Fun family games to play around an outdoor fire this Christmas

An outdoor fireplace can be fun for people of all ages so why not throw a party and entertain your family and friends around the fireplace this Christmas?  With the sound of crackling wood and a starry summer night sky, what more could you want?

 Here are some of our top pick outdoor games to play this Christmas to keep your guests entertained.

Name that tune

If you have a musician in your midst, 'Name That Tune' can be fun.  For an  outdoor fire situation, a fun way to play is to just have the musician begin playing a song. The first person who can name the tune wins.  Don’t have a musician in the house? Just use an MP3 player with mini speakers. 

2 truths and a lie

This one is awesome and you can play it without getting off your log by the fire. Each person will announce to the group three facts about themselves. Once they do, the rest of the group has to figure out which of the three statements are a lie. This is great for older groups but also works with young teens. The smaller kids tend to cheat a great deal on this game, so perhaps a different one is in order for them.

How well do you know your family

Break into pairs (cousins, father and son, niece and aunt) and see how well you know your family. 
Each pair writes a list of questions to ask the others: What’s your favorite breakfast cereal? What would your ideal vacation entail? Would you rather be beautiful or rich? Each team asks the other couples the list of questions, and one member of each couple writes down what they think their partner would say. Then, go around the circle and compare answers, awarding points for matches.

Glow bowling

The kids will feel special when they stay up past dark to partake in this rather unique spin on bowling! Simply take glow sticks and put them in bottles of water for some exciting nighttime fun! 

Charades

You can never go wrong with a classic game like charades. Simply split into teams and then have one person from each team act out a movie, book, or TV show to see who can guess the answer. This is a great game for introverts who want to be less shy.

Card games - Spoons

This game is played by sitting in a circle with one less spoon in the middle than there are participants (kind of like musical chairs). Each player starts with 4 cards in their hands. The goal is to get 4 of the same rank. As a deck of cards is passed around the circle one card at a time, your goal is to find a desired card and then discreetly exchange it for one you want to discard from your hand. Once you get 4 cards of the same rank, discreetly get a spoon from the middle. When other players notice that a spoon is missing from the the middle, they all must attempt to grab a spoon as quickly as possible in order to not be the only one left without one.

Forehead detective

The person on your left writes the name of a well-known person on a Post-It note and sticks it on your forehead. Players have to ask 'yes/no' type questions until they find out who they are.

If you are looking to entertain multiple guests this festive season, an outdoor fireplace can be a great kitchen accessory to roast marshmellows on or even your Christmas feast.