It’s Christmas, a festive holiday season with delicious food, caroling, family get-togethers, and, of course, Christmas parties for guests, Christmas parties for coworkers, and even more Christmas parties – and they all need Christmas games. So if you are looking for new DIY Christmas party game ideas to keep the youngest kids busy, holiday-themed family games, or Christmas party game ideas to entertain your guests, continue reading.
We’ve collected a variety of fun holiday and Xmas party game ideas for every Christmas type of party. Most have DIY, ready-to-use downloadable printables, so you don’t have to make them yourself. These festive games are also great ideas for virtual holiday party games.
You’ll recognize some of these games for kids and Christmas activities as traditional, classic games that have been transformed into holiday versions, Christmas party games with Christmas themes.
Friendly Christmas Party Games Holiday Fun For Children
Christmas Charades Game
Christmas Charades is the perfect Christmas game if your Christmas party guests include children. Kids will love this friendly Christmas party game.
You’ll Need:
- List of charades (see the printable) cut out and placed in a container
- Lots of giggles and “acting” skills
How To Play Christmas Charades Game
- Split the group of kids and guests into teams; each team selects an actor for each round.
- The actor from Team A draws a charade card and acts out the charade within a given time limit. No proms or talking allowed.
- The rest of the team must guess the charade. If they can’t guess before the time runs out, Team B gets one guess.
- Then it is Team B’s turn.
Jingle Bells Toss Game
The Jingle Bells tossing game is the Christmas game version of Pong. The purpose of this fun game is to be the first person to toss a bell into every cup.
You’ll Need:
- Large Jingle Bells for tossing
- 6-10 Solo cups
How To Play Jingle Bells Toss Game
- Place the cups in a bowling pin formation on the table.
- Stand at the opposite end of the table and try to toss bells into the cups.
Jingle Bells Toss Christmas Game Ideas
- Use mini cups for older kids and adults and larger cups for younger children
- For 2 Teams or Players: Set up two sets with a player behind each set. Give each team player a cup of jingle bells. They have a minute to see who can toss the most bells in the opposite cups.
- For Older Kids: Toss only one bell per cup.
Christmas Song Pictionary
Whether you know the lyrics or can’t hold a tune, it doesn’t matter when playing this fun Christmas party game. The purpose of this fun Christmas Song Pictionary game is for the team to score 25 points by accurately guessing the Christmas songs.
You’ll Need:
- Whiteboard or paper for drawing
- Pen or markers for drawing
- Timer
- Pen and paper for keeping score
- Bag and list of Christmas songs or words
How To Play Christmas Song Pictionary Game
- Split the group of players into two opposing teams.
- A player from Team A draws a Christmas song or phrase from the bag without showing it to anyone.
- They have a minute to draw the item. No words, symbols, gestures, or speaking is allowed.
- If the time runs out without Team A guessing the Christmas song or phrase, Team B has one attempt to steal and score.
- Now it’s Team B’s turn.
Lump Of Coal Christmas Saran Wrap Game
This clever game is not your classic party game but guaranteed fun and surprises. See how many gifts, candies, and prizes you can unwrap before your turn ends. Of course, you get to keep the prizes you unwrap, so try and be the one who gets the most gifts.
You’ll Need:
- Long, sticky saran wrap as wrapping paper
- Candy, small gifts, larger gifts, and prizes – you can find many presents at the dollar store.
- Set of dice and box for the dice
- Final gift wrapped in money (optional)
- Coal cards (make them yourself or use the downloadable printable game cards). Coal cards feature an action or question the player needs to answer before they can continue unwrapping the Christmas saran ball. For example, skip the next turn, or unwrap the lump of coal behind your back. Questions can be fun Christmas facts, riddles, or silly things, for example, name Santa Claus’ reindeer.
How To Wrap The Christmas Saran Lump of Coal
- Wrap a round toy or gift like a ping pong ball or pair of Christmas socks in cash. Don’t just add one layer of saran wrap, but a couple of layers: the more layers, the greater the challenge in this fun game.
- Add the next layer of candy, gifts, prizes, or coal cards, and wrap it with saran wrap. Continue growing the lump of coal. Use larger gits for bulk.
- Finally, add a couple of plastic wrap layers.
