The food’s ordered, the house is decorated, and guests arrive in an hour. Then it hits you: what is everyone going to do once they’ve said hello? Games keep a party moving, and a good one gets the quiet cousin and the loud coworker laughing at the same thing.
This page sorts Christmas party games by who’s coming: mixed crowds, adults, families, kids, and big groups. There’s also a section on gift exchange games, plus a quick finder to help you pick the right mix.
How to Pick the Right Christmas Party Games
For a two- to three-hour party, plan three or four games and keep one backup. A mix that works for almost any crowd:
One icebreaker as people arrive, so nobody stands around holding a drink
One active game to get people up and laughing
One sit-down game for after the food
One gift game if you’re doing an exchange
Use this table to find a starting point for your crowd.
Your Crowd
Start With These Games
Prep Time
Mixed ages
Christmas Character, Do You Hear What I Hear?, Christmas Bingo
15 to 30 minutes
Adults only
Best Gift, Worst Gift; Snowstorm Shake; Draw That Christmas Song
15 minutes
Family gathering
The Left Right Story, Christmas Jenga, Who's Santa?
10 to 20 minutes
Little kids
Santa Says, Reindeer Race, Candy Cane Fishing
5 to 10 minutes
Big group (30 or more)
Red and Green Sort, Gift Wrap Relay, Christmas Bingo
30 minutes
Coworkers
See our office Christmas party games
Varies
Christmas Party & Secrete Santa Template
Doing Secret Santa at your party? Use one sign up for everything. Guests RSVP, claim a dish or a setup shift, and join the gift exchange in the same spot, with a few gift ideas so their Secret Santa knows what to shop for. Add your budget and sign up deadline to the description and you're ready to send it.
These games work when the guest list runs from 8 to 80. Nobody needs to be athletic, and the rules take about 30 seconds to explain.
Christmas Character. Tape a card with a Christmas character’s name on each guest’s back, like the Grinch, Rudolph, or Buddy the Elf. Guests ask each other yes-or-no questions until they figure out who they are. It’s a great icebreaker because it gets people talking as soon as they walk in.
Do You Hear What I Hear? Fill five to 10 small boxes with different numbers of jingle bells. Players shake each box and try to line them up from fewest bells to most. Closest guess wins.
Christmas Bingo. Print bingo cards with holiday pictures or words and call them out one at a time. Use peppermints or red and green candy as markers. For a bigger group, run several rounds with a small prize each time.
Guess That Gift. Wrap a few odd objects, like a box of pasta, a soccer ball, or a bag of LEGO bricks. Guests can shake, squeeze, and weigh them, but they can’t peek. Whoever guesses the most items wins one of them.
Ornament Bowling. Set up plastic ornaments or empty paper towel rolls like bowling pins. Players roll a small ball or toss jingle bells to knock them down. Kids love it, and adults get surprisingly competitive.
Present Stacking. Wrap boxes of different shapes and sizes. Players race to build the tallest tower in 60 seconds without it falling.
Who Said It? Read famous lines from Christmas movies and songs. Players shout out the movie or song. Run it quiz-show style with teams and a bell. For a longer game, use our Christmas movie trivia questions.
Christmas Memory Tray. Put 15 to 20 holiday items on a tray, like a candy cane, a bow, a small ornament, and a cookie cutter. Give players one minute to look, then cover it. They write down as many items as they remember in 30 seconds.
Holiday ABCs. Give each team a sheet with A to Z written down the side. Teams race to write a holiday word for every letter. X and Z are where it gets fun.
Name That Holiday Scent. Blindfold players and hold up holiday candles or spices, like cinnamon, peppermint, pine, and gingerbread. The sharpest nose wins a candle.
Christmas Party Games for Adults
When it’s grown-ups only, the games can be sillier and a bit more competitive. These are funny, quick to set up, and good for a crowd that’s already warmed up.
Best Gift, Worst Gift. Each guest writes down two Christmas gifts on slips of paper: one great gift and one awful gift. One is real, one is made up. Read them out and let the group guess which ones really happened. The stories that come out of this are the best part.
