Christmas Traditions
By Joanna, age 20, South Wales, United Kingdom
Of course there is Christmas dinner. No Christmas is complete without a gorgeous roast turkey dinner, accompanied by crackers that bring hats and jokes to the table. Then after that, maybe a few good movies will be on television; probably the very same ones you sat through last year, but love nonetheless.
After that, what's left to do? Although every family has a different tradition, mine has always been to face a lengthy Monopoly challenge or maybe an amicable hour of 'Guess Who?'. Christmas seems to be enshrouded in traditions - presents, turkey, a day where work is forgotten and family comes first - and I think it's important for old traditions to be remembered in these modern and ever-changing times.
Perhaps, in future generations, it won't be a board game that families huddle around after dinner, but a games console. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I feel that takes something away from the closeness experienced through playing a board game. Although they are essentially the same thing - both are games played with family - games consoles offer you all the entertainment options, pre-set and ready to be chosen. There can be no deviation from a game on disc, and that's one of the main differences between the two. Every family that plays board games at Christmas time has its own ways of playing, its own sets of rules, and this really makes it into more of a family tradition than a game that doesn't allow for any individual way of playing.
Board games allow for more comedy, I find, as each individual player has a chance to outwit another player in a way not yet found in technological games. Even the smallest things, like Dad maintaining the role of the banker in Monopoly just so that he can cheat, landing on Mum's property and hoping she doesn't notice - these are things that I personally have not experienced an equivalent to with any PC games or games consoles. These are the little oddities and traditions within my family that make the festive period more enjoyable. Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without board games!
