Creative Ideas for Your New Year Party or Event

The New Year is a great time for reflecting on the Blessings and experiences of the past year and looking forward and planning for the new year. The Creative Youth website has a lot of materials to help you plan your New Year Event with your youth or with your family. There are some great games for New year Celebrations and Parties as well as Creative Learning activities, Object Lessons, and Children’s sermons to help youth think about the future and to set some goals and make some New Year’s resolutions!

New Year Party Games- Just for Fun!
New Year Pictionary

A New Beginning

  • Make a resolution to yield your life to God’s control in the upcoming year. Have you given your life to Christ? Is there an area of your life you have not yielded or that you previously yielded but then took back control?
    New Year’s Resolutions
    Who’s in Control?
  • Will you be merely another person in the crowd in the new year who ultimately goes nowhere or will you, put your belief into action?
    Life on a Tightrope
  • Is there an area of your life that you need a little push to accomplish in the next year? Are you ready to leave the comfort of the familiar and fly to new heights in the next year! Take that step of faith today and commit yourself to that task God has placed on your heart for the next year!
    Even Eagles Need a Push
  • Is your life aligned with God’s Will? Use this creative group trust game as a simulation to remind us of the importance of aligning out lives with the will of God!
    Blind Polygon

Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future

  • Was the past year a difficult one? What can you learn from this past year? How can you take the lessons from the past year and use them to build a brighter future for you and in your relationship with God and others?
    New year Time Capsule
    January
  • Use a potato as an object lesson or illustration :
    Egg or Potato
  • Take this as an opportunity to see both the past and the future through God’s eyes!
    Don’t Look so Good
  • Has the past year been one in which you feel tossed around and tossed about by the winds of difficult circumstances? Use this illustration to help you to discover how God can give them direction and move them steadily according to his purposes in the upcoming year!
    Icebergs
  • Are you allowing the things of the past to chain your thinking and prevent you from being all that God wants you to be, to have the freedom in your life that God intends? Exchange your old limiting beliefs for a quiet trust in God! With Him all things are possible in the New Year!
    Imaginary Chains
  • All the events of our life are Part of God’s plan! Will you allow God to weave your life, the good and the bad, and to make it into a beautiful tapestry that shows His glory?
    The Weaver!
  • Every day we make exchanges in life. What is something in your life you need to exchange for something better in the upcoming year? What is something you should give up and replace with something else?
    Exchanges
  • If your ship is sinking, maybe God is allowing you an opportunity to rest on his shoulder.
    The Magician and the Parrot

Growing in Christ

  • Do you want to see growth in your life, in your relationships with God and others? Are you happy with things as they are now? Are you satisfied? Do you think God has been pleased with your spiritual growth over the past year? Commit to growing your spiritual walk in the upcoming year!
    Well Established!
  • What is something that you need to make time for in the upcoming year?
    Don’t have the Time!
  • Change is difficult but necessary for growth
    Transformed
    Chili Crab
    Change the World

New Opportunities

  • Who knows what opportunities God will send our way in the upcoming year! Are you looking ahead for the opportunities or focused on the past? use this illustration as a reminded that in the upcoming year, we need to keep our eyes focused on the opportunties God has for us! What might seem a tragedy may actually be an opportunity if you are able to see it through God’s eyes!
    I Can’t!
  • Are you focused on the opportunities or the difficulties. What are some things you want to find in the upcoming year? Let God help you to see them by changing your focus!
    You Find What You are Looking For!
  • Are you willing to trust your life to God in the upcoming year?
    A penny
  • Is there something that you have never done, but would like to do this year? Use this high energy game to discuss the things we have never done and then to discuss the things we want to do for the upcoming year!
    I Never
  • Take a moment to refocus, to set your priorities and goals and commitments for the new year!
    Walking Like a Pigeon
  • Life is short! Will you take advantage of the opportunities ahead?
    Life’s but a Flash 
    Every Moment is Precious!
  • Maybe its time for you to make that change in life you have been resisting! Things might be a little awkward for a while, but its a necessary step for you to move forward in the journey God has prepared for you!
    New Shoes!

Staying Connected to God

  • Every year has its ups and downs. But through it all our connection and relationship with God gives us security and prevents life from spinning out of control! Make a commitment to nurture a closer relationship with God in the upcoming year. Use this object Lesson of a yo-yo as reminder that while life has ups and downs, and things seem to be spinning out of control, that if we yield to the Master’s hand he can do perform a spectacular performance with our lives for the world to see! It also makes a great Children’s sermon.
    Yo-Yos

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween or Fall Festival, and Thanksgiving event. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Christmas Spot the Difference

Have fun with my new online game ‘Christmas Spot the Difference’! Can you get through all 20 puzzles and put your name on the high score list? Give it a try!

christmas_game.jpg

Christmas Spot the Difference

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Christmas Collection" ebook Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.Get more than 200 creative ideas for planning a Youth Christmas celebration or Christmas Party party. You can immediately download my best Christmas Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Christmas activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!
=> Tell me more about the Christmas Collection

How well do you know your Christmas songs?