How To Play Lump Of Coal Saran Wrap Christmas Party Game
In this family game, everyone sits in a circle, close enough to pass the Christmas saran wrap gift ball and the box with dice. Then, each player gets a turn to throw the dice and follow the instructions.
- Roll doubles: Unroll the saran gift ball until someone else throws a double. You get to keep all the gifts, candies, and prizes you unwrap. However, if you unroll a coal card, you must complete those actions or answer the question before you can continue unwrapping the ball. Meanwhile, others are taking turns throwing the dice to try for a double.
- Roll a 7 or 11: The direction of the dice is reversed.
- Roll any other numbers: You pass the gift ball to the next player.
This Christmas party game is a fun activity for kids but always keep a few gifts or candy at hand for those players, especially kids, who didn’t unwrap anything during their turn.
Funny Christmas Party Games Ideas Older Kids Will Love
Candy Canes Game With Cards
There are various Christmas Candy Cane games to play. In this Candy Cane game version, you play with a deck of cards. The Christmas game is like the classic Spoons, but you substitute spoons for candy canes.
The purpose of the Candy Canes card game is to be the first to get four of a kind in your hand and then to take a candy cane without anyone noticing. In this fast-paced game, the rest of the players need quick hands to grab the remaining candy canes. The player without a candy cane gets a letter in the word candy. When a player has all the letters, they are out of the game, and a candy cane is removed from the center of the table.
You Will Need:
- Candy canes
- Deck of cards
- Piece of paper and pencil
How To Play Christmas Candy Cane Game
- Deal four cards to each player.
- Place the deck of cards in front of the dealer and candy canes in the center of the table (always on less candy cane than the number of players).
- The dealer takes the top card on the deck and decides whether to keep it or pass it to the player to their left.
- If they keep the card, they must pass another card to the player.
- Whenever a player passes the card, they pick up a card from the deck; you must always have four cards in your hands.
- Then it’s the next player’s turn.
More Candy Cane Christmas Games for kids.
Also check out our fun Christmas Card messages and Great christmas lego sets!Guess The Number Christmas Game
You’ll Need:
- Christmas candies
- Christmas ornaments
- Small festive items
- Jars in different sizes
- Prizes
The Christmas game’s purpose is to guess the number of items in the jar. The person who is the closest to the correct number wins a prize.
Christmas Trivia Game
Christmas trivia is always a fun Christmas party game that’s engaging and appealing to all, from the youngest to the oldest. No matter your Christmas party theme, there are Christmas trivia categories to complement the festive activities. Here are some printable Christmas trivia game questions.
- 101 Christmas trivia questions feature various categories, including favorite holiday food, the Bible, Christmas carols, Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and easy questions for kids.
- More Christmas trivia game questions
- Christmas movie trivia game
- 35 Christmas song trivia game
Christmas Party Game Ideas For The Family
Don’t Eat Santa! Christmas Game
The Christmas game’s purpose is not to eat the candy on the undercover Secret Santa Claus square. This popular Christmas party game is a great group game for the family, Christmas parties in the classroom, or when you’re entertaining guests.
You Will Need:
- Small candies, chocolate chips, or chocolates like M&M’s
- Page with images of Santas in each square, download a printable or let the kids draw a Santa in each square ( about nine squares on the page)
How To Play Don’t Eat Santa! Christmas Party Game
Place a candy or chocolate treat on each Santa Claus drawing. One person leaves the room while the rest of the group decides which drawing Secret Santa is. The person comes back and proceeds to remove chocolate from a Santa to eat until they choose the Secret Santa. Then the group shouts, “Don’t Eat Santa,” and it’s the next person’s turn.
Minute-To-Win-It Christmas Party Games Ideas
These Christmas-themed games are not only fun for the entire family, but organizing them is quick and easy. To win the prizes or challenges, you must complete these friendly Christmas games within a minute. Here are some fun game ideas for Christmas Minute-To-Win-It games.
Christmas Ornaments Balance Game
You’ll Need:
- 10 Christmas ornaments
- Yardstick
- Wrapping tube
- Timer
The idea is to hang as many Christmas ornaments on a yardstick balanced on a wrapping tube within a minute.
Candy Cane Pile Up Christmas Game
You’ll Need:
- Candy Canes
- Bowl
- Timer
See how many candy canes you can move using only your mouth from a pile of candy canes to a bowl in a minute.
