word ‘Christmas Tree,’ the taboo words on the card may be ‘pine,’ ‘decorations,’ and ‘presents.’ The aim is to help your teammate guess the word without using any ‘taboo’ terms.  

Creating DIY, holiday-themed cards will only take a few minutes. Using some index cards, write down some holiday-themed words and list a few taboo words below. This game is perfect for large families and an excellent way to create a personalised holiday tradition that can be entertaining for all ages. It also doesn’t require a lot of preparation time.  

Crafting board games from leftover packaging  
After all the presents have been opened, there’s often a pile of wrapping paper, cardboard, and plastic packaging left. Instead of simply throwing it away, you could always recycle it into a creative board game. This craft idea allows you to repurpose leftover materials to create something unique and interactive.  

For example, you could turn a large piece of cardboard into a chessboard or a Scrabble board, or other versions of classic games that are easy to replicate.  For chess, you can draw the grid on cardboard and make small chess pieces with leftover packaging. You can then decorate the board and pieces with paint, markers, or stickers. Likewise, for Scrabble, you can make the letter tiles out of any spare paper or card. Any leftover wrapping paper can add an extra decorative touch. 

If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, you could even create a 3D snakes and ladders game. You can build a game board with ladders, snakes, and obstacles as 3D figures, or create intricate mechanisms that make the snakes and ladders move and interact with each other. The game can be made as simple or as elaborate as you want.  

DIY holiday games are fantastic for bringing the family together and creating new memories. They’re an inexpensive and creative way to add a personal touch to your celebrations. No matter what you create, these games can be a fun activity to get everyone involved with holiday crafts and show some teamwork.