5 St Nicholas Day Games for Children That Make This Day Even More Fun

St Nicholas day games are great fun for kids: for home, kindergarten or school – these St. Nicholas games will bring even more joy on 6 December!

St Nicholas day is almost like the prelude to Christmas: a special day on which some children receive their first presents, but in any case lots of sweets. And in quite a few schools and kindergartens, a dressed-up St. Nicholas arrives, sometimes accompanied by the sinister Knecht Ruprecht, and distributes mandarins, nuts, gingerbread and chocolate from a huge sack. Only to the good children, of course 😉

Both at home and in kindergartens and schools, special things are often done on 6 December: people sing matching Nicolaus songs, there is something special to eat and sometimes little plays are performed. There is also the lovely custom of putting the boot outside the door the night before, which is miraculously filled to the brim with sweets the next day.

Another nice way to celebrate St. Nicholas Day with the younger ones is to play St. Nicholas games for children. These are usually group games themed around the generous saint from Myra. We have collected the 5 most beautiful and fun St Nicholas day games for children here. Have fun trying them out 😉

The 5 Best St Nicholas Say Games for Children

1. St Nicks Sack

• Number of players: min. 8 + 1 game leader
• What you need: as many chairs as there are players, labelled role-less or small self-painted signs to hang up.

First, all the children sit in a circle of chairs. Then each child is randomly assigned a role, and the roles are all typical items from a Father Christmas bag, e.g.: Gift box, tangerine, nut, gingerbread, chocolate thaler, Christmas stollen, candy cane, speculoos, etc. In addition, each role will be given out 2 times! (If there is an odd number of players, there will either be a group of three or one child will take on the role of the game leader).

For younger children who are not so good at remembering who has which role, you can make little tags beforehand on which the object they represent is painted. This way they can also see who their partner is in the group.

For older children, you can take role-less cards instead, on which the concept is written. Before the game starts, they read out loud what they are and then have to remember who represents the same object.

Now the game begins: The game leader calls out one or more of the role terms, e.g. gingerbread and nuts and the players representing them swap places in a flash. However, if the game leader calls out: The Father Christmas bag falls over!, all the children jump up, scurry around and look for a new seat.

2. St Nicholas Memory

• Number of players: min. 2
• What you need: 1 large basket, box or carton; as many different items as possible that have to do with St. Nicholas Day.

In a basket or cardboard box, place all the items that have to do with St. Nicholas Day, e.g. chocolate Father Christmas, various nuts, a fir branch, a tangerine, an apple, a rod, a gift parcel, a bell, a stuffed animal, a model sleigh, a Santa hat, etc. Then cover it with an opaque cloth.

All the children sit in a circle around the basket and each in turn is allowed to put their hand under the cloth and feel an object. The child should now describe how the object feels and then guess which one it is. Then they are allowed to take the item out of the basket, but in such a way that they cannot see what else is in it. (It is best to have an adult assist with this).
In the second round, all objects are placed openly in the middle. Now, one child at a time is blindfolded or sent out of the room for a short time. During this time, one of the objects is taken away and hidden. As soon as the child is allowed to look again, he or she has to guess which object is missing.

3. Who Decorated St Nicholas First?

• Number of players: min. 4
• What you need: at least 2 Father Christmas costumes (coat, hat, beard, belt, crozier, gift bag, rod…).

In this Advent game there are 2 teams with at least 2 children. It is therefore well suited for small groups of children. Each group designates one child as Father Christmas (or Father Christmas), who is dressed up by the other children as quickly as possible on a start signal and equipped with his typical objects. The team whose Father Christmas is finished first is the winner.

4. St Nicholas, Where Is Your Bell?

• Number of players: 6 – 12
• What you need: big Santa hat, bell

Santa’s bell is also one of the Advent games for children that is best suited for groups.

All the children sit in a circle, only one in the middle, that is Father Christmas. He wears a Father Christmas or bishop’s hat, which is pulled down so low on his face that he can’t see anything. A bell is placed on the floor in front of him.

The children sitting in the circle should be about 2 m apart. By whispering, they agree which of them should steal the bell from Father Christmas. This child must then try to sneak up on St. Nicholas very quietly, take the bell and return to his place.

St. Nicholas has to keep a sharp ear when he does this. As soon as he suspects who the thief is, he must point to him and say his name aloud. If he is right, he wins; if he is wrong, the thief wins.

If the thief manages to return to his place without Santa noticing, he hides his hands behind his back and all the other children do the same. Then they call out loudly: Nicolas, where is your bell?

Now Father Christmas may pull his cap off his face and go up to one of the children and ask: Have you stolen my bell?
If he is right in his suspicions and has caught the thief, he must sit out the next round as the thief. Father Christmas may then choose the next Father Christmas from all the other players, but this may or may not be the thief.

5. St Nicholas Sleigh Race

• Number of players: min. 4
• What you need: at least 2 sledges with ropes to pull them, snow, gift packages (empty), stopwatch, markers to set a course.

At least one of these St Nicholas day games for kids is an outdoor game: the Santa sled race provides maximum fun in the snow (if it is there, hopefully).

St. Nicholas is retiring, so a sledge race is held among the candidates for his post. The winner is the one who reaches the finish line the fastest with his sledge without losing any presents!

Depending on the number of children and the size of the available sledges, the competitors divide into teams. With 8 children, for example, 2 teams of four: Saint Nicholas and Knecht Ruprecht sit on the sleigh and hold the gift packages, 2 reindeer pull the sleigh with ropes.

At a start signal from the game leader (aka the old Father Christmas), team 1 drives the course. If gifts are lost on the way, they have to be collected again before continuing. At the end, the time is stopped, then it is Team 2’s turn and the winner is determined. If there is enough space, both teams can also run the sleigh race right next to each other.

For ideas for more St Nicholas day games for kids, check out our Advent games for kids and Christmas games for kids. Or browse our Christmas ideas, as well as our general tips for activities with friends, as a couple or with the family.

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Image source Cover photo: St. Nicholas Brunch at Althof Retz by Tauralbus at CC BY 2.0