Christmas party games are my favorite way to get guests (whether they’re friends, family, coworkers, or acquantainces) to loosen up, get to know each other better, and have some serious fun! Whether it’s a big get-together or just us, the kids, and their spouses, I always plan a couple of fun and easy party games for Christmas. All I have to do is offer a small prize (more on that shortly), and then it’s game on!
Playing games is one of our favorite things to do on Christmas eve, and since the kids are going to be with us for Christmas this year, I’ve been combing through my mental catalog for great Christmas games for adults. I’ve researched and tested a lot of party games over the years, and I’m putting that experience to use today by sharing a list of my favorite hilarious Christmas games for parties with you!
In the list of fun Christmas party games below, you’ll find party game ideas for kids, adults, and everyone in between! Pick a couple of these easy Christmas games to play with your friends and family this year — the memories are sure to last a lifetime. (But you’ll also want to take a few photos and videos of your Christmas games party, just to be safe!) ;-)
22 Fun Christmas Party Games For Adults, Kids & Families
1. Team Gift Wrapping
Good for adults and teens, works best with small-to-medium groups
This is one of my favorite adults Christmas games, because it’s as much fun to watch as it is to play! It involves teams of two working together to produce a beautifully wrapped Christmas gift, which is difficult when each player can only use one hand to do it!
Before the game starts, each team of two is provided with a gift box, a roll of wrapping paper, a pair of scissors, a roll of tape, and some ribbon. Have all the players put one hand behind their backs, then start a timer for 3 minutes (or 2 minutes to make it even more challenging) and let the wrapping begin!
When the timer goes off, you’ll evaluate the gifts — the pair who produced the most impressively wrapped gift wins. (When we played this with the OGT Team at our holiday party a few years ago, I was particularly impressed by a pair who had somehow managed curl the ribbon on their gift!)
2. Christmas Movie Trivia
Good for adults and teens (especially Christmas movie buffs!)
There’s nothing like good old fashioned trivia to bring out your guests’ competitive side, especially if you have a few movie buffs in your group! I found a great list of Christmas movie trivia questions at Creative Cynchronicity with questions that covered both classic Christmas movies and more recent releases.
Just print out a copy of the questions for your Christmas Trivia Master to read from, and provide each player with a piece of paper and something to write with. The goal is to see how many titles you get right. Once everyone has answered all 25 questions, tally up the scores and the person with the most correct answers wins! It’s straightforward and festive fun!
3. Blindfolded Christmas Tree Decorating
Good for all ages, works best with small-to-medium groups
In this fast and furious game, each player attempts to create and decorate a Christmas tree using some basic crafting supplies, all while blindfolded. This game does require some supplies, but it’s great fun for players of all ages!
Before starting, provide each player with a blindfold, a large piece of green construction paper, and a sheet of round, colored stickers. The players then have one minute to fold, tear, or otherwise fashion their construction paper into a Christmas tree, and to decorate it to perfection using the round stickers as “ornaments.”
When the timer goes off, a pre-selected impartial judge should evaluate the players’ trees and choose the best one, and the creator of the best Christmas tree wins!
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4. Christmas Charades
Good for older kids, teens, and adults in any size group
Charades a classic party game for adults that’s easy to turn into a Christmas game for all ages! You’ll need a few dozen slips of paper, some pens, a hat or bucket, and a timer.
Have the players write down 3 Christmas-related words or phrases on individual slips of paper. (Words like “snow” and “nutcracker” are better for kids, while adults may prefer phrases like “chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” “one-horse open sleigh,” or even Christmas song titles for more of a challenge.)
Place all the suggestion slips into the bucket or hat, then divide the players into two teams. Have one player draw a slip from the bucket, give them a few seconds to prepare, then start a 3 minute timer.
The player will act out the word or phrase while the member of their own team attempt to guess what it is. If they get it right before time runs out, write down how long it took them to guess. If they don’t guess correctly before time runs out, write down 3 minutes as the time.
