Christmas Games: 40 Fun Christmas Party Games for Family, Kids and Adults

Christmas has a lot of waiting in it: waiting for dinner, waiting for guests, waiting for the kids to calm down enough to open presents. The right Christmas games turn that waiting into the best part of the day, and they’re the easiest way to get a quiet party talking.

This guide has 40 fun Christmas party games: Minute to Win It challenges, family Christmas games for kids, Christmas games for adults, gift exchange games and team games for large groups. Every game lists who it’s best for, how long it takes, what you need and exactly how to play, plus a ready-made party plan, Christmas charades prompts and trivia with answers.

Christmas games list: pick the right game fast

Here are all 40 Christmas games to play with family and friends, from games for Christmas party nights to quiet games to play at Christmas dinner. Use the Best for column to match games to your crowd. Most cost under $10 to set up.

Christmas game	Best for	Players	Time
1. Candy Cane Hook	Adults, teens	2+	1 min
2. Jingle Bell Shake	Everyone	2+	1 min
3. Cup Christmas Tree	Everyone	2+	1 min
4. Snowball Scoop	Everyone	2+	1 min
5. Oven Mitt Unwrap	Everyone	2+	1 min
6. Gingerbread Face	Teens, adults	2+	1 min
7. Reindeer Ring Toss	Kids, teams	4+	5 min
8. Stick the Bow	Teams	4+	1 min
9. Marshmallow Snowman Stack	Everyone	2+	1 min
10. Pass the Ornament	Teams	6+	5 min
11. Pin the Nose on the Reindeer	Kids	3+	15 min
12. Christmas Scavenger Hunt	Kids	3+	20 min
13. Pass the Present	Kids, family	5+	15 min
14. Christmas Freeze Dance	Kids	3+	10 min
15. Christmas Bingo	Everyone	4+	20 min
16. Indoor Snowball Fight	Kids	4+	10 min
17. Christmas Pictionary	Everyone	4+	20 min
18. Elf Says	Little kids	3+	10 min
19. Find the Pickle	Family	2+	10 min
20. Candy Cane Hunt	Little kids	2+	15 min
21. Christmas Charades	Everyone	4+	20 min
22. Name That Christmas Song	Everyone	4+	15 min
23. Guess the Christmas Movie	Teens, adults	4+	15 min
24. Two Truths and an Elf	Adults	4+	10 min
25. Christmas Would You Rather	Everyone	2+	10 min
26. Ugly Sweater Contest	Adults	6+	20 min
27. Christmas Survey Says	Large groups	8+	20 min
28. Who Am I? Christmas Edition	Teens, adults	4+	15 min
29. Christmas Trivia	Everyone	4+	15 min
30. Gingerbread House Contest	Family	4+	45 min
31. Christmas Word Scramble	Kids, family	2+	10 min
32. Christmas Story Chain	Everyone	3+	10 min
33. White Elephant	Adults, office	6+	30 min
34. Dice Gift Exchange	Family	6+	20 min
35. Left Right Gift Pass	Everyone	6+	10 min
36. Secret Santa	Office, friends	6+	Planned ahead
37. Snowman Wrap	Large groups	9+	5 min
38. Santa Dress-Up Relay	Large groups	8+	10 min
39. Christmas Carol Karaoke	Adults	4+	30 min
40. Christmas Movie Bracket	Office, friends	6+	20 min

How to plan Christmas party games: the Sleigh Ride Party Plan

The best Christmas party game ideas fall flat if you play them in the wrong order. Whether you’re planning Christmas party games for family, friends or Christmas party games for teens, use this simple plan.

A great Christmas party needs about four games, played in this order: a warm-up icebreaker, a fast Minute to Win It round, a team showdown, and a cozy finale like a gift exchange. We call this the Sleigh Ride Party Plan. It keeps energy rising, then lets everyone wind down happy.

Minute to Win It Christmas games

Christmas Minute to Win It games are one-minute challenges with cheap supplies. They’re the best fun Christmas party games for getting a crowd loud and laughing. Set a phone timer to 60 seconds for each one.

1. Candy Cane Hook

• Best for: adults and teens | Time: 1 minute | You need: a box of candy canes per player

1. Each player holds one candy cane in their mouth by the straight end.
2. Lay the rest of the candy canes on a table.
3. Using only the cane in your mouth, hook as many as you can in 60 seconds.

2. Jingle Bell Shake

• Best for: everyone | Time: 1 minute | You need: an empty tissue box, 6 jingle bells, a belt or ribbon

1. Put the bells in the tissue box and tie it around a player’s waist.
2. Players shake their hips to get every bell out.
3. Fastest to empty the box wins.