Snowstorm Shake. Tie an empty tissue box around a player’s waist and fill it with ping-pong ball “snowflakes.” Players have 60 seconds to shake every ball out without using their hands. Everyone watching will be crying laughing.
Draw That Christmas Song. Split into two teams. One player draws a Christmas song title on a whiteboard while their team guesses. No letters or numbers allowed. “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” is harder to draw than it sounds.
Name That Carol. Read three or four words from the middle of a Christmas song, not the title. Teams race to name the song. Pick lines from deep in the verse to make it harder.
Oven Mitt Unwrap. Players put on thick oven mitts or snow gloves and race to unwrap a small gift wrapped in layers of tape and paper. Whoever opens it first keeps it.
Snowman Wrap. Teams of three get a roll of toilet paper and two minutes to wrap one teammate into a snowman. Add a paper carrot nose and buttons. Guests vote on the best snowman.
Reindeer Antlers. Give each team a pair of old tights and a bag of balloons. Teams blow up balloons and stuff them into the tights legs, then put the tights on a teammate’s head as antlers. Fastest set of full antlers wins.
Ugly Tie Challenge. Pair players up with an old Christmas tie. Using only one hand each, partners work together to tie the tie around one partner’s neck. First neat knot wins.
Two Truths and a Christmas Lie. Each guest shares three Christmas stories, like their worst gift or a holiday disaster. Two are true and one is made up. The group guesses the lie.
👉 Looking for a full party plan to go with these games? Browse our Christmas party themes for adults, families, and work.
Family Christmas Games
Family gatherings mix toddlers, teens, and grandparents. The best family Christmas games let everyone play at once, with no one stuck on the sidelines.
The Left Right Story. Everyone sits in a circle holding a wrapped gift. The host reads a Christmas story full of the words “left” and “right.” Each time they hear one, players pass their gift in that direction. Whatever you’re holding when the story ends is yours to keep. Search for “Christmas left right game story” to find a free one online.
Christmas Jenga. Write a holiday task or question on each block of a Jenga set, like “sing the first line of your favorite carol” or “name all nine reindeer.” Players pull a block and complete what’s written on it.
Who’s Santa? One player, “Rudolph,” leaves the room while the group secretly picks a “Santa.” Everyone sits in a circle. Santa winks at players one at a time, and anyone who gets winked at shouts “Ho, ho, ho!” Rudolph has to spot the winker before the whole circle has been tagged.
The Night Before Christmas Shuffle. Give each player a word from the poem, like “sleigh,” “reindeer,” or “chimney.” As the host reads, players stand up and spin when they hear their word. When the host says “Santa,” everyone switches seats. The player left standing reads next.
Stocking Guess. Fill a few stockings with household objects, like a spoon, a whisk, or a ball of yarn, and tie them shut. Pass them around and have players guess what’s inside by feel.
Ornament Count. As guests arrive, have them guess how many ornaments are on the tree. Count them together after dinner. The closest guess wins a prize.
New “12 Days of Christmas.” Split the family into small teams and give each team a few of the 12 days. Teams rewrite their verses to be about your family. Think “four cousins fighting” or “nine dads a-napping.” Then sing the whole song together.
Blind Drawing. Everyone puts a paper plate on top of their head and draws a Christmas scene without looking: a snowman, a tree, or Santa’s sleigh. Compare drawings at the end. Nobody wins, and everyone laughs.
Christmas Party Games for Kids by Age
Kids need games that match their age. A game that’s perfect for a 4-year-old will bore a 12-year-old, and a game built for teens will frustrate preschoolers. Pick from the age group that fits most of your crowd.
Preschool (ages 3 to 5)
Santa Says. It’s Simon Says with a holiday twist. “Santa says act like a reindeer.” “Santa says give your best ho, ho, ho.” Kids only follow the command if it starts with “Santa says.”
Red Light, Green Light. Kids line up across the room and move only when you call “green light.” Freeze on “red light.” The first one to reach you wins and calls the next round.
Reindeer Race. Tape a reindeer name to each child’s shirt. Kids race across the yard or room in the style of their reindeer. Dancer dances, Prancer prances, and Blitzen goes as fast as possible.
