The holidays are a time for connection, celebration, and making lasting memories with loved ones. Whether you're hosting a cozy family gathering or a lively classroom holiday party, the Makey Makey DIY Party Pack is here to transform your festivities into an unforgettable interactive experience. With four unique games designed to spark creativity, encourage collaboration, and deliver endless fun, the DIY Party Pack is your ticket to holiday magic.

Here’s how you can use the four games in the DIY Party Pack to create an engaging, hands-on atmosphere for your holiday parties.

1. Fish Chomp: Dive Into Fun

Perfect for: Creative adventurers and retro game enthusiasts.

Take your party underwater with Fish Chomp, a classic maze game that challenges players to navigate a brave little fish, Chompy, through obstacles and enemies to collect food. This game brings out everyone’s creative side as they custom design and draw their own controller. We include template coloring sheets, and Makey Makey conductive pencils to get everyone started.

How to Set the Scene:

• Set up the game on a screen where all players can view and keep up with their fish.
• Create a space for participants to color in their game controller cards. It’s a fun, interactive craft that doubles as part of the game!
• Cheer on players as they help Chompy through increasingly tricky levels.
• Add flair to your controller card once you are done with the conductive pencil by adding color with crayons, colored pencils or even glue on a pom-pom or googly eye. 

Pro Tip: Turn it into a team challenge by dividing guests into competing groups and see which team can help Chompy collect the most food.

2. Ditto: Test Your Memory and Reflexes

Perfect for: Quick thinkers and pattern lovers.

Bring the whole family together with Ditto, a fast-paced game that tests memory and reflexes by challenging players to repeat patterns of sound and color. It’s a simple yet captivating game that ramps up in difficulty as players progress, keeping everyone on their toes.

How to Set the Scene:

• Set up the Ditto station with as many conductive controller cards needed for your participants. These cards connect to Makey Makey to let players tap along to the patterns.
• Want to level up your controller game? Try creating your own holiday themed controllers using paper and the Makey Makey conductive pencils.
• Add a competitive edge by splitting your participants into teams of four. Assign each team member a color and see which team can last the longest without making a mistake.

Pro Tip: Make it a family tournament with a festive prize for the champion, like homemade cookies or a special holiday decoration. Maybe the losers do the dishes?

3. Trick Shot Mechanic: Engineering Meets Entertainment

Perfect for: Budding engineers and competitive spirits.

Get ready for a wacky multiplayer mash-up of foosball and pinball with Trick Shot Mechanic, where players control on-screen widgets to score the perfect trick shot. This game tests your communication skills, strategy, and creativity in a dynamic and interactive experience.

How to Set the Scene:

• Use the 4-player controller card and conductive stickers to set up a gaming station. Players can customize their controller, adding a personal touch to their gameplay by choosing from the 12 different icon stickers, or cut out their own from the blank sticker sheet.
• Take the game off-paper and build a controller with stickers and tape on a coffee table or a wall!
• Create a festive theme by decorating the gaming area with holiday lights or letting players name their teams after holiday icons like “Team Snowman” or “Reindeer Wranglers.”

Pro Tip: Make the game more challenging by having team members draw straws. Whoever chooses the shortest straw must wear a blindfold and hit their buttons when their team instructs them to.

4. Hot Potato: A Classic Reimagined

Perfect for: Families of all ages and anyone who loves a party classic.

Nothing says fun like a high-tech twist on a party favorite. With Hot Potato, you’ll use conductive objects—anything from actual potatoes to metal ornaments—as the controllers. Tap your object when it’s your turn! Make sure to be quick because time is of the essence!

How to Set the Scene:

• Encourage creativity by letting players choose their own conductive objects. Potatoes are a classic choice, but the sky's the limit—foil-wrapped candy, or even spoons can work.
• If you decide to use real potatoes, don’t pass up the perfect opportunity to create your own holiday themed potato controller characters before you plug and play.
• Play holiday music to add an extra layer of excitement and festivity to the game.

Pro Tip: Add a challenging spin to the game by assigning each player two controllers for double the fun. Who will be victorious? 

Tips for Hosting a DIY Party Pack Holiday Extravaganza

1. Create Activity Stations: Set up a station for each game so guests can rotate and try out different challenges throughout the party.
2. Involve All Ages: With games designed for 1–8 players, there’s something for everyone, from young kids to adults.
3. Encourage Teamwork: These games are perfect for collaborative play, making them great for bonding and bringing people together.
4. Showcase Creativity: Enable participants to personalize their game controllers or come up with unique strategies, turning gameplay into a collaborative art project by having craft materials (conductive and non-conductive) handy and ready to use.
5. Expand the Fun: Add to your arsenal of Makey Makey toolbox with our Booster Kits. These kits are collections of materials that we have found to be helpful when inventing with Makey Makey!

With the Makey Makey DIY Party Pack, your holiday gathering can be transformed into a memorable event filled with laughter, learning, and a whole lot of fun. Whether it’s sparking creativity with Fish Chomp or testing memory skills with Ditto, this pack brings the magic of hands-on interaction to any celebration. Ready to make your party the talk of the season? Let the games begin! Click here to grab your DIY Party Pack!