The “Who Am I?” Game: Christmas Edition
There are so many traditions associated with Christmas, but among the most memorable are the characters. Besides the Big Guy (you know who I’m talking about), there’s Frosty, Rudolph, the Grinch, Buddy the Elf, and many, many more. These beloved figures are a big part of what makes Christmas the most wonderful time of the year.
All those colorful characters also make it possible to add unique holiday flavor to just about any party game (see my posts on Christmas charades and Pictionary). In this article, we’re taking a classic – “Who Am I?” (aka 20 questions) – and sprinkling it with a little Christmas magic.
One of the best things about this game is its flexibility. Like Mad Libs, you can play it with as few as two players of just about any age. Best of all, it’s easy to set up, especially with the printable cards at the end of this article.
Rules
The concept behind “Who Am I?” is simple. Each person is assigned a character card that everyone except they can see. They have to guess who their character is by asking questions of the other players. The only twist in this version of the game is that all the characters are Christmas-themed.
Here’s what you will need:
- Two or more players
- Cards or sticky notes with Christmas character names
- (Optional) Some way to affix the cards to people, like tape, safety pins, or headbands
1. Each player is assigned a card with the name of a Christmas-themed character on it. Players may not look at their own cards.
In the classic game, the card is affixed to the person’s head via a headband. You can also attach the cards to Santa hats for an especially festive touch. That said, it works just as well to attach the cards to the backs of everyone’s clothes, or just have them show other people the card without looking at it themselves.
2. Players ask other players up to 20 yes/no questions to try to figure out what character they are. The other players must answer the questions honestly.
An example question would be “am I female?” Note that asking “am I male or female?” is not allowed because it’s not a yes/no question.
You can alternate who gets to ask a question next if you like, or keep going with one person until they get it right. Regardless, be sure to keep track of how many questions each person asks.
3. In order to guess who they are, players must also ask a question – for example, “am I Santa Claus?”
In other words, each guess counts as a question, which is important for scoring.
4. The person who correctly guesses who they are in the fewest questions wins!
Note that you don’t have to keep score. This activity works just fine without the competition.
Clues
Here’s a wide array of characters for a holiday themed “Who Am I?” game. They’re sorted by difficulty, so you can tailor your game to the age and abilities of your players. Note that these characters are all included in the printable below.
Easy
Santa Claus
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Frosty the Snowman
The Grinch
The Gingerbread Man
Medium
Buddy the Elf
An Angel
Ebenezer Scrooge
Mrs. Claus
Cindy-Lou Who
Hard
Jack Frost
Krampus
The Ghost of Christmas Past
Jack Skellington
Elf on the Shelf
Example Questions
In case you or your players need a better idea of how the game works, here are some of the types of questions that might be useful to ask.
Am I human?
Am I female?
Do I live at the North Pole?
Am I a character in a movie?
Am I a cartoon character?
Am I a character in a book?
Am I a villain?
Am I small?
Have I been famous since before the 1950s?
Am I Santa Claus?
Printable
Finally, here’s a printable with all the above characters. Click here or on the preview image below to view/download. Then simply clip along the lines to separate the cards.
Please note that this file is for personal, non-commercial use only.
As you can see, a game of “Who Am I?” can be a fun and family friendly addition to a holiday gathering. Whoever you are, I hope you have a Merry Christmas!
