Over the weekend, a completely harmless conversation with friends over dinner spiraled into a full-scale 80s movie standoff.
You probably know the type. Someone casually mentions The Goonies, someone else insists Die Hard counts as a Christmas film and before long, the kitchen becomes an impromptu stage production of The Princess Bride. With accents. And props. (If I’m being honest, it was mostly me saying, “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!”)
Eventually someone said the magic words: “Ask AI.” And that was that.
In under ten seconds we had quotable lines, rankings, trivia and enough fuel to keep the debate burning well into dessert. Not because we needed an answer, but because AI gave everyone more to play with…more angles, more momentum…more laughter.
I’m obviously a huge fan of playing with AI…BUT…it’s also one of top tips for folks looking to learn and get more comfy with AI. People who are hesitant with AI at work can suddenly start to thrive with it after they play with it at home. Fun lowers the stakes, which raises the creativity. And honestly, if you want to build AI muscle memory for next year, this is the easiest, happiest way to do it.
Your work brain may be winding down for the year, but your AI-for-fun meter is just getting warmed up. Here are ten simple, joyful ways to bring AI into your holiday gatherings.
(And there’s a bonus idea from one of my audience members named Mike who took “AI for personal use” to a new level!)
“Innovation is about thinking differently and AI gives you more directions to explore.”
1. Make Story Night Your New Family Tradition
AI is brilliant at turning ordinary moments into the kind of stories kids ask for again and again.
Think of it like modern-day MadLibs or a cozy, choose-your-own-adventure where the children are the stars.
You can feed AI a few details – names, ages, pets, favorite snacks, a chaotic moment from earlier that day – and ask it to turn the whole thing into a bedtime story. Then let the kids steer. Should this be a mystery? A silly comedy? A quest involving dragons and macaroni cheese? Off it goes.
For visual variety, here are a few story formats AI handles beautifully:
- A gentle bedtime tale featuring your family as woodland creatures.
- A “hero’s journey” where your child must save the day (and possibly the cat).
- A holiday rom-com parody starring two people who met while arguing over the last mince pie.
The delight here is simple. AI gives you a starting point, but the magic is in the shared moment.
2. Build Custom Trivia That Gets Delightfully Niche
Trivia night has never been easier (or more specific and customizable). If you can imagine a category, AI can generate a whole quiz for it.
My husband is a massive U2 fan. I’m an unapologetic dog nerd. We could each fill an evening with our own custom trivia sets.
And that’s just the beginning.
AI can tailor questions by age range, difficulty level, or competitiveness level. Perfect for multi-generational gatherings where half the room wants a challenge and the other half wants to feel victorious.
- Want 50 questions purely about 80s sci-fi films? Done.
- Want 20 questions that a nine-year-old can answer but still stump an adult? Easy.
- Want a quiz about “things our dog would definitely do if he had a credit card”? Absolutely possible.
Trivia becomes less about facts and more about togetherness.
Just remember that AI can be wrong so be prepared to be challenged. Luckily, I’m used to be challenged on my Scrabble words so I’m cool as a cucumber when this happens!
3. Ask AI to Write Family Poems or Song Lyrics
This one is pure joy. AI can turn your family folklore into a funny poem, a parody song, or a sweet short verse you tuck into a card.
Give it a few inside jokes. A memory or two. The names of the people in the room. Suddenly you’ve got a custom poem that’s funny, heartfelt, or gloriously chaotic – depending on what you ask for.
Kids especially love this one. Adults love it even more. There is something unexpectedly touching about hearing your family stories retold in rhyme by a very enthusiastic algorithm.
My suggestion?
Create a custom “Twas’ the Night Before Christmas” that features your friends and family. You can even print it on some lovely holiday paper and gift it to the family.
🤓 You can use this PROMPT to “Create a Personalized Holiday Poem” to bring the holiday magic to life.
4. Play “What Can I Make With This Stuff?” With Your Fridge
Holiday meal planning can go from festive to frantic quickly.
