One of the best parts of Christmas is getting together with family and, if you’re anything like our family, that means shenanigans. How fitting, then, that we created the Christmas Shenanigans Card Game. (To see more of our original games click here.)
This game is nothing but silliness and laughter. It is great for players of all ages and of any number and it only needs one deck of cards. It’s also part of our big list of holiday games for the most festive fun one can have!
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Set Up
To start, deal all the cards in the deck face down. Some players may have more cards than others. This is okay as it won’t affect the play. Players will leave these stacks face down in piles in front of them.
Playing Christmas Shenanigans
Players take turns flipping over one card from their stack and placing it in the middle of the playing area. A player must flip over the cards in a smooth motion—not peeking at the card before it is shown to everyone.
When a card between 2 and 10 is flipped, nothing happens and the next player flips over a card.
However, when an ace, king, queen or jack is flipped over, players must race to spot the card and then do the action associated with it.
The actions are:
Ace – put your hands on your head to make reindeer antlers.
King – pat belly like Santa
Queen – pat hair like Mrs. Clause
Jack – slowly move your hand through the air with fingers spread like Jack Frost.
The last player who does the action must pick up all of the cards in the middle and put them on his pile of cards.
Next, that player flips over a card from his newly re-stocked pile and the game continues.
Ending a Christmas Shenanigans Card Game
There are two ways to end a game.
First, one player has all the cards and therefore loses. Second, you can play to a set amount of time, say 15 or 20 minutes. The player with the fewest cards at the end of the time is the winner.
Let the Christmas Shenanigans Start
With this easy, Christmas card game everyone will be laughing and having a great time. The goal is really to have fun and make memories—winning or losing the game has little to do with the game. The kids will love that they are usually better at this type of game than the adults not to mention finding it hilarious to see Grandpa with antler hands! So with that, we say let the Christmas Shenanigans begin!
To make the shenanigans even more festive, play with some great holiday themed playing cards. We like Charlie Brown ones and the Rudolph ones too. Canadians can get their holiday playing cards here.
And if you’re looking for more holiday games, see Grinch Dice, Santa UNO or check out our dinner dice games or 20 fast, easy games to play at Christmas.
Don’t forget our game reviews and other card games too.
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