25 Christmas Party Games to Try This Year
Christmas party games have the bad reputation that the classics have been played so many times by the same group of people that everyone already knows who is going to win the ugly sweater contest, and the white elephant has devolved into a fifteen-minute negotiation about whether stealing is allowed that nobody enjoys.
A great Christmas party game creates the kind of moment that becomes part of the group’s annual mythology; the round of whatever game produced the most chaotic outcome gets referenced every December for the next decade and becomes the reason everyone actually shows up rather than politely RSVPs and finds a reason to cancel.
These 25 games range from genuinely hilarious to surprisingly competitive to sweetly traditional, and every one of them will make your Christmas party the one people talk about before the night is even over.
Christmas Party Games by Group Type
| If Your Guests Are… | Best Games |
|---|---|
| Families with kids | Snowball Toss, Candy Cane Fishing, Ornament Guessing |
| Adults only | Christmas Movie Quotes, Holiday Trivia, Balloon Pop |
| Coworkers | Pictionary, Word Scramble, Memory Tray |
| Mixed ages | Freeze Dance, Christmas Character Guess, Santa Hat Switch |
| Large parties (20+) | Stocking Relay, Christmas Tree Race, Ornament Spoon Relay |
| Small gatherings | Guess the Scent, Emoji Quiz, Cookie Hunt |
Ornament Guessing Game
If this game is on your list, watch everyone suddenly become a mathematician the second you hand them a jar of ornaments. The best part, you ask me? Watching the most confident guess in the room miss by about 47 ornaments.
Christmas Song Charades
Holiday songs become absolute chaos when you have to act them out without singing. Something about this game and my zero acting skills always had rivalry, and I ended up losing half the time.
Also, someone always ends up miming a sleigh ride that somehow looks like they’re wrestling a shopping cart.
Holiday Trivia Circle
When I say nothing, I mean nothing screams Christmas spirit like confidently shouting the wrong answer in front of your entire family. You might not win (happy for you, if you do), but you’ll definitely learn who’s secretly obsessed with holiday movies.
Christmas Cookie Hunt
This one is like an Easter egg hunt… but with cookies, which is way way better and no one’s gonna fight me about it. Adults somehow become just as competitive as the kids once chocolate is involved, which I see absolutely no issue with.
Since everyone will already be reaching for something sweet, these 51 Best Christmas Candy Recipes are the perfect addition to your party spread.
Holiday Freeze Dance
Dance like nobody’s watching… then freeze like everybody’s judging. Two simple rules, but I watched almost everyone in the room fumble in seconds, lol.
The dramatic poses people accidentally get stuck in are worth playing, and you know what to put on next year’s Christmas card.
Hosting a daytime gathering? Pair these games with inspiration from our 21 Amazing Christmas Brunch & Hot Cocoa Bar Setup Ideas for an extra cozy celebration.
Gift Box Stack Challenge
It’s basically Christmas Jenga with empty presents (the only acceptable time without holiday gifts). Everyone starts off calm and collected until that last box makes the whole tower wobble like holiday jelly and we know who we are pointing fingers at already!
Christmas Memory Tray
You’ll swear you remembered every single item… until someone asks, “Did anybody write down the tiny bell?” (Is there a tiny bell tho?) That moment is when your confidence disappears faster than Christmas cookies.
Festive Pictionary Table
If there’s one thing you’ll realise from this game, it is to draw a candy cane until the entire room starts guessing “banana.” Bad drawings are honestly half the entertainment. I once tried drawing a reindeer, and honestly, you don’t wanna know what the horrific guesses were, haha.
Candy Cane Fishing Game
Who knew a candy cane could suddenly feel like advanced engineering? Well, well, well, play this game and find out the answer to it.
Watching grown adults lean in with Olympic-level concentration is comedy gold. We did this last year and I ROFL-ed my way through it.
Snowball Toss Cups
Coming to this one, is it Simple? Yes. Easy? Absolutely not. One minute you’re casually tossing snowballs; the next you’re insisting the cup somehow moved, and the table is slanted, or your cousin was breathing too much (hey! we never know).
Santa Hat Switch
Nobody wants to be holding the hat when the music stops… until they realize the challenge is just singing one line of Jingle Bells. Then suddenly everyone’s fighting for it, trying to win Christmas games with just a line of this iconic song.
Stocking Stuff Relay
It’s amazing how competitive people become over stuffing socks because I did and will continue to do so in future stocking relays to come.
Expect dramatic sprints, accidental drops, and teammates offering completely unhelpful advice from the sidelines.
