A holiday favorite is a game called "Zonk". To play, you need a cup and 5 dice and a sheet of paper and a writing implement for scoring. The rules are simple, so everyone can play with just a little initial coaching, and you can play with 2 people to as many as you wish to cram around the table. You can throw the dice as many times as you want, as long as you manage to save out at least one scoring die each turn. If you get score on all your dice you must take up all the dice and start shaking and rolling again. If at any time you roll the dice and get no scoring dice, you just "Zonked out" and your score for that turn is 0.
Scoring:
Ones are worth 100 points each.
Fives are worth 50 points each.
Three of a kind rolled in any single roll scores 100x the value (three 4's = 400 pts), except for Ones - three ones rolled in a single toss = 1000 points.
You cannot score triples that are accumulated over more than one roll.
Additional points rolled with each triple are added according to their value as a single die - for instance, rolling four 1's in a single roll scores as 1100 (1000 for the triple and 100 for the other single 1) and rolling three 4's and a 5 in a single roll scores as 450 using the same rule.
A straight rolled in a single toss (1,2,3,4,5 or 2,3,4,5,6) is worth 1500 pts.
Remember that if you have scored on all of your dice, you MUST take up all the dice and start rolling again. This sets you up for the dreaded Straight-Zonk combo, in which you have accumulated 1500 pts and must roll again, only to get no scoring die and lose your points. In one particularly heart breaking game, I pulled of a VERY rare Straight, picked up all the dice, rolled another Straight, picked up all the dice again and rolled a Zonk, wiping out my accumulated 3000 points.
There are variations of this game. The way we play is to set the bar high for entry. You must accumulate 500 points before you can "get on the board" and have your points tallied. If you fail to accumulate 500 points in your turn, you get no score. After you have once accumulated 500 points in one turn, you are "on the board" you can stop and take your accumulated score on successive turns when you have accumulated a total of only 350 points. Note that two 1's and three 5's (rolled individually or doubles, not triple in a single roll) add up to 350 points, but you cannot take this score because all the dice have been used to score, so you must pick up all the dice and continue rolling until you either Zonk or you elect to take your accumulated score.
To begin the game, every person rolls one die, and the lowest score (1 is low for this purpose, though it is the high, scoring die during the game) rolls first. The first person to roll is in a disadvantageous position, because every person gets the same number of rolls. If you are the first to roll and you manage to hit 5000 points or more, every other person gets to throw caution to the wind and take risks in order to try to surpass your score. Being the last person to play is best, because if you manage to hit or pass 5000 first, nobody else gets to roll again. You Win - Game Over.
A bit of strategy: you can set aside all scoring dice on every roll, if you wish, but most experienced players (if they did not get a triple on their first roll) will set aside only one 1 or 5 and roll the remaining four dice to maximize their chances of getting a triple on their second roll. Whether to continue this gambit into the third roll is up to the situation and the mind-set of the player. Obviously, saving a 5 and subsequently rolling a triple 6 for a total of 650 points is a pretty good thing.
A note on sportsmanship and decorum: It's OK to chant "Zonk, Zonk" when a person with a high score (or who is trying to follow up on a Straight, for instance) is about to roll. Children may initially get pouty when you do this, but it's good for their character to be considered a threat by adult players.
I hope some of you try this game. It's a fun ice-breaker when there are a few newcomers in the group because it is easy to play, and kibitzers will help newcomers avoid costly mistakes like overlooking a straight thrown on the first roll.
My nephew is getting books and crayola products this year. It's the only two things I could find still made in the US with labels that say "non-toxic" that I actually believe. I suspect this will lead to a demotion from the "favorite aunt" category, but that last recall of the GHB-laced beads sealed my decision to limit my purchases to sources I can trust.
Then again, considering her limited options for gifts she could offer me, maybe that's a good thing. I'm not sure I want to wake up Christmas morning to a pile of dead spiders or flies. 
).
