When I think of the holidays, I always think of fun family party games!  When I was growing up, in a household with 6 kids, every holiday was full of energy, games, and entertainment.  Sometimes we would be out on the driveway playing basketball, or football on the front lawn, but indoors we would always enjoy family games.  Charades, Pictionary, and Trivial Pursuit were always favorites of mine.

I remember sitting around the table and no matter how much sibling rivalry we did or didn’t have at the moment, it all kind of disappeared when it was time to play games.  It was a great time for the family to bond and just spend quality time together.  As each of us married, our spouses were brought into the game fun too.  Now that we have a family of our own, we like to carry on the game playing tradition.

I decided to share a list of some of the current fun family party games available online.  Yes, I like to do my shopping online.  Shhh don’t tell the kids, but some of these games are going to be holiday gifts this year.  I don’t want to spoil the surprise for the kids so you will just have to wait to find out which ones we purchased.  Of course some of them are already in our home or games that we play with friends.  Oh and these are all good party games in general, so are loads of fun without the kids too!

The Best Fun Family Party Games

Keep in mind our kids are 12 & 14 now, so that means we have more options for the games.  Of course when they were young we played games too, but we are excited to step it up a bit and increase the fun!  Of course we play games all year round, but there is just something more fun around the holidays.  Maybe it is the cooler weather outside and being cozy inside or just a festive vibe in the air.  I am not sure, but I do know we love some good fun and games.

Tenzi

This is an amazing dice game and there are actually dozens of ways to play.  You need to be quick and keep on rolling.  We have the Tenzi party pack, but you may also want to opt for the party pack and 77 ways to play option.  Be aware though that with all of the dice being rolled, it can be a bit loud.  (No quiet family games for the Wagoners!)

Watch Ya Mouth

This one seems really weird and interesting.  One of my sisters shared this on Facebook the other day and I just had to look it up.  Of course that led to about 30 minutes of searching on Amazon for the best party games.  Now look, here I am writing about it all and I can’t wait to play some of these.  Thanks to my lil sister Kathy for the inspiration!  I am sure it would be loads of laughs with the kids to have the dental mouth pieces in our mouths, while trying to play the game.  

Heads Up

Oh how we love this game!  It is really hours of fun for the family and the kids add loads of laughter to the game.  After you select a category, one person holds it up above their head (without peeking).  The other players then try to get that person to guess the word, which may be by rhyming, humming, charades or many other ways.  You just need to follow the rules for that particular category.

We usually play on the iPad and it’s a blast!  We have to thank our friend Mel for introducing it to us, when she visited us in Thailand.  If you don’t have an iPad don’t worry. 

Wits & Wagers

Okay this game has a very interesting twist, apparently you don’t need to know the answers to win!  What in the world?  Apparently a question is asked and all of the players write down what they feel is the right answer.  Next you will score points by trying to guess which of the answers is correct.  Hmmm, I wonder if anyone would try to stump people with a crazy answer, which sound right? 

5 Second Rule – Just Spit It Out!

You need to think fast and be able to spit out whatever comes to mind.  You only have 5 seconds to answer the question asked, so this really gets the adrenaline flowing and is great fun.  It is quite surprising to hear what pops out of your mouth when you have to think on your feet.  

Pit

We have played this many times with our friends Bruce & Maria and we are hooked!  Pretend you are in the stock exchange pit and when the bell rings the trading begins!  There is so much going on at the same time, it is confusing, hilarious and a real family favorite.  If you don’t know which family party games to pick, at least choose this one!  There are a couple of versions available, but we like the added touch of having a bell to ring, check out the  Deluxe Pit, as it comes with a bell.

Kids Against Maturity

Dear Evolved Parents, Kids Against Maturity is the perfect parental tool to approach playtime and family time. With age-appropriate toilet humor and funny innuendos for the adults, it can be enjoyed by all ages. Best results when played with 4 players or more.

Well, that is our list for this year and some of them will be under our tree for the kids.  Have you played any of these games?  Tell us what you think in the comments or tell us about some other games we should consider.

Looking for more gift ideas!

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