Board games, stories and family togetherness

These 3 things sound familiar? Well they are the main ingredients of a typical night at Christmas time. You know, when the tree is lit up and everyone is gathered around the hearth to have some quality family time. It looks perfect on T.V. It seems perfect in books but is it so perfect in real life?
Let's find out…

It was a peaceful night. The snow lay in large soft heaps along the street and in the distance the castle gleamed with its a thousand lights shining brightly. It was Christmas Eve. The rich merchant's house was decorated with bundles of glittering tinsel, garlands and holly. Together, the lights from the Christmas tree and the tiny flames of candles shone through the lattice window, forming a welcoming glow. The family gathered by the fire and chatted and laughed till dawn…
You get the point.

Okay I know the castle on the hill is a bit cheesy and I know that it's the 'Charles Dickens' type of Christmas but I want to put a distinct difference between the ideal family togetherness and MY type.
You'll see in awhile.

In one slick move the dead assassin had pointed his gun at the kitchen shelf. No one except the blonde haired teenager (big clue) flinched. The man sitting in an arm chair looked up in disapproval. He looked a lot like the boy, maybe it was his uncle. "Don't do that! I don't want holes in my wall, it looks as if I am bad at DIY and messed it up or something."
BANG. The assassin fired. He had perfect aim. The bullet made a hole straight through the canned pea soup. Thick green liquid flowed out onto a bowl underneath.
"Mr Grief…Would you like some pea soup?"
Mr Grief looked up from his book in disdain, "Yassen! You know I don't drink canned or sachet soup. Those horrible things are full of preservatives and additives!"
"Mr Sayle, Mr Cray, General Sarov…" said the assassin triumphantly, rubbing his hands together indicating money, "Any other bets?"

So there we go. Normal families play games like Monopoly or Scrabble. If they bet on something it'll be usually like, "I'll give you 5 chocolates if you can stand on your head for 5 mins."
It's normal. No gun slinging, no flame throwing, just ordinary fun.

So I thought I'll try it this year. To get all my spy family, assassin family friend and bad guy guests to see what normal families, who aren't in this whole guns and spying profession, do for Christmas.

Here are some things I have gathered from this experience to help you create a lovely night in.

Set the scene.
Create the cookie dough in the day. At night shove it into the oven and watch the people roll in. No one can resist the smells of freshly baked cookies.

Place some hot chocolates and coffees on the table for everyone to see.

Kick start the fire. The warmth is always a bonus.

When you see Sayle or Cray or any of the bad guys in come in say: "Welcome to the dark side! We have cookies!"

If you see any members of your family or people who work for the government come in, say, "Come to MI6's side, we have cookies!"

Once everyone is in the lounge give them things to do so they won't have to resort to doing things the old way i.e doing some target practice.

The games I found that are really good are:

Monopoly. Everyone wants to be a billionare but get ready to be bankrupted by Drevin, Cray and Sayle, they know how to make some serious dosh.

Charades. See the creative side of your friends and family with this classic game. Guess a movie title, guess a household appliance or even guess a famous person… the choices are endless!

Two words? A book? A Diary? Crown? Tiara? OHHH Princess Diaries. (Just an example)

Big Jenga. A large version of the fun game using only wooden blocks. Watch as Yassen struggle to keep the tower stable. Hold your breath as Damian Cray yank a block out through the middle and bite your lip as sweat breaks out of Ian Rider's forehead as he tries to stay in the game.

N.O 6 Golden Rule of Alex Rider: Don't play Twister. There are sharp things and things that go bang in your opponent's clothing.

So that's a good start. Keep playing…Go on….If you're lucky you might even miss the stories.
But if you have even worse luck than me…The tips page is somewhere in the book…