The most wonderful time of the year is approaching and shops fill their shelves with Christmas stocking fillers. If you are an EFL teacher, it’s a good chance to renew the contents of your teacher’s bag in an easy and affordable way. Most of the games that are about to stuff your Christmas stocking require from the participants to come up with words, phrases or give short descriptions/speeches. They are fun and most important of all easy to carry.
All teachers have days when the students’ energy is running low or they have 10-15 minutes to kill. These games can easily act as warmers or fillers and they require no preparation.

Below you can see my recent purchases with the shops and the prices you can get them.

FACT OR FIB   Sainsbury's   £3.50

Inspired by the well-known TV show ‘Would I lie to you?’, the participants narrate either a true story or a lie. Later they are asked several questions about their stories, so that the others can decide if they are saying the truth or if they are lying.

10 CLUES   M&S   £5.00 (3for2)

The participants are asked to find the name of a place/person/object within 10 clues. The fewer clues they use, the better. It’s advisable to ask the students to work in groups so that they can discuss possible answers. You can also ask students to come up with their own words and clues and create their own cards.

SLIP OF THE TONGUE   M&S   £5.00 (3for2)

It’s very similar to TABOO. The participants are asked to describe to their teams certain words without using the banned words. Just like on the previous game, you can ask students to create their own cards.

CATCH PHRASE   M&S   £5.00 (3for2)

This is more suitable for higher level students. The participants have to come up with the phrase that the picture illustrates, e.g. two peas in a pod

VERY BRITISH PROBLEMS   John Lewis   £9.99

This is a great chance for the students to become aware of the British culture and check how British they are themselves. Students can also generate similar questions about their own nationality and check their classmates’ knowledge on other cultures.