The other team goes next, and play continues until every member of each team has had a chance to be the actor at least once. When the game is over, add up the times for each time, and the team with the lowest overall guessing time wins!
5. Santa Hat Game
Good for all ages and group sizes
What makes the Santa Hat Game unique is that you can play it over the course of the evening, even during other games and activities! It’s also super simple to play, though it does require you to procure enough Santa hats for everyone in your group.
The game begins once everyone has donned their Santa hat. When the game organizer (AKA you) removes their hat, everyone else will race to remove their hats too, and the last person to remove theirs gets eliminated.
Continue playing and eliminating players, and the last person standing wins!
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6. 20 Questions
Good for all ages and group sizes
If you’re interested in a game that everyone can play and that you don’t need many materials for, the Christmas version of 20 Questions is the game for you! Start by choosing someone to go first, and have them think of a Christmas-themed person, place, or thing.
The other players will take turns asking yes-or-no questions to try and guess what the person is thinking of. If no one guesses correctly before 20 questions have been asked, the first player gets a point and gets to go again. If someone does guess correctly, that person gets a point and gets to be the “chooser” next.
Continue playing until you feel like stopping, and the person with the most points wins!
7. Reindeer Antlers
Good for teens and adults in large groups
Another one of the best Christmas games for adults involves working in teams to make a set of “reindeer antlers” using only a pair of panty hose and a bag of balloons. Divide your group evenly into teams, and have each team select one person to be their “reindeer.”
The teams will have 10 minutes to blow up and tie off balloons, and hand them to their team leader who will stuff them into the legs of the panty hose. When the timer goes off, the “reindeer” from each time will have to immediately put on their “antlers” for inspection.
Whichever team has produced the most impressive antlers for their reindeer wins!
8. Candy Canes (AKA Christmas “Spoons”)
Good for all ages and bigger groups
Count your players, then count out enough candy canes so that there’s one less than the number of players. Place the candy canes on the table or floor and have the players sit in a circle around them, then set a shuffled deck of cards next to it.
The players will take turns taking the top card off the deck with the goal of being the first to get four of a kind (as in four tens or four kings). The first one to do it will take a candy cane from the pile, signaling all the other players will race to grab one too.
The player who doesn’t snag a candy cane is eliminated, a candy cane is removed from the pile and the game is reset. Continue playing until only the winner remains!
9. Christmas Card Captions
Good for older kids and adults in smaller groups
This fun and festive game requires a bit of creativity and has a more complex scoring process, so it’s a good party game to save for smaller groups of older kids, teens, or adults. You’ll need a variety of Christmas cards, a few dozen slips of paper, a bowl, plus a pen and a coin for each player.
Choose someone to go first, and that person will pick a Christmas card at random from the stack. That person shows the front of the card to the other players, then writes what is written on the inside of the card on a slip of paper and places it in the bowl.
Then the other players will write down their own caption or message on a slip of paper, attempting to make it convincing enough to fool the other players into thinking it’s the real message from the card. Once everyone has put their slip into the bowl, the person who picked the card will read out the slips of paper one at a time and place them in a line on the table.
Once the captions have been read, count down from three and have all the players (other than the one who selected the card) place their coin next to the caption they believe is the real one from inside the card. Then score the round according to these guidelines:
- 1 point to any player that guesses the correct caption
- 1 point per “vote” (coin) to each player who received votes on their caption
- 3 points to the card selector if the correct caption received no votes
After points are awarded, someone else chooses a card and play continues. The first player to reach 10 points wins!
10. Christmas Card Matching
Good for all ages and group sizes
This is a great game if you’re looking for something low-key and that you can prepare ahead of time. You’ll need a stack of Christmas cards, a poster board, scissors and tape, and enough pens and paper for each player.
