Reindeer Game

As I approach the Christmas Holidays, my past memories bring me back to the times when my family gathered together in our living room watching animated Christmas shows: Frosty the Snowman, A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Grinch, Santa Claus is Coming to Town. No doubt, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was one of our favorite shows of all time. We would often sip some hot chocolate, roast chestnuts on an open fire, lie down, wrap our bodies around a warm, cozy blanket while sitting near our Christmas tree, and anxiously wait for the movie to begin.

Mr. Robert L. May created this story back in 1939 as a promotional gimmick to bring customers to the Montgomery Ward department store. His inspiration to write a book about reindeers came from his daughter, who became obsessed with reindeers each time she visited the local zoo.

Picking out names was a task for May. He wanted the name to start with the letter “R.” After much thought, he picked Rudolph because the name “rolled off the tongue nicely.” As for the idea of a glowing nose apt for navigating, that light-bulb moment came from looking out his office window in the middle of one of Chicago’s infamous winter days, seeing the fog from Lake Michigan and thinking of Santa trying to take all those gifts in his sleigh.

Nearly 85 Christmases after the story was first introduced, people from all over the world believe that the story of Rudolph can still inspire people who don’t feel like they fit in. Rudolph was made fun of, but he took his difference and made good use of it. He didn’t let it get him down. It didn’t get in the way when it came time to shine.

The story, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, provided a valuable lesson for all children as a “story of acceptance. The moral of which was that “tolerance and perseverance can overcome adversity.”

Below is a game the family can all enjoy while listening to the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”.

Reindeer Game

Click here for Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer Printout for the Game

Items Needed:

● A laminated picture of a reindeer with a large nose
● 8 safety pins
● 2 aprons OR LARGE T-SHIRTS
● Red hook and loop fastener sheets, cut into circles
● Red hook and loop fastener strips
● Fabric glue
● 10 Ping-pong balls

Making the Props

1. Print out a picture of a reindeer’s face with a large nose and laminate it..
2. Using fabric glue, add circle hook and loop fastener sheets to the nose of the 2 laminated reindeers.
3. Punch 4 holes, one on each corner of the laminated sheets.
4. Apply the Safety pin and pin the reindeers to either the apron or shirt.
5. Wrap and glue the hook and loop fastener strips around ping-pong balls.

Description of the Game

1. Break your group into two teams.
2. One person on each team wears the reindeer apron/shirt.
3. Start with each team standing approximately 5 feet away from each other.
4. Both teams compete by throwing ping-pong balls at the nose of the reindeer.
5. Whichever team gets 5 balls on the nose first, wins!

Adaptations

1. Each team can stand closer to one another
2. Make the target (nose) larger
3. Use larger but softer throwing objects
4. Sit in a chair and hold a picture of the reindeer with the velcroed nose attached to a hard surface as a target

Watch Video Demonstration

Figures of the characters Santa Claus and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer on a white background — Illustration by debramillet

Click here for Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer Printout for the Game

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This post originally appeared on our November/December 2023 Magazine