It was a desperate call for help; a full-blown family game night emergency. Our friends from church, the Whites, had been over to our house just a few days before. After dinner, we set up our own holiday-themed family board game and the more we played it with them the more delighted they became. So, it was most gratifying to us when they called us up begging to borrow the game for their own family to play. They had their grand children over to the house and ‘Santa’s Sleigh Ride’ was exactly what they wanted to share with them.

Christmas in both of our childhood memories meant playing board games with our family. Both Laura and I would look forward to this time of year when — in each of our families as we were growing up — our respective parents and siblings would pull out the board games and gather around the table or on the floor to roll the dice, move our pawns around the board and share laughter with one another.

There have been many gifts that were given and recieved on Christmas Day down through the years and, in truth, I can only remember a very few of them and still have even fewer still. Gifts come and go but the memories that Laura and I have of those games played on those winter nights with our parents and family still remains bright in our memories.

We wanted to make something for the holidays that would give us that same feeling we had when we were children … something that grandparents could play with their grandchildren that would provide them with memories that would last a lifetime and beyond. It had to be simple enough for young players and yet have some challenging stragety for the adults and grandparents. And, above all, it had to be easy to learn and fun for all.

The result is ‘Santa’s Sleigh Ride’ — a traditionally styled family board game which we play every year now over the holidays and which our friends are only now discovering. You can watch the video at the website to get the idea behind the game: Santa having failed his Canadian Sleigh Drivers License Test needs to find a ‘designated driver’ elf to make the big ride. Each player is an elf in a sleigh trying to find which houses match the color of their sleigh and pick up matching ‘proof of gifting’ tokens (POGs) upon successful delivery to that house. However, other elf’s sleighs can bump your sleigh — either pushing you off a house where you are about to deliver or using that bump to push them a little further along their own route. To land on the right space, however, may require taking shortcuts — each one requiring you to draw a ‘reindeer games’ card that may help or hinder you. It’s fun, fast, and plays in less than an hour even with young children. We even include rules to give the children an edge over the adults at the table and the game can be played between two to six players at once.

We heard back from the Whites. Not only did their grandchildren love the game but insisted that they all play the game again after returning from the movies… quick, before they had to give it back.

At this point, the game is only available directly from us — but we’ll personally sign your gorgious full color game board on the back of the first hundred or so! Yes, some assembly is required … but you can download the complete rules and instructions on how to create the game pieces and cards immediately upon completing your purchase and we’ll ship the board to you usually the next day.

Give your family a gift this Christmas that will last throughout their lifetimes … memories of your time together filled with laughter and fun. That is, after all, why we became Santa’s elves and made this game!