FESTIVE GAMES THAT DIED OUT

IF you're dreading the office Christmas party this week, we're here to reassure you that things could be worse. In fact, your ancestors' bashes involved a whole range of bizarre, unhygienic and dangerous activities. Here MEG JORSH reveals a few festive diversions that have wisely been left in the past...

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Dead men’s shoes: As early as the Middle Ages, Brits enjoyed a good Christmas game. Unfortunately, no one could think of one, so they had to make do with “hide the slipper’ ‘The rules were simple - you stood in a circle and tried to guess who was hiding a slipper behind their back. The question is, why?

Missing the mark: During the reign of Henry VIII, there was only one solution for Christmas Day boredom — archery. It’s not exactly a game, but it was the only one allowed under his Suppression of Unlawful Games Act that remained law until 1961.