Merry Christmas! Game

By Janet Peterson

This game will provide hours of holiday fun for you and your family.

1. Photocopy or trace the game boards and pieces on these two pages. Make as many copies as there will be players in the game. Then glue pages 32–33 and the copies to heavy paper.

2. Color the pictures.

3. Cut out each game card and its set of picture squares.

4. Glue the Merry Christmas! picture from each set to the center square of each game card.

5. Give each player a game card, a set of pictures, and 25 buttons, dried beans, or other small objects to use as markers.

How to Play

1. A player is chosen to be the caller. He or she puts a set of pictures into a bowl.

2. Each of the other players puts a picture on each of the remaining squares of his or her game card in whatever order he or she chooses.

3. Each player puts a marker on the free Merry Christmas! square on his or her game card. The caller draws a picture from the bowl, holds it up, and calls it out. Each player puts a marker on that picture on his or her game card.

4. The caller continues drawing out one picture at a time until a player covers five pictures in a row—vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. That player calls out, “Merry Christmas!” and wins the round. A different player then takes a turn as caller, and a new round begins. Pictures can be rearranged at the beginning of each round, if desired.

Illustrated by Brad Teare