A Christmas Web

A holiday activity that originated in the Victorian era, the Christmas Web is fun for all ages to play on Christmas Eve, during a family gathering, or children's holiday party.

Get a small gift and a ball of string or yarn (in different colors) for each member of the family or party.  Fasten a different color string to each of the gifts.  Hide the gifts in various places around the house, and then wind the string through the house, looping around furniture, through chair legs and stair banisters, over curtain rods, etc.--making a colorful and complicated web.  All strings end at the doorway and are attached to strips of cardboard for rewinding.  Hand each player his or her cardboard spool and watch the delight begin as the strings are rewound and the gifts are discovered.  The winner is the first person to find his gift, untangle the string, and wind it into a ball.