3. Cup Christmas Tree

• Best for: everyone | Time: 1 minute | You need: about 20 plastic cups (green if you have them)

1. Stack the cups into a pyramid shaped like a Christmas tree.
2. Unstack them back into a single tower.
3. Fastest time wins.

4. Snowball Scoop

• Best for: everyone | Time: 1 minute | You need: cotton balls, a spoon, two bowls, a blindfold

1. Blindfold the player and give them a spoon.
2. Scoop cotton-ball snowballs from one bowl into the other.
3. Most snowballs moved in a minute wins.

5. Oven Mitt Unwrap

• Best for: everyone | Time: 1 minute | You need: a small wrapped gift, oven mitts

1. Players put on oven mitts.
2. Race to unwrap a heavily taped present.
3. The winner keeps the gift inside.

6. Gingerbread Face

• Best for: teens and adults | Time: 1 minute | You need: small gingerbread cookies

1. Lean your head back and place a cookie on your forehead.
2. Wiggle your face to move it into your mouth, no hands.
3. First to eat their cookie wins.

7. Reindeer Ring Toss

• Best for: kids and teams | Time: 5 minutes | You need: a headband, two paper-towel tubes, paper plate rings

1. Tape the tubes to a headband to make antlers.
2. One player wears the antlers while teammates toss rings onto them.
3. Most rings in a minute wins.

8. Stick the Bow

• Best for: teams | Time: 1 minute | You need: a bag of self-stick gift bows

1. Pick one teammate to be the “present.”
2. Teammates stick bows on them as fast as they can.
3. Most bows after one minute wins.

9. Marshmallow Snowman Stack

• Best for: everyone | Time: 1 minute | You need: large marshmallows, toothpicks

1. Stack marshmallows into a snowman using toothpicks.
2. The snowman must stand on its own for 5 seconds.
3. Tallest snowman wins.

10. Pass the Ornament

• Best for: teams of 6 or more | Time: 5 minutes | You need: a plastic ornament and a spoon per player

1. Line up teams, each player holding a spoon in their mouth.
2. Pass a shatterproof ornament spoon to spoon down the line.
3. Drop it and it goes back to the start. First team to finish wins.

Christmas games for kids and family

Looking for family games for Christmas that need almost no setup? Every one of these Christmas family games takes less than 5 minutes to prepare.

These family Christmas games work for all ages, so grandparents and little kids can play together. They double as Christmas party games for kids, and they’re the fun family Christmas games everyone remembers. They’re perfect Christmas day games while dinner cooks.

11. Pin the Nose on the Reindeer

• Best for: kids ages 3 to 10 | Time: 15 minutes | You need: poster paper, a red paper circle per child, tape, a blindfold

1. Draw a big reindeer on poster paper and tape it to a wall.
2. Blindfold each child and spin them gently.
3. Closest red nose to the right spot wins.

12. Christmas Scavenger Hunt

• Best for: kids ages 5 and up | Time: 20 minutes | You need: a written list per team

1. List 10 things to find: an ornament, a candy cane, something green, a bow, a pinecone, a snowflake and so on.
2. Split kids into teams.
3. First team to bring back everything wins.

13. Pass the Present

• Best for: kids and families | Time: 15 minutes | You need: a small gift wrapped in many layers, Christmas music

1. Sit in a circle and pass the present while music plays.
2. When the music stops, the person holding it unwraps one layer.
3. Whoever unwraps the last layer keeps the prize.

14. Christmas Freeze Dance

• Best for: kids | Time: 10 minutes | You need: Christmas music

1. Everyone dances while the music plays.
2. When it stops, freeze in a Christmas pose: a snowman, a reindeer or an elf.
3. Anyone who moves sits out.

15. Christmas Bingo

• Best for: everyone | Time: 20 minutes | You need: bingo cards, a pen

1. Hand out Christmas bingo cards.
2. Call out Christmas words or pictures.
3. First to complete a line shouts “Ho ho ho!”

Grab our free Christmas bingo printable with 50 cards and calling cards included.

16. Indoor Snowball Fight

• Best for: kids | Time: 10 minutes | You need: scrap paper or used wrapping paper

1. Crumple paper into snowballs.
2. Split into two teams on either side of the room.
3. Throw for one minute, then count the snowballs on each side. Fewest wins.

17. Christmas Pictionary

• Best for: everyone | Time: 20 minutes | You need: paper, pens, a timer

1. Write Christmas words on slips of paper.
2. One player draws while their team guesses.
3. No letters or numbers. One minute per turn.

Need easy things to draw? Our easy Christmas drawings and angel drawing guides are full of ideas.