To set up the game, start by taking a picture of the front and inside of each card so you can reference them later. Once you’ve photographed them all, use scissors to cut each card along the fold to separate them in halves.
Draw a line down the center of your poster board, then arrange the fronts of the cards on one side and the insides/messages on the other side. Make sure to mix them up a bit so the matches aren’t in corresponding spaces, then glue or tape them into place. Finally, label each card front with a letter, and each card inside with a number.
Reference the photos you took earlier to make sure you know which numbers and letters represent a matching pair of cards. Then when you’re ready to play, give each player a paper and something to write with, and have them guess which card front corresponds with each card inside by pairing the numbers and letters. The person who matches the most cards correctly wins!
11. Ornament Guessing Game
Good for all ages and group sizes
This game requires almost no prep work ahead of time, because most people already have a decorated tree in their home they can use for the game! You will have to know exactly how many ornaments are on the tree though, because that’s the point of the ornament guessing game!
Have each player guess how many ornaments are on the tree, then write their guess and their name on a slip of paper and place it in a bowl. Once everyone has guessed, whoever got closest to the actual number wins!
12. Stocking Guessing Game
Good for all ages and group sizes
Here’s another simple guessing game you can throw together: the stocking guessing game! You’ll need a stocking, an array of small items items to fill it with, and enough pens and paper for each player.
Beforehand, fill your stocking with small items, and jot down what each item is as you place them inside. Once the stocking is full, tie it closed to prevent any peeking.
Provide your players with a pen and paper, then pass the stocking around so that each player has a chance to feel what’s inside. The players should write their guesses of what’s inside on a piece of paper, and whoever gets the most correct guesses wins!
13. Find Santa’s Friends
Great for groups of kids
This game is little like a Christmas-themed scavenger hunt, making it a great choice if you’re looking for games for kids! All you need to play are a number of “Santa’s friends” in the form of small toys of reindeer, elves, gnomes, etc.
Hide Santa’s friends around the house, making them harder to find for older kids or easier to find for younger kids. Once the game begins, the goal is for players to find as many of Santa’s friends as they can, and whoever is able to find and return the most friends wins.
14. Christmas Bingo
Good smaller groups of all ages
How about a round of printable Christmas bingo? You can download a set of free printable holiday-themed bingo cards at Crazy Little Projects. Just print them out (there are eight in the set) along with the calling cards, and a bag of M&M’s or mini marshmallows to use as markers.
You know the drill—pick one card at a time and have the players mark the corresponding spot on their card. The first person to get five in a row wins the round! Play as many rounds as you like.
15. Holiday A-Z
Good for older kids, teens, and adults in larger groups
Divide your group into teams, then give each team a piece of paper with each letter of the alphabet written on its own line on the left side of the page. Teams will then race to come up with a holiday themed word for each letter.
The first team to finish gets their list checked first, and if all of their words are valid, they win! If any of the first team’s words aren’t actually holiday or Christmas themed (or aren’t even real words), the second team’s list gets checked, and whichever team’s list is most accurate and complete wins.
16. Dice Gift Exchange
Good for all ages and group sizes
Planning to have a white elephant or other type of gift exchange at this year’s office party or family gathering? Make it a little more interesting by incorporating an element of chance in the form of dice!
To play, start by downloading this dice gift exchange printable from Play Party Plan. You’ll also need a die, and at least one wrapped gift per player.
Gameplay couldn’t be easier—just roll the dice and follow the instructions on the card! You may have to switch gifts, unwrap yours, or you may get to steal someone else’s gift. The gift exchange ends once the last gift is unwrapped, and everyone’s a winner because they get to keep whichever gift is in their hands! :-)
17. Christmas Limbo
Good for all ages and group sizes
How low can you go? Find out with a game of Christmas limbo! You’ll need a Christmas scarf, and possibly a few pillows depending on how you want to play.
Have two people each hold an end of the scarf, and use this as your limbo bar. You can have players do the standard limbo, or make it a bit more challenging by equipping players with a “Santa belly” by having them tuck a pillow under their shirt.