Candy Cane Fishing. Hang a candy cane from a string tied to a stick. Kids try to hook other candy canes standing in a cup. Give each kid 90 seconds and count their catch.
Snowman Bowling. Stack toilet paper rolls in a pyramid and tape paper snowman faces on them. Kids roll a soft ball to knock them down.
Elementary (ages 6 to 10)
Pin the Nose on Rudolph. Draw a big Rudolph face on poster board and hang it on a wall. Blindfold kids, spin them twice, and let them try to stick on the red nose.
Snowball Soccer. Crumple white paper into “snowballs” and mark two goals with tape. Kids kick as many snowballs into their team’s goal as they can. No hands allowed.
Peppermint Bingo. Print Christmas picture bingo cards and use peppermints as markers. Winners get to keep their candy.
Snowball Spoon Race. Teams line up for a relay. Each kid carries a cotton ball “snowball” on a spoon across the room, drops it in a bucket, and runs back to tag the next player.
Draw It. Kids take turns drawing a holiday object, like a candy cane, a stocking, or a sled, while their team guesses. No talking or letters allowed.
Tweens and Teens (ages 11 and up)
Christmas Light Limbo. Swap the limbo stick for a string of battery-powered Christmas lights. Strap a pillow to each player’s belly Santa-style to make it harder.
Forehead Guess Who. Stick a card with a holiday character or movie on each player’s forehead. Players ask yes-or-no questions to figure out who they are.
Musical Gift. Wrap a small prize in many layers of paper. Play Christmas music while players pass it around. When the music stops, whoever’s holding it unwraps one layer. The person who reaches the prize keeps it.
What’s in the Stocking? Fill small stockings with holiday items, like a bell, a bow, or a cookie cutter. Players guess the contents by squeezing and shaking.
👉 Hosting a party at school? Our class Christmas party ideas cover classroom games, crafts, and snacks by grade.
Genius Tip
With a lot of kids coming, ask a few parents to each run one game. Make each game its own slot on your sign up, with the supplies listed, like "Reindeer Race, 4:00 to 4:20, bring painter's tape and name tags." Parents know exactly what to do, and you get to enjoy the party too.
With 30 or more guests, it’s hard to get everyone’s attention, and games that need everyone to take a turn drag on. Three changes make big-group games work:
Split into teams of six to eight. Smaller teams mean more people playing at once and less waiting.
Run stations. Set up three or four quick games around the room and rotate teams every 10 minutes.
Give the host a mic or a bell. You’ll need a way to get the room’s attention between rounds.
These games are built to scale:
Red and Green Sort. Fill a bin for each team with a mix of red and green items, like bows, ornaments, and candy. Teams race to sort everything into a red pile and a green pile, then carry each pile to a matching box across the room.
Gift Wrap Relay. Each team gets a stack of empty boxes, paper, tape, and ribbon. Players take turns wrapping one box each, then tag the next player. The team that wraps all its boxes first wins. Judges can award extra points for the neatest pile.
Christmas Bingo. It’s one of the few games where 100 people can play at once. Use a mic, project the called squares on a screen, and give prizes for the first line, four corners, and a full card.
Who Has the Ornament? Teams sit in circles with one player in the middle. The circle passes a small ornament behind their backs while the middle player tries to spot who’s holding it.
Christmas Minute to Win It Stations. Set up quick 60-second challenges at tables around the room: stacking cups into a tree, tossing jingle bells into a cup, or moving cotton balls with a spoon. Teams rotate and keep a running score.
A gift exchange game adds suspense to giving presents. Set a price limit, have everyone bring one wrapped gift, then pick a game.
Dice Gift Game. Everyone sits in a circle with a gift in front of them. Pass a pair of dice around while a Christmas song plays. Roll a double and you swap gifts with anyone in the circle. When the song ends, everyone opens what’s in front of them.
Gift Hot Potato. Pass a wrapped gift around while music plays. When the music stops, whoever’s holding it keeps it and sits out. Keep going until every gift has a home.
The Left Right Story. This family favorite works as a gift exchange for any group.