18. Elf Says

• Best for: little kids | Time: 10 minutes | You need: nothing

1. Play like Simon Says, but the leader is the head elf.
2. Only follow commands that start with “Elf says.”
3. Last elf standing becomes the next leader.

19. Find the Pickle

• Best for: families | Time: 10 minutes | You need: a pickle ornament

1. Hide a pickle ornament deep in the Christmas tree.
2. The first person to spot it gets a small prize or opens the first gift.
3. Take turns hiding it again.

20. Candy Cane Hunt

• Best for: little kids | Time: 15 minutes | You need: mini candy canes

1. Hide candy canes around one room or the yard.
2. Give each child a bag.
3. Most candy canes found wins, then share them out.

Christmas games for adults

These Christmas games ideas for adults work at dinner parties, friend gatherings and as indoor Christmas games ideas for adults when it’s too cold to go out.

21. Christmas Charades

• Best for: everyone | Time: 20 minutes | You need: paper slips, a bowl, a timer

1. Write Christmas charades prompts on slips (see the list below).
2. Split into two teams.
3. Act out a prompt with no talking. Your team has one minute to guess.

Easy Christmas charades	Medium Christmas charades	Hard Christmas charades
Building a snowman	Untangling Christmas lights	Santa stuck in the chimney
Wrapping a present	Ice skating	A reindeer learning to fly
Opening presents	Writing a letter to Santa	Assembling a toy at midnight
Decorating the tree	Caroling door to door	The last cookie standoff
Sledding	Hanging stockings	Elf on a toy assembly line
Baking cookies	Snowball fight	Hiding gifts from the kids

22. Name That Christmas Song

• Best for: everyone | Time: 15 minutes | You need: a phone with Christmas music

1. Play the first few seconds of a Christmas song, or hum it.
2. First person to name it gets a point.
3. Most points after 15 songs wins.

23. Guess the Christmas Movie

• Best for: teens and adults | Time: 15 minutes | You need: paper, pens

1. Each player describes a Christmas movie’s plot in one silly sentence, without names.
2. Others guess the movie.
3. A point for each correct guess.

24. Two Truths and an Elf

• Best for: adults | Time: 10 minutes | You need: nothing

1. Share two true Christmas memories and one made-up “elf.”
2. Everyone guesses the fake one.
3. Fool the most people to win.

25. Christmas Would You Rather

• Best for: everyone | Time: 10 minutes | You need: nothing

1. Ask questions like “Would you rather only eat cookies or only eat candy canes until New Year’s?”
2. Everyone answers and explains why.

Find hundreds more questions in our would you rather questions guide.

26. Ugly Sweater Contest

• Best for: adults | Time: 20 minutes | You need: ugly Christmas sweaters, voting slips

1. Ask every guest to wear their tackiest Christmas sweater.
2. Hold a short runway walk.
3. Vote for funniest, ugliest and most creative.

27. Christmas Survey Says

• Best for: large groups | Time: 20 minutes | You need: a quick poll of guests beforehand

1. Before the party, ask guests questions like “Name a Christmas cookie.”
2. Split into two teams.
3. Teams guess the most popular answers for points.

28. Who Am I? Christmas Edition

• Best for: teens and adults | Time: 15 minutes | You need: sticky notes, a pen

1. Write a Christmas character or object on a sticky note: Santa, a reindeer, a snowman, an elf, a nutcracker.
2. Stick it on a player’s forehead.
3. They ask yes-or-no questions until they guess it.

29. Christmas Trivia

• Best for: everyone | Time: 15 minutes | You need: nothing

1. Read the Christmas trivia questions below aloud.
2. Play in teams or shout answers.
3. A point for every right answer.

Christmas trivia question	Answer
Which country started the tradition of the decorated Christmas tree?	Germany
Where does the poinsettia plant come from?	Mexico
What three gifts did the Wise Men bring?	Gold, frankincense and myrrh
Which country sends London a Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square every year?	Norway
What do people traditionally kiss under at Christmas?	Mistletoe
What is the best-selling physical single of all time?	White Christmas, sung by Bing Crosby
What is the name of the Grinch’s dog?	Max
How many reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh in the classic poem, not counting Rudolph?	Eight
What goes on top of a Christmas tree?	A star or an angel
What color are mistletoe berries?	White

The best-selling physical single record is confirmed by Guinness World Records.

30. Gingerbread House Contest

• Best for: families | Time: 45 minutes | You need: gingerbread kits or graham crackers, icing, candy

1. Split into teams and give each the same supplies.
2. Set a 30-minute timer.
3. Vote for best design, most creative and most likely to collapse.

