54 Exciting Christmas Party Games For All The Family

Being a parent during the holidays is pure magic! Nothing beats the joy of scheming up Christmas party games that light up our kids’ faces and make memories we’ll cherish forever. 

Last Updated: July 15, 2024  |  10 min Read

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Watching everyone, from the tots to the teens, dive headfirst into the holiday spirit is simply the best. Let’s dive into my exciting array of games that will bring your whole family together in laughter and merriment.

Family Christmas Party Games

1. Christmas Charades in a Hat

Write down Christmas-related words or phrases on small pieces of paper and put them in a Santa hat. Players take turns drawing a slip, acting out the word or phrase without speaking, and others try to guess what it is. 

Some examples of Christmas charades prompts that you can use are:

Frosty the Snowman, Christmas Tree Decorating, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Opening Presents, Stringing Christmas Lights, Jingle Bells, Santa Claus, Building a Snowman, Sleigh Ride, Mistletoe Kiss, Nutcracker Ballet, Wrapping Presents, Eggnog Toast, Ice Skating, Santa’s Workshop, Carol Singing, Snowball Fight, Stocking Stuffer, Holiday Feast and Gingerbread House Decorating.

2. Christmas Pictionary

Similar to charades, but instead of acting, players draw the Christmas word or phrase on paper or a whiteboard.

3. Secret Santa Gift Exchange

Have everyone draw names to determine their Secret Santa recipient. Set a budget for gifts, and have a gift exchange where everyone reveals their Secret Santa and gives their gift.

Discover what you can write on Secret Santa notes in: 26 Secret Santa Notes That Ho-Ho-Hook You In!

4. Christmas Cookie Decorating Contest

Bake plain sugar cookies and provide various decorations (icing, sprinkles, etc.) or buy a cookie decorating kit like the one below. Have a decorating contest with categories like “Most Creative” or “Best Use of Color.”

5. White Elephant Gift Exchange

Each guest brings a wrapped, inexpensive gift. Players take turns choosing a gift or “stealing” a gift from someone else who has already opened his or her gift.

6. Christmas Photo Booth

Set up a festive backdrop with props like Santa hats, reindeer antlers, and holiday signs. Encourage guests to take fun and silly Christmas-themed photos.

7. Candy Cane Hunt

Hide candy canes around the party area. Participants search for the hidden candy canes, and the person who finds the most wins a prize. Check out our: Candy Cane Scavenger Hunt, and download 10 free printable hunt clues (samples below). 

8. Christmas Alphabet Game

Go around in a circle with each person saying a Christmas-related word that starts with the next letter of the alphabet. For example, “Angel, Bell, Candy Cane…”

9. Gingerbread House Decorating Contest

Provide pre-made gingerbread house kits or homemade gingerbread pieces.  Participants can compete to decorate the most creative and original gingerbread house.

10. Jingle Bell Hot Potato

Pass around a jingle bell to Christmas music. When the music stops, the person holding the bell is out until one person remains.

11. Christmas Word Search

Get this poster-size Christmas-themed word search puzzle for guests to solve individually or in teams.

12. Christmas Riddle Hunt

Create a scavenger hunt with rhyming Christmas riddles leading participants to hidden treasures or clues. Check out our: Free Printable Christmas Scavenger Hunt.

13. Christmas Movie Trivia Challenge

Test participants’ knowledge of Christmas movies with a trivia challenge. Include questions about characters, quotes, and plot details. Find movie trivia questions with multiple-choice answers: 50 Christmas Movie Trivia Questions And Answers.

14. Holiday Balloon Pop

Write different challenges or tasks on slips of paper and place them inside balloons. Participants pop the balloons and complete the tasks.

15. Christmas Themed Two Truths and a Lie

Have each participant share two true Christmas-related statements and one false statement. Others try to guess which statement is the lie.

16. Christmas Cornhole

Create or purchase a Christmas-themed cornhole set.  Participants take turns tossing beanbags into the cornhole for points.

17. Jingle Bell Hunt

Hide jingle bells around the party area. Participants search for the hidden jingle bells and the one who finds the most wins.

18. Santa’s Cookie Tasting Challenge

Bake or buy a variety of Christmas cookies. Participants blindfolded, taste the cookies, and try to guess the flavors.

Christmas Games For Kids

19. Christmas Limbo

Decorate a limbo pole with tinsel and ornaments. Play Christmas music and have participants take turns seeing how low they can go.

20. Guess the Christmas Scent

Fill small containers with different Christmas scents (cinnamon, pine, gingerbread). Blindfolded participants try to guess the scents.

21. Jingle Bell Toss

Set up buckets or containers with different point values. Participants try to toss jingle bells into the containers to score points.

22. Stocking Guessing Game

Fill a stocking with various small items. Participants feel the stocking without looking and guess the contents.

23. Christmas Tree Ring Toss

Set up a Christmas tree cutout or a small artificial tree. Use inflatable rings or wreaths for participants to toss onto the tree branches.

24. Reindeer Antler Ring Toss

Get the inflatable reindeer antler ring toss game below and have participants toss rings onto the antlers.

25. Christmas Memory Card Game

Create pairs of Christmas-themed cards (Santa, snowman, tree, etc.). Participants take turns flipping over cards to find matching pairs.

26. Snowball Toss

Set up buckets or containers with different point values. Participants toss “snowballs” (soft balls or white beanbags) into the containers to score points.