Keep playing until you’ve determined who can limbo the lowest, and then award them with a well-deserved prize!
18. Christmas Tree Art Contest
Good for all ages and group sizes
This is one of my very favorite Christmas party games, as it’s both simple to play and hilarious to watch! All you need for this festive, no-peeking-allowed art contest are a paper plate and marker for each player.
Tell the players to uncap their markers and hold their paper plate on top of their head. Then give this series of instructions, pausing between each to give the players time to draw:
- Draw a line for a floor.
- Draw a Christmas tree, and add decorations if you feel so inclined.
- Draw a star on top of your tree.
- Draw a fireplace with a mantel next to the tree.
- Draw a stocking hanging from the mantel of your fireplace.
- Draw a present below the tree.
Once everyone has followed the instructions, the players can put their hands down and check out their handiwork. Have the players tally up their own scores according to the following scoring guide:
- +2 points if the tree touches the floor
- +2 points if the stocking touches the mantel
- +1 point if the star touches the tree
- +1 point if the star is above the tree
- +1 point for every ornament that is actually on the tree
- -1 point if the fireplace touches the tree (it’s a fire hazard!)
- +1 point for anything decorative in or on the stocking
- +2 points if the present is under the tree
The person with the most points wins the Christmas tree art contest!
19. Who Am I?
Good for older kids, teens, and adults in extra large groups
For this group party game, have each player write down the name of a Christmas character or figure on a sticky note. (Think characters from popular Christmas movies or someone mentioned in a Christmas carol — there are plenty to choose from!)
Gather everyone’s sticky notes, then randomly assign one character to each player by sticking the note to their forehead. When the game starts, players mill around the room and ask each other yes-or-no questions about their identity to try and figure out which character they are.
You can make it a quick game by awarding the prize to whoever guesses their identity first, or you can draw it out by playing several rounds and eliminating the last person to guess correctly each time. It’s fun either way!
20. Whipped Cream Tannenbaum
Good for all ages and group sizes
The goal of this game is simple: create the most majestic and towering whipped cream Christmas tree as you can in one minute! Each player will need a paper plate and a can of whipped cream.
Set a timer for one minute, and whoever has the tallest tree when the timer goes off wins. (And ideally you’d follow this game with mugs of hot chocolate or slices of pie so that all that whipped cream doesn’t go to waste!) ;-)
21. Cookies For Santa
Good for all ages and group sizes
What would Christmas be without Christmas cookies? This funny Christmas party game celebrates holiday cookies by turning them into a hilarious and delicious hands-free competition for all ages.
Have your players line up and place a cookie on each player’s forehead. When the game starts, each player will attempt to navigate the cookie into their mouth without using their hands. (They can use their hands to reset the cookie if they drop it, but that’s it!)
The first person to get the cookie in their mouth wins!
22. The Jingle Bell Shake
Good for all ages and small to medium groups
This fun Christmas game is a variation of a “minute to win it” game that always gets everyone laughing! To play, you’ll need belts or pieces of rope, empty tissue boxes, and a bunch of jingle bells.
Tie an empty tissue box to each player’s waist with the hole facing out, then place 10 bells inside. The first person to shake out all 10 bells wins! (To attach the tissue boxes, cut a small slit near the bottom of the short side of the box on both sides, then thread the rope or belt through the slits.)
BONUS: Inexpensive Prizes For Christmas Games
Playing games is always more fun when there are prizes involved, but you don’t have to spend a fortune on them, especially if you buy small gifts in bulk. Here are some ideas for prizes — if both adults and kids are playing, just make two piles of prizes and have winners choose a gift from the appropriate pile.
I like to wrap the prizes to make them extra festive, but you don’t have to wrap them if you don’t want to. Feel free to institute any rules for the prizes that make sense to you (such as setting a limit of one prize per person, or making a rule that no one can unwrap their prize until the end of the night).