Fact Swap. Number each gift as it arrives. The giver writes a little-known fact about themselves on a slip of paper. The host reads facts one at a time. The first person to guess whose fact it is wins the matching gift.
Themed Exchange. Pick a theme before the party, like “something red,” “gifts that start with M,” or “something from the year you were born.” Then play a classic draw-a-number and choose-or-steal game.
Ornament Exchange. Everyone brings one ornament, wrapped, with a $10 limit. Play any of the games above. Each guest goes home with something new for the tree.
Guess Who Bought It. Each guest brings a wrapped gift they would want for themselves. Gifts get mixed up and handed out. After everyone opens theirs, players guess who bought each gift. The player with the most correct guesses wins a bonus prize.
Christmas Party & Secrete Santa Template
Doing Secret Santa at your party? Use one sign up for everything. Guests RSVP, claim a dish or a setup shift, and join the gift exchange in the same spot, with a few gift ideas so their Secret Santa knows what to shop for. Add your budget and sign up deadline to the description and you're ready to send it.
White elephant is the classic gift-stealing game. Everyone brings one wrapped gift, and players can either open a new gift or steal one that’s already been opened. Here’s how to play:
Set a price limit. $20 to $30 is common for adults, and $10 to $15 works well for coworkers or kids.
Collect the gifts. Each player brings one wrapped gift with no name on it and adds it to the pile.
Draw numbers. Every player draws a number to set the order.
Player 1 opens a gift. They pick any gift from the pile and open it so everyone can see.
Each next player chooses. They can open a new gift from the pile or steal any gift that’s already been opened. A player who loses their gift picks again: they open a new one or steal from someone else.
The game ends when every gift is open. Player 1 gets one last turn to swap with anyone, since they never had a chance to steal.
Steal limits keep it moving. A gift is “frozen” after its third steal and stays with whoever holds it. Also, nobody can steal back a gift that was just taken from them on the same turn.
Want less stealing or a version for kids? The Dice Gift Game and Gift Hot Potato below run on luck instead.
How to Plan Game Supplies and Prizes
Most of these games use things you already own, like paper, tape, cups, and a few ornaments. What adds up is prizes and the time to set up four games while you’re also cooking. Split it up:
A Week Before
A Day or Two Before
Party Day
Get your Christmas party organized
Let guests sign up for food, game supplies, and prizes so the party doesn't fall on one person. It's free to get started.
What are good Christmas party games for adults? Best Gift, Worst Gift; Snowstorm Shake; Draw That Christmas Song; and the Oven Mitt Unwrap are all big hits with adults. They’re silly, quick to explain, and need only a few supplies. Two Truths and a Christmas Lie is a good pick for a smaller, chattier group.
What Christmas games can kids and adults play together? Christmas Bingo, the Left Right Story, Christmas Jenga, and Who’s Santa? all work for mixed ages. Nobody needs to be fast or strong to win, and little kids can play on a grown-up’s team.
How many games should I plan for a Christmas party? For a two- to three-hour party, plan three or four games plus one backup. Start with an icebreaker as people arrive, add an active game, then something sit-down after food. A gift exchange game works well near the end.
What are easy Christmas party games with no prep? Santa Says, Two Truths and a Christmas Lie, Name That Carol, Holiday ABCs, and Who’s Santa? need little or nothing to set up. A pen, some paper, and a list of carols get you through most of the night.
What are good Christmas games for a big group? Christmas Bingo, the Gift Wrap Relay, and the Red and Green Sort all work with 30 or more people. Split guests into teams of six to eight so more people play at once, and use a mic or bell to get the room’s attention between rounds.
What’s a fun gift exchange game besides white elephant? Try the Dice Gift Game, the Left Right Story, or Gift Hot Potato. Each keeps gifts moving and adds a bit of luck without the hurt feelings that stealing can cause. A Fact Swap is a good choice for coworkers or groups who don’t know each other well.
I’m hosting 40 people for Christmas. How do I split up game supplies and prizes? List every game, supply, and prize you need, then turn each one into a slot on an online sign up. Guests pick what they’ll bring, slots close when they’re full, and automatic reminders go out before the party. You can also ask a few guests to each lead one game.
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Posted by Kate White