Christmas Party Game Description:
The following words are taken from various songs associated with Christmas. Can you name the song?

Christmas Game Play

  • Read out the words, and the first person to stand up and begin singing the correct song gets a prize! If they guess the song you can give them a hint by singing the words to the correct tune.
  • Or, play as teams and give points to each team if one of the team members guesses the song.

Can you name the song?

  1. A song, a song high above the trees, With a voice as big as the sea,
  2. And He shall reign forever and ever, King of kings, forever and ever,
  3. And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmastime
  4. Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay, Close by me forever, and love me, I pray;
  5. Bells are ringing, children singing; All is merry and bright.
  6. Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain, Gold I bring to crown Him again,
  7. But the very beasts could see, That He all men surpasses.
  8. Christmas is here Bringing good cheer, To young and old, Meek and the bold
  9. City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, Dressed in holiday style
  10. Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree, Won’t mean a thing if you’re not here with me
  11. Down to the village, With a broomstick in his hand
  12. E’en so here below, below, Let steeple bells be swungen
  13. Ev’ryone dancing merrily, in the new old fashioned way.
  14. For a blessed Babe was born, Upon this day at the break of morn
  15. For yonder beams a new and glorious morn
  16. From now on, our troubles will be miles away.
  17. Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
  18. Give her a dolly that laughs and cries, One that will open and shut her eyes
  19. Give ye heed to what we say: News! News! Jesus Christ is born today;
  20. God with us is now residing; Yonder shines the infant light:
  21. Hail the new year, lads and lasses
  22. Here we come a-wan-der-ing, so fair – to be seen:
  23. He’s gotta wear his goggles ’cause the snow really flies
  24. How do you measure its worth? Just by the pleasure it gives here on earth.
  25. How Jesus the Savior did come for to die. For poor on’ry people like you and like I…
  26. I have no gift to bring
  27. I really do believe in you, Let’s see if you believe in me
  28. In Bethlehem, in Israel, this blessèd Babe was born,
  29. In the meadow we can build a snowman, Then pretend that he is Parson Brown
  30. It doesn’t show signsof stopping, And I’ve bought some corn for popping
  31. It seems so long since I could say, “Sister Susie sitting on a thistle.”
  32. it’s grand, Just holding your hand,
  33. Joyful, all ye nations rise, Join the triumph of the skies
  34. Late in time behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
  35. Mary was that mother mild, Jesus Christ her little child.
  36. Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, The cross be borne for me, for you.
  37. Nine Ladies Dancing
  38. Not only green when summer’s here, But also when ’tis cold and drear.
  39. O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free, Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
  40. O morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth,
  41. O’er the fields we go, Laughing all the way
  42. Oh, bring us a figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer:
  43. On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day
  44. Once you pass it’s borders, you can never return again!
  45. Our Savior Christ and His lady, On Christmas day in the morning.
  46. Oxen lowing, little knowing, Christ the Babe is Lord of all.
  47. Please have snow and mistletoe, And presents under the tree.
  48. Please put a penny In the old man’s hat.
  49. Prospero año y Felicidad
  50. Radiant beams from Thy holy face, With the dawn of redeeming grace,
  51. Robin, bring your fife, and come, And be merry while you play.
  52. She didn’t see me creep, Down the stairs to have a peep
  53. She’d been drinking too much eggnog, and we begged her not to go.
  54. Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong?
  55. Snowflakes in the air, Carols everywhere
  56. Star of silver sweep across the skies, Show where Jesus in the manger lies.
  57. Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again, With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.
  58. The angels sang, the shepherds sang, The grateful earth rejoiced;
  59. The world in solemn stillness lay, To hear the angels sing.
  60. Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say
  61. There’ll be parties for hosting, Marshmallows for toasting , And caroling out in the snow
  62. They found no place to bear her Child, Not a single room was in sight
  63. They looked up and saw a star, Shining in the east, beyond them far;
  64. Till ringing, singing on its way, The world revolved from night to day,
  65. Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow, Will find it hard to sleep tonight
  66. To you, in David’s town, this day, Is born of David’s line
  67. True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal,
  68. Well I don’t know if there’ll be snow, But have a cup of cheer
  69. While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains, Repeat the sounding joy
  70. While shepherds kept their watching, Over silent flocks by night
  71. With every Christmas card I write, May your days be merry and bright
  72. With little tin horns and little toy drums, Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums
  73. You gave me a diamond ring for Christmas, Now I’m living in paradise
  74. Your brain is full of spiders, You’ve got garlic in your soul.

