Gift guide: Kids' games for Christmas 2025!
It's time to start making lists.
And every year, kids become more and more difficult to buy for.
What games can you gift that might defeat the lure of the dreaded screen? That might maintain the attention with 10,000 other things going on in their lives? That'll be priced sensibly... but have a quality that means they'll last well beyond Boxing Day?
Here's our 2025 Christmas gift guide, highlighting games where the younger ones can play with friends or siblings, or share the fun with favourite relatives. Games where they can challenge the whole family. Games where everyone can join in and spend some precious quality time together over the holiday.
You’ll find all of these in good toy and game retailers, at Argos and in all the usual online places. We’ll start off with…
>> Flip Football
- Guide age: 8 and above
- Perfect for: a stocking filler for football-mad kids
Flip Football is a take-anywhere, play-anywhere card game, played in pairs.
Opponents switch between the roles of the 'attacking' or 'defending' teams. They lay down cards in turn, in order to build up a forward passing movement - or to get in a crucial block or save.
It's more action-focused than the usual stats-heavy football card games (not quite as boisterous as 'snap', but with more immediate excitement than 'trumps'), and the nature of it means that every game is different.
A great-value stocking-filler, Flip Football's become a winner with young fans in the UK - and across Europe as well.
Score a Flip Football set at Amazon, here.
>> Dig In
- Guide age: 5 and above
- Perfect for: energetic kids, who like ‘doing’!
Dig In’s a quickfire rummaging-around game, simple for five-year-olds; addictive for adults! It’s the sort of game that appeals to kids who love lots of laughs; who like getting stuck in; who basically don’t like boring-sitting-still-type games.
Glance at the card, quickly think it through... then rummage like crazy to find the piece you need! Dig In comes with three ways of playing, to suit different ages and abilities.
And forget ‘letting them win’ – if it’s adults versus children, the younger ones invariably come out on top! And that’s always a good recipe for a harmonious family Christmas…
>> LOGO - Disney Edition
- Guide age: 8 and above
- Perfect for: groups of children – and families who play with them!
The Lion King… Toy Story… Beauty and the Beast… Frozen… when it comes to the world of entertainment, surely there can be no better topic for an all-inclusive family board game challenge than the timeless characters and creations of Disney and Pixar.
LOGO Disney is easy to learn and super fun to play, with over 1500 questions-and-answers that will get everybody talking about those magical movies and moments.
It’s a great ‘grown-up’ board game for the youngsters to play. But you needn’t let them have ALL the fun - LOGO Disney has something for all ages! Whether you’re a major Disney buff, a casual fan, or whether you simply relish some of those all-time classics… this game guarantees a burst of fantastic Christmas family time for one and all.
LOGO - Disney Edition is on the shelves at Smyths!
>> Articulate for Kids & Articulate
- Guide age: all ages, with the kids’ version 6 and above
- Perfect for: all ages, including impossible-to-buy-for teenagers
How about a very special kids’ version of the classic ‘describing’ party board game – one that can be played standalone or seamlessly integrated with the original game. So, youngsters can play with older siblings… and all can play with the older generation.
The original Articulate has long proved itself a brilliant choice for those harder-to-engage teens – and sets often find themselves spirited away from the family home when the nest is finally flown!
Hundreds of five-star reviews over on Amazon tell their own story – we’ll point you towards these!
>> Mini Game Stocking Fillers
- Guide age: varies from 6+ to 12+; check game for details
- Perfect for: great little Christmas ‘extras’
Some of Britain's best-known and best-loved board games, scaled down into mini stocking-filler versions!
Catering for a wide range of ages and interests, these are perfect for a quick burst of fun alongside tea and a mince pie - or for a long Boxing Day car journey!
Each has got dozens of questions or topics, and a scoring system that means a board isn't required. Other than that, the concepts and gameplay are exactly the same as the hugely-popular originals.
>> Seasonal Specials
- Guide age: 12 and above
- Perfect for: families & friends who love Christmas!
The Logo Board Game and Articulate! are true UK institutions - award-winning family favourites that are rarely out of the top-ten lists. But did you know that both boast their very own festive-themed versions?
Their question cards feature solely Yuletide-related topics and questions, be they films, songs, food or Christmas traditions. And each introduces a particularly Christmassy scoring system... be it a tree to build, or a festive jigsaw to complete!
Great for a snowy December afternoon - or don your Christmas hat and use them as the basis for your office party quiz!
Buy Articulate Christmas here, and LOGO - Best of Christmas here!
Merry Christmas, and thanks for supporting British board games!!!