akidsmath.com
'If you want to get rid of anything, feed it to the bird – but a warning, she may look cute but you won’t get anything back.'

Suzanne Elvidge finds out the best games to while away those long hours between Christmas lunch and Christmas cake on your new laptop. Or your old one if you've just been given socks!

All games are free downloads or free to view online, and need the minimum of equipment.

Some games require your browser to have a 'plug in' for Shockwave, Flash or Java.

To play a game, simply click on its name. If you are a parent, we advise you to try the game and the site it's on first before letting your kids play them, to make sure you're happy.

Don't forget, you can also find great games for kids at Christian Aid's Global Gang website

When downloading games from the Internet, don't forget to keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware software up to date.

Build a Snowman
Build a snowman out of the things in BlackDog's garden. If you want to get rid of anything, feed it to the bird – but a warning, she may look cute but you won’t get anything back!

Christmas Tree Lights
Time to do your maths homework. Light up the tree by connecting all the wires and light bulbs (rotate them to make connections). The sounds are annoying but the game is fun, and really quite hard (well, I thought it was…)

Christmas Crosswords
Click on the white squares and type the answers in. If you click ‘check puzzle’, the incorrect letters show up in red.

Sleigh Away
An elf has stolen Father Christmas’s sleigh. The space bar shoots a star up to the sleigh and makes the elf drop a present. Catch it but avoid the baubles.

Hangman – Christmas Food
Guess the letters for the Christmas food.

Decorate a Christmas Tree
Drag and drop the decorations to the tree.

Catch the Presents
A wind has blown Father Christmas’s presents away. Catch the presents (and the reindeer) but avoid the other things flying about (including the squirrels!)

Christmas Run
Help Father Christmas deliver presents by throwing them out of the sleigh using the mouse – the longer you hold the mouse button down, the harder the throw. I got fired. Twice.

Snowball Toss
The aim is to fill the snowman outline with snowballs. Arrow down to pick up snow, arrow left and right to move, and use the mouse to throw snowballs. If you get hit with too many snowballs, your status will go to ‘miserable’ and you will need to warm up.

Christmas Quiz
This is one everyone can join in. You have 14 questions that gradually get harder. You have one option to change a question, and if you get one wrong you have to start again.

And an extra, just as a Christmas present…

NORAD Tracks Santa

Begun in 1955 when NORAD’s phone number appeared in the paper by mistake, the organisation has tracked Father Christmas every year since. Visit the site in the run up to Christmas, but keep a close eye on Christmas Eve and see how Father Christmas is doing (you’ll need to download Google Earth).

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