Our entire family loves Christmas and parties and games — and Christmas party games. In this post series, I’m sharing a dozen of our favorites:Today’s game is seriously cerebral.
We first created this “Christmas Timeline” for a party we hosted for old college friends, but we’ve since used it with homeschool classes and physician groups, as well. It is perfect for folks who appreciate a challenge and love to learn.
The object of the game is to place 21 events in chronological order in a fixed amount of time. You can allow guests to work individually, as couples, or in teams. Set the timer for 5-10 minutes and go to it.
Our original version was extremely challenging. It just included a list of events and a timeline on which to place them… no additional clues.
For this post, I’ve altered the game to make a matching version, which might be a little bit easier for guests who would rather not have to have to think too hard.
Whichever version you use, you’ll find that the fun (and educational) part of the game is the “grading.”
Instead of just reading out a list of answers, I like to lead a little discussion. I’ll say, “Okay, which of these events happened first?” and guests will call out their guesses. If somebody gets it right, I’ll throw them a peppermint or a candy kiss, then elaborate on the event by reading the details from the answer key.
Then we’ll move on to “What happened next?” and repeat the process.
We usually have at least one history buff who does very well. And we always award a prize to the person with the most correct answers, although this is admittedly a little tricky to judge: if a guest gets one event out of place, but everything is in the correct order thereafter, we only count it as missing one, even though his numbers (or letters) may be off for several events following. Does that make sense?
You may click here to print the matching game. Click here for the advanced version. The answer key is included with the test.
I hope you’ll give this Timeline Challenge a try, even if you just work through it yourself or with your family. Let me know how you do — especially if you get 100%. We’ve seen some folks get really close (90-95%), but I can’t remember anybody ever getting them all!
Just came across your blog! I don’t usually read blogs but I love yours! Love all the games too! Hope you get all your unpacking done in time for Christmas!
Thanks, Judy. That’s gonna take another Christmas miracle, but I’ll give it my best shot. I appreciate your encouragement!
You have Caesar Augustus and the Wise men mixed up on your answer sheet… Caesar Augustus was circa 4AD(M,N,O) before Christ’s birth and the wise men didn’t come until later, circa 6AD (P).
Thanks, Laura. I have them listed as 6 BC and 4 BC though (not 4 AD and 6 AD), so the answer sheet does have everything in the correct order, even though those dates are only best-guess approximations. We know that Herod the Great died sometime between 4 BC and 2 BC, and we know Jesus was born before his death, since he slaughtered the babies in an effort to kill the Messiah. (For a more detailed explanation of why I listed the dates I did, follow this link.)