- Card game
- Jigsaw puzzle
- Candy bar
- Macrame kit
- Bento box
- Reusable cup or glass
- Gift cards
- Kitchen accessories
- Lip Balm
- Mini journal and pen
- Paint pens and a selection of rocks
- Sketch pad
- Sudoku or crossword book
- Gourmet coffee or tea
- Christmas ornament
- Scented candle
- Festive socks
- Snack foods
- Christmas decor
- Christmas albums (CD or vinyl)
- Hot chocolate bombs
You can find a lot of these and other small gifts at your local craft store, and even nearby grocery stores! Just keep your eyes peeled while you’re out shopping, and it won’t be hard to come up with a variety of fun prizes for your games without breaking the bank.
Looking For More Party Ideas?
No Christmas party is complete without Christmas music, so put some carols on, get the Crockpot Hot Chocolate going, and put out the snacks to set the stage for a fun, festive party. If you’re looking for even more fun and easy party games to liven up a get-together, be sure to check out my huge list of “minute to win it” games!
If you’re looking for boxed games to play at a party, I’ve got a list of a dozen games that are guaranteed to make you laugh. And if you don’t mind a bit of a mess, the flour game has been entertaining my family for generations!
Do you have a favorite game to play at Christmas parties?
I have never commented on top lists, but putting all those forgettable indie games while neglecting Starcraft II is too egregious of an error to ignore. Not every game can make it in a top 25 list, but this list was full of curious decisions and at least that one big omission.
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I saw this cool game on Pinterest a good while back: Buy a roll of plastic wrap. Buy a goodly number of small items from Dollar Tree. Using a ball as a base, wrap the Seran Wrap around and around the ball, then add a little gift, then wrap the plastic again, twisting and turning it. I wrapped about 12 turns of plastic wrap between each present. Then you get this HUGE ball of Seran wrapped presents. Use a timer (I did 2 minutes per person) and let each player unwrap the plastic wrap and whatever falls out s/he gets to keep. I put some girl/boy and adult man/women gifts in the ball, so at the end of the game, had a swap. I use this game instead of stockings some years.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Love the games! We always play “Naughty Santa” at my stepmother-in-laws house on Christmas Eve. Thanks for all your posts!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We really have too many to play this game but we play anyway. You can buy this game for little or nothing. It’s called Left, Right, Middle. Every one starts out with about 8 pennies, dimes or quarters. Every one has the same amount. You roll the dice and give person on your side what ever the roll says. The middle is the pot. When all run out of money the last one gets the pot. fun fun fun. I got mine with rules at Barnes and Noble. The more the merrier!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Jillee: I would love to save your posts into Pinerest, however I can not find a pin to do this. Just don’t want to print all of these out. Is there a way to save your posts?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Absolutely! There are a few ways, but the easiest is to go directly to my pinterest profile: https://www.pinterest.com/byjillee/one-good-thing/
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The ideas sound so fun! I wish my family of three was bigger so we could play games. :(
– Charmaine
Please log in or create a free account to comment.http://charmainenyw.com
Thanks for the great ideas. You might have to do a report before next Christmas for those who tend to forget! :) Happy New Year!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Forgot to mention – start out reading the story slowly, and then gradually speed it up, and the result is hilarious confusion!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi, Jillee – I had an extremely busy day yesterday, and missed your post! But, here is a fun game…First, I give each person a Santa hat, telling them they are needed for the game – hehehe – they aren’t needed – I just want to take a picture of my guests!
Everyone sits in a circle (if possible), and you give each person a gift – (you can buy “prize gifts”, “white elephant” gifts, or just borrow some gifts from under the tree to use for the game. You tell them that you are going to read “The Wright Family” story to them, and that each time they hear “right”, they pass their gift to the right, and each time they hear “left”, they pass their gift to the left, and that when the story ends, each person keeps the gift he is holding at the time.
