Turn the Advent Season into a Christmas Bingo Game with a Movie for Each Day!

Christmas is less than 40 days away, which means very little time to prepare for the big event; there’s the gifts, all the wrapping, the food and cards – and I bet you’ve not even thought about the advent calendars yet! I have a yummy Ferrero Roche one for myself and four ‘Good Boy’ calendars for my pooches, so I’m all set. If you’re not a fan of chocolate and want to try something different, why not try Christmas movie advent bingo?

I came across this idea when scrolling through Facebook the other day and it’s pretty cool. Basically, there’s a movie to watch for each day of December and homemade bingo cards with various topics relating to each film and when you watch a film and notice those items/activities taking place, you mark it off…

…when you’ve filled your 5x5 grid, you win. It’s certainly a unique take on a traditional game of 75-ball bingo but it’s fun.

Movie Marathon

Here are the 24 films you need to watch. If you’re not familiar with a few, you could always research them online to aid your bingo games. How many of the following films have you watched already?

• 1^st: Love Actually: For this, I would put down the name of the actors and maybe Eastenders; Martine McCutcheon was known as Tiffany in the soap.
• 2^nd: Home Alone 1: We’ve all seen this one! “Take ya change ya filthy animal!”
• 3^rd: Home Alone 2: Havoc hits the streets of New York in this sequel. Why not add some iconic landmarks to spice the game up a bit?
• 4^th: The Holiday: Two women swap homes for Christmas only to find their lives change forever when they fall in love with two local guys – aww!
• 5^th: Miracle on 34^th Street: For the best bingo game ever, why not add a few twists and stick in some Matilda references?
• 6^th: Jingle All the Way: “I’ll be Back” takes to the shops to get his son a sought-after action-figure, only everyone else in the United States wants this same doll – will he manage to get one.
• 7^th: Arthur Christmas: After misplacing a present for a young girl, Arthur must track down the girl and save Christmas; simply right? He’s only got a 2-hour timeframe!
• 8^th: A Christmas Carol: Will you go for the original or Disney’s animated version with Jim Carey? For me, it has to be the latter.
• 9^th: Deck the Halls: A comedy tale about two neighbors trying to out-do each other with festive lights.
• 10^th: The Grinch: As I get older, I now understand why the green fella wanted to live alone with his dog. This whacky movie is a real hit each year.
• 11^th: Scrooged: A selfish TV executive gets spiritual treatment when three ghosts haunt him to change his ways.
• 12^th: The Santa Clause: A man agrees to play Santa to help with a crisis only to find he’s actually agreed to become the real one!
• 13^th: Father Christmas: A short animated movie following Santa as he heads to France for a much-needed holiday, only when he arrives, he’s found he’s left something behind!
• 14^th: Four Christmases: A rom-com tale of a couple desperate to flee the US for the holiday season, only their plans fail, and they end up having to visit each one of the divorced parents – that’s 4!
• 15^th: White Christmas: The 1954 American musical full of love and festive tunes.
• 16^th: The Lampoons Christmas: A promise to make this year’s festive period a good one leads to a catastrophic comedy of errors.
• 17^th: Jack Frost: A real tear-jerker with flurries of snow on top. A good option for the bingo card would be ‘try not to cry’.
• 18^th: The Nativity: A teacher, some kids and a nativity. What could go wrong?
• 19^th: The nativity 2: The most notorious teacher in the UK is back only this time he must contend with an unruly bunch of school kids.
• 20^th: The Polar Express: All aboard the steam train for an unforgettable journey with Tom Hanks as the conductor. Hot chocolate is guaranteed.
• 21^st: The Family Man: A rich and powerful man wishes he never left his girlfriend and overnight, his wish comes true and he find himself in a world very different to the lavish one he was used to.
• 22^nd: It’s a Wonderful Life: The 1946 classic where an angel is sent to a frustrated businessman. It’s full of cheesy tunes and glorious moments.
• 23^rd: The Snowman: “I’m walking in the air”, need I say more?
• 24^th: Elf: My favourite! The excitable elf discovers he’s in-fact a human and heads to the streets of New York to. Search for his real father. There’s plenty of laughs along the way and a touch of emotion.