Best Family Christmas Bingo and Raffle Activity

Cut Christmas Spending and Focus on Family With an Alternative Game

Nov 12, 2009 Carmen Sofia Grant

Christmas should be a joyous time spent with family and friends, and not a race to the financial bottom. Change up the dynamics and make Christmas memorable with Bingo.

Money is always tight during the holidays. Instead of getting a gift for every friend and family member, consider a Christmas raffle or Bingo night. A game of Christmas Bingo can change the feel of a commercial consumer Christmas, and avoid sending families into financial ruin. It will ease the holiday strain and remind families what Christmas is all about.

Choosing a Bingo Board

Families don't have to play the standard letter and number Bingo. Consider making a personalized Bbingo board with pictures of loved ones. This is especially fun for smaller kids, and an entire board can be made of just children in the family. Get each child to make sad, happy, and surprised pictures, for example, and incorporate a lesson on emotions for smaller kids. Laminate the boards and cards and keep reusing the boards throughout the years for an original family tradition.

For religious households, the Christmas board can be filled with pictures of the apostles, angels, saints, and the Holy Family. For those who are religiously unaffiliated, Santa, snowmen, and elves work just fine.

Christmas Bingo Prizes

Every person that wins a game gets a prize. Each family member should bring or buy 3 to 5 novelty prizes and wrap them before arriving. Winners can pick a prize or have it picked for them. Prizes should be small and fun. Great prizes include bracelets, little cars, flashlights, first aid kids, notebooks, lotion and pens.

Some families choose to be very humorous about the prizes. Examples include ketchup and mustard bottles, antibacterial wipes, toothpaste, baguettes, and cans of brussell sprouts.The funnier the gifts, the more entertaining it will be for everyone. The best thing is to give people things that they use all the time. Dish soap, detergent, toilet paper and hand sanitizer are all gifts that will be used, and not tossed in a junk drawer somewhere.

Sore Losers and the Money Pot

There is never a guarantee that everyone will win at Bingo, and feelings can get hurt. For this reason, have a sore loser money or gift pot. Sell raffle tickets at the door when family members come in and charge a dollar or less. Anyone can purchase more tickets to have a better chance of winning a bigger amount. Once all the money is collected, have someone divide the money into a several envelopes.

Those who did not win anything get to double their chances by throwing in their tickets into the collection. Just have them write down their numbers before tossing them in. A limit on how many prizes a person can win should be established in case someone is unnaturally lucky. Depending on the number of people at the Christmas Bingo Party, the limit should be between 3 to 5 wins.Those who have hit the limit of Bingo wins will not be eligible to win any money.

The sore loser pot doesn't have to be money. It can be a few gifts set aside for those who didn't win any Bingo games.

Remembering What Christmas is all About

Make Christmas more about spending time together, than spending on gifts. Changing the way people think about major holidays will relieve personal and financial stress and allow everyone to enjoy the little things again. Families should make Christmas a time to be with loved ones and commemorate the birth of Christ together.

HOL101

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