31. Christmas Word Scramble

• Best for: kids and families | Time: 10 minutes | You need: paper, pens

1. Write scrambled Christmas words: “SNATA,” “WONSMAN,” “DREENIER,” “GOCKINST.”
2. Players race to unscramble them.
3. Answers: Santa, snowman, reindeer, stocking.

32. Christmas Story Chain

• Best for: everyone | Time: 10 minutes | You need: nothing

1. Start a story: “On Christmas Eve, Santa’s sleigh broke down in our backyard…”
2. Each person adds one sentence.
3. Keep going until the story ends or everyone is laughing too hard.

Christmas gift exchange games

Christmas gift exchange games are the perfect finale. Here are the white elephant game rules and three easy alternatives.

33. White Elephant

• Best for: adults, friends and office parties | Time: 30 minutes | You need: one wrapped gift per person, numbered slips

1. Everyone brings one wrapped gift under a set price, like $20, and puts it in the middle.
2. Each player draws a number to set the order.
3. Player 1 opens a gift. Each next player can open a new gift or steal an opened one.
4. A gift can only be stolen three times. Whoever has it after the third steal keeps it.
5. Player 1 gets one final chance to swap at the end.

34. Dice Gift Exchange

• Best for: families | Time: 20 minutes | You need: two dice, wrapped gifts, a timer

1. Sit in a circle with gifts in the middle.
2. Take turns rolling: roll a 6 to take a gift, a 1 to give one away, a 3 to swap.
3. When the timer ends, keep whatever you’re holding.

35. Left Right Gift Pass

• Best for: everyone | Time: 10 minutes | You need: one gift per person, a story with the words left and right

1. Everyone holds a wrapped gift.
2. Read a Christmas story aloud.
3. Pass gifts left or right every time you hear the word. Keep the gift you end with.

36. Secret Santa

• Best for: office and friends | Time: planned ahead | You need: names in a hat, a price limit

1. Draw names a week or two before the party.
2. Buy a gift for your person under the price limit.
3. Guess who your Secret Santa was at the party.

Christmas games for large groups and office parties

These Christmas games for large groups work for big families, classrooms and Christmas office party games.

37. Snowman Wrap

• Best for: teams of 3 or more | Time: 5 minutes | You need: toilet paper rolls, a hat and scarf per team

1. One teammate is the snowman.
2. Teammates wrap them in toilet paper as fast as they can.
3. Add the hat and scarf. Best snowman after two minutes wins.

38. Santa Dress-Up Relay

• Best for: large groups | Time: 10 minutes | You need: two sets of Santa hats, beards, coats and boots

1. Split into two relay teams.
2. Each player runs to the pile, puts on every Santa item, shouts “Ho ho ho!” and takes it off.
3. First team to finish wins.

39. Christmas Carol Karaoke

• Best for: adults | Time: 30 minutes | You need: a phone or TV with karaoke tracks

1. Pick Christmas carols and pop songs.
2. Sing solo or in teams.
3. Give awards for best, worst and most dramatic.

40. Christmas Movie Bracket

• Best for: office and friends | Time: 20 minutes | You need: a whiteboard or paper

1. List 8 favorite Christmas movies in a bracket.
2. Vote on each matchup by show of hands.
3. Crown the group’s ultimate Christmas movie.

Prizes for Christmas games

Family Christmas games with prizes feel more exciting, and prizes don’t have to cost much. Christmas games with prizes work best when you wrap the prizes so winners get to open something.

Prize idea	Cost	Best for
Hot cocoa packets and a mug	$5	Everyone
Scratch-off lottery ticket	$1 to $5	Adults
Candy bag or chocolate bar	$2	Kids
Fuzzy socks	$5	Everyone
First pick of dessert	Free	Family
Paper crown and bragging rights	Free	Everyone

Christmas games FAQ

Doing the elf tradition this year? Grab our elf on the shelf ideas: 50 easy, funny and last-minute setups plus a 24-night plan.

Between games, keep the laughs going with our Christmas jokes: 150+ puns, dad jokes and knock-knock jokes for 2026.

Make this your most fun Christmas yet

Pick four games from the Sleigh Ride Party Plan, fill one basket with supplies and wrap a few small prizes. That’s all it takes for a Christmas party everyone remembers. Need more? Try our games to play when bored, our truth or dare questions for teens and adults, or our never have I ever questions.

Planning the whole season? See our winter bucket list, decorate with Christmas window painting ideas, and find more things to do when bored during the holidays. Hosting Thanksgiving too? Our Thanksgiving games are ready to play.

Hosting a gingerbread house contest? Get inspired by our gingerbread house ideas, with 24 designs, a template and a royal icing recipe.

Counting down? See exactly how many days until Christmas with our live 2026 countdown, plus weeks, sleeps and Fridays left.