Reindeer Ring Toss
Someone gets to wear antlers; everyone else gets to throw things at them. Honestly, that’s already enough reason to play. If no one volunteers to be the reindeer, you can set up a cute one with wild branches and a cardboard box, it is equally fun too!
Christmas Movie Quote Match
If you’ve watched Home Alone seventeen times, this is finally your moment to shine. All that chirstmas binges finally paying off.
Everyone else will confidently quote the wrong movie and blame it on Christmas excitement. The amount of times my cousin mispronounced words and was made fun of was hilarious af.
Holiday Balloon Pop
Speaking from experience, nothing wakes up a party faster than thirty balloons popping at once. You can add funny dares inside, and you’ve basically guaranteed nonstop laughter.
I remember my friend telling me that she had to blow raspberries every time she said something, and it was too funny.
Christmas Tree Building Race
Arts and crafts are usually fun, but they become survival mode on MasterChef when there’s a timer involved and Gordon Ramsay-level judging. Glitter ends up everywhere, and somehow every team insists their lopsided tree is “modern chic.”
Turn it into a full holiday craft day with these 30 DIY Clear Glass Christmas Ornaments everyone can personalize.
Ornament Spoon Relay
Walking across the room has never felt so stressful, trust me. The ornament wobbles, the crowd gasps, and suddenly you’re treating a plastic bauble like priceless treasure, which, on god, feels that way in that moment.
Guess the Scent
Cinnamon? Pine? Gingerbread? Or… wait… is that pizza? People get surprisingly confident about some very questionable guesses. My mom once guessed a pine cone as air, and the laughs we let out were funnier than that.
Holiday Word Scramble
The words look ridiculously easy until the timer starts. Then somehow “mistletoe” becomes the hardest word you’ve ever seen, and what do you mean, reindeer has two ‘e’?
Christmas Character Guess
Watching someone ask, “Am I the Christmas tree?” with complete sincerity never gets old. The yes-or-no questions only get funnier as the game goes on, and let’s just hope we come out of that rabbit hole as fast as we can. Speaking from experience, after 5 questions, you’ll struggle to guess it.
If you’re planning a themed celebration, you’ll find even more inspiration in these 31 Best Grinch Christmas Party Ideas.
Snowflake Craft Contest
Everyone starts with the same sheet of paper, but somehow one person creates art while another accidentally makes Swiss cheese. It’s all part of shits and giggles.
Looking for another festive activity? These 40 DIY Mini Christmas Tree Crafts are just as fun for kids and adults alike.
Holiday Emoji Quiz
Turns out three random emojis can completely break your brain. You’ll either solve them in two seconds or stare at 🎅🎄🍪 like it’s advanced calculus, and the latter keeps happening to me more than I want. The struggle is real, guys.
Christmas Card Tower
Building a tower out of greeting cards sounds easy, like super easy… until gravity decides otherwise and humbles you every time your tower reaches second line. Half the fun is pretending the collapse wasn’t your fault (who has to know, let’s blame it on the dog).
Keep guests fueled between games with these crowd-pleasing 27 Delicious Christmas Party Appetizers.
Santa’s Secret List
Remembering five Christmas items feels easy. Remembering fifteen in the right order? That’s when everyone’s brain cells quietly leave the chat. This one is such a classic, it always is super fun to play with a big group.
Low-Prep vs High-Energy Games
| If You Want Something Easy | If You Want Maximum Chaos |
|---|---|
| Ornament Guessing | Balloon Pop |
| Word Scramble | Stocking Relay |
| Trivia | Freeze Dance |
| Guess the Scent | Christmas Tree Race |
| Movie Quotes | Candy Cane Fishing |
| Memory Tray | Spoon Relay |
Small Prizes Everyone Actually Wants
- Christmas candles
- Hot chocolate kits
- Mini succulents
- Holiday mugs
- Scratch-off lottery tickets
- Christmas cookies
- Gift cards ($5–10)
- Cozy socks
- Peppermint bark
- Mini bottles of sparkling cider
The Christmas party games that people request specifically next year are always the ones that created genuine spontaneous laughter rather than the kind of polite participation that fills a room while everyone privately wonders when this part ends.
Pick two or three that match the energy of your specific group, leave room for the chaos to develop naturally rather than trying to manage it, and trust that the right game at the right moment creates a memory that outlasts the holiday season by approximately eleven months until everyone is back in the same room asking to play it again.
Go find your game and go make this the Christmas party that sets the standard for every one that follows.