Answers

  1. Do You Hear What I Hear?
  2. Handel’s Messiah
  3. Do They Know It’s Christmas?
  4. Away in a Manger
  5. Here Comes Santa Claus
  6. We Three Kings of Orient Are
  7. Unto Us a Boy is Born
  8. Carol of the Bells
  9. Silver Bells
  10. Blue Christmas
  11. Frosty the Snowman
  12. Ding Dong Merrily on High
  13. Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
  14. Fum, Fum, Fum!
  15. O Holy Night
  16. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
  17. Jingle Bell Rock
  18. Up on the Housetop
  19. Good Christian Men, Rejoice
  20. Angels, From the Realms of Glory
  21. Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly
  22. Here We Come a-Wassailling
  23. Little Saint Nick
  24. Silver and Gold
  25. I Wonder as I Wander
  26. Little Drummer Boy
  27. Santa Baby
  28. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
  29. Winter Wonderland
  30. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
  31. All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth
  32. Sleigh Ride
  33. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
  34. Christ Is Born in Bethlehem
  35. Once In Royal David’s City
  36. What Child Is This?
  37. The Twelve Days of Christmas
  38. O Christmas Tree
  39. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
  40. O Little Town of Bethlehem
  41. Jingle Bells
  42. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
  43. Mele Kalikimaka
  44. Babes in Toyland
  45. I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In
  46. Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
  47. I’ll Be Home for Christmas
  48. Christmas is Coming
  49. Feliz Navidad
  50. Silent Night! Holy Night
  51. Pat-A-Pan!
  52. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
  53. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
  54. Angels We Have Heard on High
  55. Christmas Time Is Here
  56. Calypso Carol
  57. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
  58. Gesu Bambino
  59. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
  60. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
  61. It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
  62. Mary’s Boy Child
  63. The First Noël
  64. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
  65. The Christmas Song
  66. While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night
  67. O Come All Ye Faithful
  68. A Holly Jolly Christmas
  69. Joy to the World
  70. Go Tell It on the Mountain
  71. White Christmas
  72. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
  73. Merry Christmas, Baby
  74. The Grinch

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Christmas Collection" ebook Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.

Get more than 200 creative ideas for planning a Youth Christmas celebration or Christmas Party party. You can immediately download my best Christmas Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Christmas activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!

=> Tell me more about the Christmas Collection

Christmas Carol Puzzler #4

Can You guess this Christmas Carol?

Christmas_puzzle_13.gif

Check back for the answer tomorrow!

For a wonderful collection of similar puzzles click here!

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Christmas Collection" ebook Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.Get more than 200 creative ideas for planning a Youth Christmas celebration or Christmas Party party. You can immediately download my best Christmas Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Christmas activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!
=> Tell me more about the Christmas Collection

Christmas Carol Puzzler #3 – Answer

Here’s the Answer……

The answer to Christmas Carol Puzzler #3 is “Joy to the World”

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Christmas Collection" ebook Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.Get more than 200 creative ideas for planning a Youth Christmas celebration or Christmas Party party. You can immediately download my best Christmas Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Christmas activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!
=> Tell me more about the Christmas Collection

Hum That Christmas Tune

Introduction
How well do you know the songs and carols commonly associated with Christmas?

Game Description
Common Christmas Tunes can be the foundation for a variety of Christmas games including “Name that Tune”
Christmas Name that Tune (Musical or by Lyrics)

Game Materials
If you are doing a musical name that you can either get a pianist to play the first few notes of a song, or you can have someone with a good musical voice to hum them. A modern day variation might be to collect the Midi files of common tunes to play from a computer. Here are a couple of sources for Christmas Midi Files:

For a lyrics based version you need to select some of the less familiar stanzas from the Christmas Songs. Here is a great site to get the lyrics:
http://www.mikeleal.com/christmas/songs.html

Game Preparation
Depending on how you intend to play, you either need the less familiar lyrics of Christmas songs, a piano, or the midi files.

