Indoor activities and recreational games recommended for December
December is the last month of the year.
The cold gets harsher, and it’s a shame it’s not so easy to play outside.
In times like these, some of you might be looking for games or recreational activities you can enjoy at home, right?
So this time, we’ll introduce games and recreational activities you can enjoy indoors!
From ones that get everyone as excited as if you were playing outside to highly game-like options and more.
Use this article as a reference and have fun playing together, getting lively and warmed up!
- [Part 2] Recommended Indoor Activities and Recreation Games for December
- Exciting! Recreational Activities to Enjoy at a Christmas Party
- Recommended for upper elementary grades! Exciting indoor recreation and games
- Indoor recreation for children: A roundup of exciting games
- [For Kids] Indoor Games and Activities Recommended for Winter Break
- [Simple Games] Recommended Indoor Recreational Activities for Adults
- A collection of simple indoor recreational games
- Recommended activities and recreational games for November: A collection of ideas to enjoy autumn
- Indoor games and recreational activities recommended for junior high school students
- [Elementary School] Indoor Games and Recreational Activities Recommended for Upper Primary Grades
- [Children’s Club] Easy and fun indoor games. Exciting party games
- [Elementary School] Quick and Easy! Indoor Recreational Activities Perfect for Lower Grades
- Games and activities everyone can enjoy together. A collection of fun play ideas.
Recommended indoor activities and recreation games for December (21–30)
Bozu Mekuri
How about playing Bouzu Mekuri, a traditional game using Hyakunin Isshu karuta? Place the deck face down, and players take turns drawing from the top.
If the picture is a “lord,” you add it to your hand; if it’s a “monk,” you discard your entire hand.
If you draw a “princess,” you take all the cards that have been discarded.
The player with the most cards in hand at the end wins.
The rules may vary by region.
rice cake pounding play
Even if you think, “I want to try pounding mochi for New Year’s!” it’s hard to do at home because you may not have the tools, and parts of it can be a bit dangerous for kids.
But if you make some simple tools to simulate mochi pounding, anyone can easily experience it at New Year’s! Prepare two long, narrow strips of thick paper, each about 10 cm wide, and fold them back and forth in an accordion to make spring-like pieces.
Put those into a container to serve as the mortar.
For the mochi, put bubble wrap (or similar) into a plastic bag and place it on top of the “springs.” For the mallet, combine a cardboard tube from plastic wrap with a styrofoam block wrapped in bubble wrap—that’s all you need! You can play with it over and over, so give it a try!
Fun for parents and kids! Pottery workshop
A popular indoor winter activity is a parent-and-child pottery experience.
In a warm studio, you can enjoy the feel of clay and create a one-of-a-kind piece.
Many studios let you choose what to try, such as hand-building or using an electric potter’s wheel, and for small children, starting with hand-building is recommended.
Even if the shape turns out a little uneven, that becomes part of its charm and makes for a memorable piece.
It takes some time until the firing is finished, but the moment you receive the completed work is truly moving.
Even on cold winter days, this parent-child experience will warm your heart with the clay’s warmth and lots of smiles.
Sled race
A “sled race” where you compete using cardboard sleds.
Since it’s Christmas, of course you’ll be carrying presents! If you make both the sleds and the presents by hand, it could turn into a memorable time.
If small children are participating, set up a straight course.
If you want to increase the difficulty, place cones and make a course that loops around.
The baton will be the sled, but it might be fun to wear Santa hats too.
Become Santa, and safely deliver the presents all the way to the finish!
Cookie Toss
It’s a game where you toss cookie mascots into boards or bags decorated with Santa Claus and reindeer—icons essential to Christmas.
There are holes where Santa’s and the reindeer’s mouths are, so you make cookies sized to fit those openings and throw them in.
Since Christmas treats usually give off a happy vibe, it’s important to draw them with smiling faces to get that across.
You can enjoy the game with various rules, such as seeing how many cookies you can get in within the time limit.
Christmas basket
This is a Christmas-themed twist on the game Fruit Basket, where everyone sits in a circle and people who match the prompt move from their spots.
Each participant holds one of three types of cards—Christmas Tree, Reindeer, or Santa Claus—and these are also used as prompts.
Alongside everyday prompts, you can enjoy the strategy of guessing when the card-based prompts will come up.
The game also tests your ability to move quickly so you’re not left without a seat, so be careful not to bump into others and get hurt.
Present Carrying Relay
Let’s become Santa and see how many presents we can deliver! This is a team-based game.
One person makes the boxes, another puts in the presents, another wraps them, and so on—divide the tasks to complete the gifts.
The items to go inside are predetermined, so be careful not to make mistakes.
Santa’s job is not only to make the presents but to deliver them as well.
Think about how to divide the work to be as efficient as possible, and give it your best.
Can you deliver the required number of presents within the time limit?
A game divided by Christmas
Here’s a party game that’s sure to liven things up, perfect for Christmas: the “Break Up ‘Christmas’” game.
The rules are simple: take the word “Christmas” and split it at any point you like, then pass it to the next person.
The person who receives it continues saying the word “Christmas” starting from where the previous player split it.
Keep the rhythm, think about where the previous person cut the word, and as you pass it on, decide where you’ll split it next.
It’s also fun to play using other words.
Try coming up with your own original words and give it a go!
konjac
One of the fun aspects of the “what’s-in-the-box” game is seeing how people react when they put their hand in and touch the object.
With that in mind, how about choosing konnyaku, which has a uniquely odd texture, to elicit those reactions? Depending on the type, konnyaku generally feels slippery, so you might get some squeamish responses.
Its springiness can even make people mistake it for a living creature, so it seems important to decide at what point to let them know it’s actually food.
Musical chairs
When it comes to classic indoor recreation, musical chairs surely comes to mind.
Many people probably played it with their classmates in elementary school.
You walk around the chairs while the music is playing, and the moment it stops, you sit down.
If you can’t get a seat, you lose.
It’s guaranteed to get heated.