This is where AI shines. Tell it what’s in your fridge, your pantry, or the mystery drawer everyone avoids, and it will generate actual meals out of ingredients you forgot you had.
Level this up by giving AI a photo or using voice chat while pointing your phone at whatever you’re working with. “What can I make with these five things before they expire?” is practically AI’s favorite game.
✅ You get meal ideas.
✅ You waste less food.
✅ You avoid the “I guess we’ll just do toast” moment.
5. Turn Your Friends and Family Into AI-Generated Characters
One of my new favorites. AI image generation lets you transform your friends and family into… anything.
- A dog version of yourself.
- A Lego minifigure.
- A claymation character straight out of a Wallace and Gromit film.
- A superhero.
- A renaissance portrait.
- A dessert (for reasons that may or may not make sense at the time).
It opens up endless creative play.
The kids go wild for it, but adults are secretly the biggest fans. And once the images start rolling in, there is no going back.
This is the digital equivalent of doodling mustaches on family photos, but infinitely more delightful.
6. Ask AI To Build Party Games For Real Humans
Party games are magical until you try to invent them under pressure.
AI can take your group – ages, energy levels, time available – and design games that actually fit the moment.
Give it the shape of the evening and it will generate options: storytelling games, guessing games, team challenges, creativity contests.
- For quieter guests, AI can add variations so everyone feels included.
- For energetic children, it can amp things up without turning your house into an obstacle course.
The point is not perfection. It’s ease. AI removes the mental load so you can stay present for the fun.
7. Get Clever Gift Ideas (And Even Funnier Gift Tags)
AI is fantastic at brainstorming thoughtful gift ideas when your brain has officially clocked out for the season.
You’ll get creative suggestions, experience-based ideas, and a few wild cards that make you smile. Feel free to tweak this gift idea prompt so you can take this even further. But I thought I’d share a related idea along with one of our family holiday traditions.
But I thought I’d share a related idea along with one of our family holiday traditions.
In our house, every gift has funny “from” and “to” names on gift tags. My husband is excellent at this – not surprising since he was the one that started it. My tags, without help, tend to devolve into “To Mr Holmes, From… Mrs Holmes.” Not exactly festive or creative. In my defense, we are 25+ years in and coming up with new, funny ideas can get so hard! Part of the fun of this is guessing who the gift is to/from based on the label.
Here are some examples:
- “From Han Solo to Princess Leia.”
- “From Michelle to Barack.”
- “From Elsa to Anna”
You can even theme the tags. Vintage holiday films. Space operas. British comedies. Characters from your favorite books. AI keeps the creativity flowing so you can enjoy the moment.
This year, I’m going to up my game with help from AI and I thought you might want to give it a go, too.
8. Create Coloring Pages and Activity Sheets for Kids
Kids adore personalized coloring pages.
And AI can generate them instantly – dinosaurs, princesses, robots, pets, winter scenes, spaceships, you name it. You can even put their names or faces in the scene.
This turns downtime into something special. It also saves you from the frantic “do we have any coloring books left?” moment that arrives every holiday season at exactly the wrong time.
9. Use AI to Spark Conversations Worth Having
Instead of the classic “everyone share what you’re grateful for” moment that leads to strategic avoidance of eye contact, use AI to come up with fresh conversation starters.
- Ask for questions that spark stories instead of speeches.
- Moments instead of monologues.
- Smiles instead of sighs.
The result?
A table full of people remembering things they haven’t thought about in years, laughing about tiny moments, or sharing stories the younger generations have never heard.
It’s connection that’s lightly structured and completely human (even though you got help from AI).
🤓 Feel free to use this “100 Joyful Family Story Questions” PROMPT to bring joy to your holidays.
10. Break Out of the “Going to a Movie” Rut
We all fall into familiar patterns when deciding how to spend time together. Dinner, movie, repeat. AI is excellent at shaking things up.
- Ask for ideas for a night in, a day out, or a low-cost adventure.
- AI will suggest activities that match your ages, interests, location, weather, and energy level.
- Oddly specific and surprisingly great ideas appear, and suddenly your “usual” plans become something entirely new.
