7. Players could lose their shirts playing “Christmas Forfeit”.
This was a parlor game that became a Christmas tradition during the Victorian Era. In England, Christmas Eve is spent doing festive and fun parties with friends, Christmas Day is usually spent visiting family and eating dinner, and “boxing day” is the day after Christmas, where everyone unwraps and enjoys their presents. This game was usually played on Christmas Eve, especially among the young 20-sometimes who were going to parties with other single people.
A leader was chosen to hold a box, and everyone playing the game had to take off either a piece of jewelry, a watch, a necktie, etc. and forfeit it in the box. The leader would pull the objects out at random, and dare the owner to do something in order to get it back. Many of these dares were usually over-the-top, like requiring a man to full-on make out with at least five women before he could get his watch back. If he said “no”, then the leader of the game got to keep his watch. Of course, playing this game was risky, and it probably meant some kids lost their parent’s family heirlooms. It’s probably best that no one plays this anymore.