Game Play

    • Musical Version:
      1. Divide the group into two or more teams.
      2. Teams must make a bid on how quickly they can identify the song.
      3. If using a piano they can bid by notes…. i.e. “I can name that Christmas tune in 7 notes” or if my midi, by time.. “I can name that Christmas tune in 5 seconds.”
      4. Points can be awarded based upon the difficulty of the song.
    • Lyrics Version:
      1. Divide the group into two or more teams.
      2. Teams try to be the first one to hum the tune based upon the lyrics provided by you.
      3. Read out the lyrics and the first team to correctly sing the song or hum the tune is awarded the points.
      4. Points can be determined by the difficulty of the song.
  • Christmas Tune Team Hunt
    1. Decide how many teams you want to have and choose one song for each team.
    2. On pieces of paper, include the lyrics to the song. Cut them apart so that one line of the lyric is one one strip of paper. Mix them all together.
    3. When participants arrive give each a random line of a song as contained on s strip of paper.
    4. Participants must figure out what Christmas song it is and then hum the song and begin looking for others with the rest of the lyrics.
    5. The first team to find all the words to a song wins.
    6. This variation makes a great icebreaker and also serves as a crowdbreaker, randomly placing people in different teams for future games or activities.

List of Common Christmas Songs
A Holly Jolly Christmas
All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth
Angels We Have Heard on High
Angels, From the Realms of Glory
Away in a Manger
Babes in Toyland
Blue Christmas
Calypso Carol
Carol of the Bells
Christ Is Born in Bethlehem
Christmas is Coming
Christmas Time Is Here
Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly
Ding Dong Merrily on High
Do They Know It’s Christmas?
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Feliz Navidad
Flemish Carol
Frosty the Snowman
Fum, Fum, Fum!
Gesu Bambino
Go Tell It on the Mountain
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Good Christian Men, Rejoice
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
Hallelujah Chorus
Handel’s Messiah
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Here Comes Santa Claus
Here We Come a-Wassailling
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing In
I Wonder as I Wander
I’ll Be Home for Christmas
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
Jingle Bell Rock
Jingle Bells
Joy to the World
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Little Drummer Boy
Little Saint Nick
Mary’s Boy Child
Mary’s Little Boy Child
Mele Kalikimaka
Merry Christmas, Baby
Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Mr. Grinch
Nutcracker Suite
O Christmas Tree
O Come All Ye Faithful
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
O Holy Night
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Once In Royal David’s City
Pat-A-Pan!
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Santa Baby
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Silent Night! Holy Night
Silver and Gold
Silver Bells
Sleigh Ride
The Christmas Song
The First Noël
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Unto Us a Boy is Born
Up on the Housetop
We Three Kings Of Orient Are
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
What Child Is This?
While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night
White Christmas
Winter Wonderland

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Christmas Collection" ebook Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.Get more than 200 creative ideas for planning a Youth Christmas celebration or Christmas Party party. You can immediately download my best Christmas Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Christmas activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!
=> Tell me more about the Christmas Collection

Christmas Carol Puzzler #3

Can You guess this Christmas Carol?

Christmas_puzzle_04.gif

Check back for the answer tomorrow!

For a wonderful collection of similar puzzles click here!

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Christmas Collection" ebook Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.Get more than 200 creative ideas for planning a Youth Christmas celebration or Christmas Party party. You can immediately download my best Christmas Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Christmas activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!
=> Tell me more about the Christmas Collection

Christmas Carol Puzzler #2 – Answer

Here’s the Answer……

The answer to Christmas Carol Puzzler #2 is “Deck the Halls”

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Christmas Collection" ebook Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.Get more than 200 creative ideas for planning a Youth Christmas celebration or Christmas Party party. You can immediately download my best Christmas Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Christmas activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!
=> Tell me more about the Christmas Collection

Christmas Carol Puzzler #2

Can You guess this Christmas Carol?

Christmas_puzzle_11.gif

Check back for the answer tomorrow!

For a wonderful collection of similar puzzles click here!

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Christmas Collection" ebook Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.Get more than 200 creative ideas for planning a Youth Christmas celebration or Christmas Party party. You can immediately download my best Christmas Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Christmas activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!
=> Tell me more about the Christmas Collection

Christmas Carol Puzzler #1 – Answer

Here’s the Answer……

The answer to Christmas Carol Puzzler #1 is “Silent Night”

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Christmas Collection" ebook Christmas Collection
Games and Activities helping youth discover the Reason for the Season.Get more than 200 creative ideas for planning a Youth Christmas celebration or Christmas Party party. You can immediately download my best Christmas Icebreakers, games, illustrations, Christmas activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a useful ebook!
=> Tell me more about the Christmas Collection

Creative Youth ideas: 1700+ Resources for youth leaders, pastors, ministers to help plan camps, retreats, and meetings using games, illustrations, Children's Worship, Bible Studies, object lessons, sermons, creative ideas,creative activities