Stacking Marshmallow Snowmen Christmas Game
You’ll Need:
- Pack of mini marshmallows
- Timer
Build a snowman with mini marshmallows. The player who stacks the most snowmen within a minute wins.
Reindeer Antlers Christmas-Themed Game
- Balloons
- Pair of pantyhose for every team
- Timer
Reindeer Antlers is a fun group game. Each team has a minute to blow up and tie balloons, stuff the balloons into a pair of pantyhose to make antlers, and place them on the player, aka reindeer’s head. The best antlers win.
Eat The Cookie Christmas Game
You’ll Need:
- Flat Christmas cookie for each player
- Timer
Can you get the cookie from your forehead into your mouth within a minute without using your hands?
Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt Family Game
Driving or walking around looking at Christmas lights is a Christmas tradition for most families. Adding a Christmas scavenger hunt makes the outing double-fun activity for kids.
You’ll Need:
- Write a list of items (or use this printable Christmas Scavenger Hunt list) to find during the scavenger hunt for each player.
- A marker for each child to check off scavenger items found
How To Play Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt
The purpose is to find the most items on the Christmas scavenger hunt list while enjoying the beautiful Christmas lights displays. So grab your cocoa, and let’s go.
Festive Christmas Party Games To Entertain Your Guests
Christmas Carols Opposites Game
You will love this Christmas game idea if you love Christmas songs. The purpose is to guess the title of each Christmas song on the list. However, the titles are the opposite of the original Christmas song title; for example, Pounding Gongs is Jingle Bells. Some are easy, but others can be more challenging. To get you started, here is a free download.
White Elephant Gift Exchange Christmas Party Game
Instead of a Secret Santa classic party activity, add a new holiday game twist this year with the White Elephant Gift Exchange Christmas party game. It’s one of the best Christmas games and my personal favorite for exchanging gifts to play at Christmas parties with coworkers or teammates.
As one of our family’s favorite games, we recommend you have enough gifts for more than one playing round. Since you will be buying a couple of gifts, it’s recommended to determine the maximum spending amount per gift. This Xmas party game is ideal for many people and when your budget is limited. Gag gifts and funny gifts are preferred but beware, Santa could take you off the nice list in exchange for the naughty list.
You Will Need:
- Enough gag gifts for each round you want to play.
- Gift boxes or wrapping paper to wrap gifts
- Small pieces of paper with numbers in a Santa Hat (Optional: get Santa Hats for all the players)
How To Play Elephant Gift Exchange Christmas Party Game With A Holiday Twist
- Each person draws a number from the Santa hat to determine the playing order.
- Place all the wrapped gifts in a pile.
- The first person takes a gift and opens it for all to see.
- The second player picks their gift and unwraps it. If they don’t like it, they can exchange their gift with the first person’s gift.
- To steal any opened gift and exchange it with the Christmas present you just opened is so much fun. All gifts are in jeopardy. You’ll be playing this game every Christmas because watching the faces when people open the presents is hilarious. Especially when they think they’ve snagged a good gift, to lose it again. At one Christmas party, one of the male adults ended up with a tea set because the little girl exchanged it for the candy he was holding onto.
How To Play Gift Exchange With Dice – Switch Steal Unwrap Gift Exchange Game
This Christmas party game is a lovely holiday twist to the Elephant Exchange Christmas game for exchanging gifts. Everyone starts and ends with the same number of gifts. Then, the player has to do specific actions according to the dice number by rolling the dice. Each player rolls the dice according to the number of gifts they have. For example, if they have two gifts, they roll the dice twice and do the actions in any order they want.
- Roll a 1: Switch gifts with the person to your right.
- Roll a 2: Switch gifts with the person on your left.
- Roll a 3 or 4: You are allowed to steal and switch your gifts with anyone and unwrap gifts not already unwrapped.
- Roll a 5 or 6: Unwrap a gift.
These games aren’t a complete list; there are lots more; you can change any game into a Christmas theme. For example, popular, fun family games become a Christmas Bingo Game, Christmas Family Feud Game, Christmas Truth or Dare, a Christmas challenge snowball fight, or a Christmas murder mystery. And don’t forget Elf on the Shelf or a good family Christmas movie night.
Do you have a personal favorite game, and which Christmas party game is the best Christmas game you must play every year? Even a fun game of Uno can bring the family together.