27. Snowflake Scramble

Buy paper snowflakes and hide them around the party area. Participants collect as many snowflakes as they can within a time limit, and each snowflake has a point value.

28. Santa Hat Drawing Contest

Provide each participant with a Santa hat and art supplies. Have a contest to see who can decorate their Santa hat the most creatively.

29. Santa’s Sleigh Ride

Set up a small course with cones or markers. Participants ride on a scooter or pretend to be Santa’s reindeer pulling a sleigh through the course.

30. Snowman Spoon Race

Balance a plastic snowball (or cotton ball) on a spoon. Participants race to a designated spot and back without dropping the snowball.

31. Christmas Carol Telephone

Have participants sit in a circle. Whisper a Christmas carol title to the first person, and they pass it along by whispering until it reaches the last person. The last person says the carol out loud to see how close it is to the original.

Classic Party Games With A Christmas Twist

32. Christmas Bingo

Create or buy bingo cards with Christmas-related images or words. Call out items, and participants mark off the corresponding spaces on their cards.

33. Christmas Memory Game

Place Christmas-themed items on a tray. Show the tray to participants for a set amount of time, then cover it, and have them write down as many items as they can remember.

34. Frosty the Snowman Freeze Dance

Play holiday music and have participants dance, but when the music stops, they must freeze like Frosty the Snowman. The last one who freezes is out.

35. Pin the Nose on Rudolph

Create or buy a large poster of Rudolph without his red nose. Blindfold participants and have them try to pin or stick a red nose on Rudolph in the correct spot.

36. Santa Says

A Christmas twist on “Simon Says,” where participants follow commands only if the command begins with “Santa says.”

37. Christmas Carol Spin the Bottle

Create a spinner with different Christmas carols. When it lands on a carol, participants sing or hum that carol together.

38. Holiday Hangman

Play a festive game of hangman with Christmas-related words or phrases.

Christmas Party Games For Teenagers

39. Christmas Movie Bingo

Create bingo cards with scenes or quotes from popular Christmas movies. As the movies play, participants mark off the corresponding spaces on their bingo cards.

40. Christmas Scavenger Hunt

Create a list of Christmas-themed items or clues that participants need to find around the house or neighborhood.

We have prepared a Christmas photo scavenger hunt specifically designed for teenagers. Find it at Christmas Scavenger Hunt For Teenagers. It comes with free items list and QR code to share with your teenagers.

41. Christmas Mad Libs

Create Christmas-themed Mad Libs for a fun and humorous word game. Have participants fill in the blanks and then read the silly stories aloud. Find some free downloadable ones here.

42. Christmas Song Emoji Pictionary

Create a list of Christmas songs using emojis to represent each song. Participants guess the song based on the emoji clues. Check out our: Christmas Song Trivia Questions (With Emojis).

43. Christmas Karaoke Contest

Have a Christmas karaoke competition with participants singing their favorite holiday songs. Judges or the audience can vote on the best performance.

44. Christmas Song Lyric Quiz

Create a quiz with incomplete lyrics from popular Christmas songs. Participants fill in the blanks or complete the lyrics.

45. DIY Ugly Sweater

Set up a crafting space with plain sweaters, fabric paint, felt, and festive accessories. Teens can unleash their creativity, crafting unique ugly Christmas sweaters. To add to the fun, have a “fashion show” to showcase their imaginative creations.

46. Christmas Word Association

Start with a Christmas-related word and go around in a circle. Each person has to say a word related to the previous one within a time limit.

More Christmas Activities for Teenagers

Christmas Team Games

47. Christmas Trivia

Create a Christmas-themed trivia game with questions about holiday traditions, movies, songs, and historical events. Divide into teams and see which team can answer the most questions correctly. Check out below, our holiday-themes trivia questions with multiple-choice answers.

48. Christmas Bingo Charades

Combine charades with bingo by acting out Christmas-related words or phrases. Participants mark off the words on their bingo cards as they are acted out.

49. Christmas Themed Taboo

Create a list of Christmas words or phrases that participants need to describe without using certain “taboo” words. Others try to guess the word without hearing the taboo terms. Check this video if you’re not familiar with the classic Taboo game.

50. Santa’s Beard Relay

Divide participants into teams. Provide each team with a cotton ball and Vaseline; team members take turns applying Vaseline and sticking the cotton ball to their teammate’s face to create Santa’s beard.

51. Christmas Bingo Card Relay

Create oversized bingo cards and divide participants into teams. Teams race to complete their bingo cards by finding holiday-related items or completing challenges.

52. Christmas Trivial Pursuit

Purchase a Christmas-themed version of the classic board game “Trivial Pursuit.” Categories can include movies, music, traditions, and more.

53. Stocking Stuffer Relay

Set up a relay race where participants fill a stocking with small items at each station. The first team to fill their stocking wins.

54. Christmas Tree Relay

Divide participants into teams. Each team races to assemble and decorate a small Christmas tree using provided ornaments and decorations.

More Christmas Family Ideas

Wrapping Up 54 Christmas Party Games

In wrapping up our Christmas game extravaganza, I hope these ideas infuse your celebrations with the same joy and laughter they’ve brought to my family.

As parents, let’s create lasting memories, and may your holiday season be filled with warmth, love, and the magic of shared laughter.