This is especially handy when you’re hosting people and want options that feel fresh but not exhausting.
BONUS! Design Something Unexpected
One last idea for you, because it totally stopped me in my tracks.
After one of my keynotes, one of my audience members (clearly brilliant) named Mike came up to share that he’d used AI to design his latest tattoo. Not as a placeholder sketch. As the final concept. He had a feeling he wanted to express, AI helped him shape the visual, and a brilliant tattoo artist turned it into something stunning.
I was so delighted when he shared it with me and I’m super grateful he gave me permission to share it with you.
It’s a perfect reminder that AI isn’t only for efficiency. Sometimes it helps people bring an idea to life in a way they couldn’t quite articulate before. And occasionally, yes… it becomes permanent.
P.S. Want More AI Fun and Inspiration?
If you enjoyed these ideas, subscribe to my weekly LinkedIn newsletter. Every Wednesday I share a new AI prompt you can use immediately – for work, for life and for the wonderfully random moments in between.
It’s smart, practical, fun, and packed with ideas to help you get AI-comfortable fast.
Come join us on LinkedIn and get a fresh prompt every week.
About Julie: A Hall of Fame AI keynote speaker, tech founder, and innovation strategist, Julie works with associations, real estate professionals, and corporate sales teams to help them lead smarter, sell more, serve better, and save time with AI. She delivers highly actionable and engaging keynotes on becoming AI-empowered, leading in an AI-driven world, and transforming work and customer relationships.
FAQs: Using AI For Fun With Family And Friends
1. How can I use AI for fun with my family during the holidays?
AI is great for low-effort, high-fun ideas like custom trivia, silly family poems, coloring pages, and story nights where your kids are the heroes. Think of it as the helper in the corner quietly handing you fresh ideas whenever your brain taps out.
2. Is it safe to use AI with my kids?
Used thoughtfully, yes. Stick to reputable tools, avoid sharing private details like full names, addresses, or schools, and review anything before you read or show it to children. You stay in charge, AI stays in the helper role.
3. What are some easy ways to start using AI if my family is skeptical or nervous about it?
Start with small, playful things: a custom bedtime story, a coloring page with their name, or trivia questions about a favorite film or sports team. When AI shows up as “fun” instead of “scary future robot,” everyone relaxes.
4. Can AI help us come up with holiday games and activities?
Absolutely. AI can suggest age-friendly games, tweak rules for mixed groups, and even invent new party games around your theme, space, and time limit. You bring the people and snacks; AI helps you skip the “what should we do now?” pause.
5. How accurate is AI for trivia and quiz nights?
AI is good, not perfect. Treat it like that friend who knows a lot but occasionally makes things up with great confidence. Double-check anything that turns into a heated debate and be ready to award bonus points for successful fact-checking.
6. Can AI really help with creative things like poems, song lyrics, or stories?
Yes, and it is strangely enthusiastic about it. You provide the inside jokes, family details, and general vibe, and AI turns them into poems, parody lyrics, or story starters. You can always edit the bits that are not quite “you.”
7. How can AI help with holiday gifts without feeling impersonal?
Use AI as a brainstorming buddy, not the gift buyer. Ask for ideas based on hobbies, budget, and personality, then choose and personalize what feels right. You still decide the gift and add the heart; AI just stops you staring at the screen.
8. Can AI generate custom activities and coloring pages for my kids?
Yes. You can ask for coloring page ideas or simple activity concepts tailored to age, interests, and themes, then create or generate the images. Kids love seeing themselves, their pets, or their favorite characters appear in what they color.
9. How do I keep AI-powered fun from taking over actual conversation and connection?
Use AI to start the moment, not replace it. Let it suggest questions, stories, or games, then put the device down and focus on each other. The win is more eye contact and shared laughter, not more screen time.
10. Why bother using AI for fun when I’m already using it at work?
Because low-stakes practice is where real confidence builds. When you use AI for light, personal things every day, it becomes much easier to use it for the higher-stakes projects in January. Play now, benefit later.