Christmas Twister spinner for holiday parties

Make a holiday mat

A standard mat has 24 circles: four columns, one for each color, with six circles in each column. Your holiday mat uses the same layout in red, green, gold and silver.

You will need

• 24 paper plates or construction-paper circles, six each in red, green, gold and silver. Party stores sell metallic gold and silver plates in December.
• Painter's tape or double-sided tape that won't mark the floor.
• A plastic tablecloth, old bedsheet or shower curtain to tape them to, if you want to roll the mat up afterward.

1. Clear a floor space about 6 feet long and 5 feet wide. Carpet or a rug is less slippery than wood or tile.
2. Lay out four columns of six plates, one column per color, leaving a hand's width between plates.
3. Tape each plate down flat so nobody slips on a loose edge.
4. Open the spinner above. It is already set to the Holiday colors, so the calls match your mat.

Ways to play at a holiday party

• Family tournament. Add every name under Players. The spinner calls whose turn it is, you tap a name when that person falls, and it announces the winner. The winner of each round gets first pick from the cookie plate.
• Holiday challenge break. Not everyone wants to get on the mat. Switch to the Custom tab and load Holiday party challenges: Sing a Carol Line, Reindeer Impression, Jingle Bell Dance, Name Three Reindeer, Snow Angel, Nutcracker Pose, Ho Ho Ho Laugh and Elf Walk. Spin between Twister rounds so the audience gets a turn too.
• Big-screen mode. Cast the page to the TV and press the party mode button. The whole screen turns the called color, so players can see it from any angle on the mat.
• Hands-free for the host. Turn on Auto spin with 6 to 8 seconds between spins and the game keeps going while you refill drinks.

School and office party tips

• Classrooms: run it on the smartboard with no login. Two mats side by side let eight students play while the rest of the class shouts out the calls. Keep rounds short, around three minutes.
• Offices: not everyone wants to play, so make the mat the side event and use the challenge wheel for everyone. A Nutcracker Pose holds up surprisingly well in business casual.
• Mixed ages: give younger kids 10 seconds per move and adults 5. Change the time under Timing between rounds.
• Your own theme: open Edit wheel and rename the colors to match whatever plates you found, such as Candy Cane, Pine, Snow and Tinsel. The spinner says your names out loud.

Questions