Thinking about the approaching holiday season, my thoughts wander through delicious treats, cozy movies but most of all, playing games with my friends and family. My family is very competitive — to the point that we make our 10-year-old sister cry before we let her win — so games need to be up to par; we’re picky players. My mom and Santa usually buy us a couple new board games each year, unfortunately the economic crisis has put a hold on some of our holiday cheer. So, I’ve decided to share some games we’ve discovered through the years that are cheap, inexpensive or free.

Game 2: Find the pickle

Price: $1.95+

Time frame: 1 month

Players: 2+, works best with roommates/family

How to play:

After the Christmas tree has been set up and decorated, choose someone to hide the pickle ornament in the boughs. The green pickle will blend in nicely with the pine needles and prove a fun challenge to find. Through the month of December, whenever a player is alone with the Chistmas tree, enjoying its splendor, they should try to locate the pickle. If successful, they re-hide it for the next person. On Christmas day, whoever knows where the pickle is hidden gets a prize. In my family, whoever finds the pickle gets to open his or her present first.

Game 1: Clipped Crossleggs

Price: $1.29 for a pack of 50

Time frame: 1 evening

Players: gathering, such as a holiday party

How to play:

This is a cheap and easy game to play at holiday gatherings. When guest arrive, give each one five clothespins to pin to themselves and the instructions to not cross their legs. Throughout the evening, if one spots another crossing his or her legs, the “spotter” gets to take one of the “crossers” clothespins. At the end of the evening, whoever has the most clothespins wins.

Game 3: Bowls

Price: Free

Time frame: 30 min or more

Players: enough for two teams, good for about 6 people or more

Set up:

Have each person write down five names on five pieces of paper, one name on each piece. These names can be anything from players in the room, presidential candidates, cartoon characters or Hollywood celebraties. Place these names in a bowl in the center of a cleared out space.

How to play:

This game is set up in three different rounds. In each round, one player from Team A goes up, then a player from team B. Players alternate until the round is finished.

Round 1: Names

You have one minute to try and get your teammates to guess as many of the names as you can. Reach into the bowl and pick any name at random. Describe the person/character on the slip of paper using any words except words in the name. If you don’t know who it is, you can pass and choose another name. Keep the names separate from ones you’ve passed and ones you’ve guessed correctly.

At the end of your turn, tally up how many your team guessed correctly in that round. Put the passed pieces of paper back in the bowl with the remaining names.

This round ends when all papers have been guessed.

Round 2: Charades

This time you have one minute to act out, without any noises or sounds, the names on the paper. The same rules go.

Round 3: One word

This time you have 30 seconds to get your teammates to guess the names by only saying one word for each name. Be careful. If you say “um,” that’s your word.

Whoever has the most points at the end of the three rounds win.