There are several versions of the story online, but this is the one we usually use:
THE WRIGHT FAMILY
Christmas was almost here, and Mother WRIGHT was finishing the Christmas baking. Father WRIGHT, Susie WRIGHT, and Billy WRIGHT returned from their last-minute Christmas errands.
“There is not much LEFT to be done,” said Father WRIGHT as he came into the kitchen.
“Did you leave the basket of food at church?” asked Mother WRIGHT. I LEFT it RIGHT where you told me to,” said Father WRIGHT. “I’m glad my shopping is done,” said Billy WRIGHT. “I don’t have any money LEFT.”
The hall telephone rang, and Susie WRIGHT LEFT to answer it. She rushed back and told the family, “Aunt Tillie WRIGHT LEFT a package for us RIGHT on Grandma WRIGHT’s porch. I’ll go over there RIGHT away and get it,” she said as she LEFT in a rush.
Father WRIGHT LEFT the kitchen and brought in the Christmas tree. By the time Susie WRIGHT returned, Mother WRIGHT, Father WRIGHT, and Billy WRIGHT had begun trimming the tree. The entire WRIGHT family sang carols as they finished the decorating. Then they LEFT all the presents arranged under the tree and went to bed, hoping they had selected the WRIGHT gifts for their family.
Now I hope you have the RIGHT present for yourself, because that’s all that’s LEFT to our story…………….except to wish you a Merry Christmas……………..isn’t that RIGHT??????
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, JILLEE, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT YOU HAVE IN STORE FOR US NEXT YEAR! MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Sounds like great fun!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.So fun-I did this year’s ago at an ornament exchange! Thanks for the idea and the copy of the story!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Love the Christmas Movie Quiz but …. where are the answers???
Please log in or create a free account to comment.http://creativecynchronicity.com/2011/12/answers-to-christmas-movie-trivia-quiz/
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This was great. As I was reading, I got the idea to do this at our family reunion as a “Christmas in July” activity.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.LOL! Those Ute sweaters sure were UGLY :) GOOOOOO Cougars!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jill, I just came across your blog. Wow! I’ve never been to a Christmas party that involves games. I’m having some stiff people coming over for Christmas, maybe I could liven things up with one of your ideas!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What fun ideas – we will be trying these! One of my favorite games is Bunko. Love it! Just heard about a similar game – Tenzi – that might be fun.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.i LOVE the idea that came out of the comments from Sally…i ‘m not a fan of gift wrapping so it would be great to have other people wrap the gifts because even with only one hand, these gifts came out looking better than mine! Merry Christmas to all!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Looks like fun. Always good to have an ace up your sleeve. Wondering what the partner does for the Christmas Tree one. I was thinking maybe–give verbal directions. Was thinking maybe the partner can be sent to another person to give sabotaging directions. I’m going to print the first game now.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks.
While it is not a home made game, Catch Phrase is our go to game for large groups. It is an electronic, hot potato, word guessing game that always results in a good time.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Do we really need to see Jennifer Anniston and Aveeno every time we click on something? Once would be fine, not six times. And that At&T banner that will not click away? Really?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.These are some fabulous ideas! Just what I didn’t know I was looking for. Can’t wait to try them out. Thanks to you and your daughter for sharing!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What great ideas! Thanks, Jillee!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.So is this how you get the gifts wrapped that’ll go under your tree??? Smaaaaaaaaaart!!!! Just kidding – what fun ideas for making people laugh and be silly!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.lol Sally! There were jokes about that very thing last night at the party! ;-) Mama didn’t raise no dummy. ;-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I absolutely love your blog and look forward to it every day. For some reason, I have not received it via e-mail the last couple of days. I hope this is something that can be fixed!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Same happened to me…no emails for the past 2 days! I missed the Amazon giveaway! Didn’t see that until today! I miss your blog but now you’re back !!!!!
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