What are the best Christmas party games?

The most reliable Christmas party games need almost no equipment: the wrapping paper race, guess the carol from a hum, charades with festive film titles, pass the parcel, the present chain and a quick round of Christmas trivia. Pick one loud game, one seated game and one team game and the evening runs itself.

What Christmas games work for large groups?

For twenty or more people, use team games that do not need turns: trivia in teams of four, the wrapping paper race in pairs, a carol hum-off between two halves of the room, or a festive scavenger hunt. Avoid anything that requires each person to take an individual turn.

What Christmas party games work for an office party?

Keep them short, seated and inclusive. Christmas trivia, guess the baby photo of a colleague in a Christmas jumper, two truths and a festive lie, desk decorating in teams and a five minute wrapping race all work in a break room without alcohol or physical contact.

What Christmas games can you play with kids?

Pass the parcel, pin the nose on the reindeer, musical statues to Christmas songs, a snowball toss with rolled socks, reindeer antler ring toss and a hunt for a hidden Christmas ornament all work for children aged three and up with almost no setup.

What Christmas games can you play with just two people?

Two player options include Christmas film trivia, a carol guessing game using phone playlists, a festive drawing race where each person draws with their eyes closed, and a countdown challenge to name as many reindeer, carols or Christmas films as possible in a minute.

How long should a Christmas party game last?

Keep each game between five and fifteen minutes. Energy drops fast after that, and short games let you run three or four across an evening instead of stretching one past its welcome.

What do you use for Christmas party game prizes?

Small and shareable works best: chocolate coins, a box of biscuits, a candle, a bag of good coffee or a novelty crown for the winner. Prizes should be a nice touch rather than the reason people play.

Festive activities

Christmas Party Games That Actually Work

A wooden table set for a Christmas game night with playing cards, dice, a scorepad, candy canes and warm fairy lights beside a lit tree

Quick answer

The best Christmas party games need nothing more than wrapping paper, a phone and a few volunteers. Below are games sorted by group size and setting, each with plain rules and a timing, plus a running order you can follow from the first arrival to the last round. Pick one loud game, one seated game and one team game and the evening looks after itself.

Five games that work with almost any group

The wrapping paper race
In pairs, one person wraps a box while the other keeps one hand behind their back. Fastest neat parcel wins. Five minutes, endlessly funny, and it clears your actual wrapping pile if you use real gifts.
5 minutes
Guess the carol
One person hums a carol, everyone else shouts the title. Play in two teams with a point per correct guess. Works with any age group and needs zero equipment.
10 minutes
Festive charades
Only Christmas films, carols, characters and traditions allowed. Write titles on slips in advance so nobody stalls. Ten minutes per round, two teams, no props.
10 minutes
Christmas trivia rounds
Four rounds of six questions: films, carols, food, traditions. Teams of four, answers on paper, swap sheets for marking. The best seated game for a mixed age room.
20 minutes
Read more about Christmas trivia rounds
Pass the parcel with forfeits
Wrap a small prize in many layers, and tuck a slip into each layer: sing a line of a carol, name four reindeer, do your best Santa laugh. Works for children and, after one drink, for adults.
10 minutes

Games for large groups of fifteen or more

With a big room, avoid anything that needs individual turns. Everyone should be playing at the same time.

Team trivia. Teams of four, four rounds, paper answers. Scales to any number without slowing down.
The carol hum-off. Split the room in half. Each side hums, the other guesses. Loud, fast and instantly inclusive.
Festive scavenger hunt. A list of fifteen things to find or photograph: something gold, a candy cane, a person in a Christmas jumper, a mismatched bauble. Ten minute time limit.
Human Christmas tree. Teams get one roll of crepe paper, tinsel and baubles, and three minutes to decorate one volunteer. Photograph the results and vote.
Guess the festive photo. Collect childhood Christmas photos in advance and put them on a screen. Guessing who is who breaks the ice better than any icebreaker.

Games for a small group or just two people

One minute lists. Name as many carols, reindeer, Christmas films or gift ideas as you can in sixty seconds. Simple, surprisingly competitive.
Blind drawing. Each person draws a Christmas scene with their eyes shut. Swap and guess what the other drew.
Film opening quiz. Play the first ten seconds of a Christmas film soundtrack and guess the title.
Two truths and a festive lie. Three Christmas memories, one invented. Works brilliantly with family who think they know each other.
Advent challenge. Each of you sets the other a small daily task in December, from a bake to a walk to a call.

Games for the office party

Office games have to be short, seated where possible, and comfortable for people who do not know each other well or do not drink.

Christmas trivia in teams, fifteen minutes, small prize
Guess the colleague from their childhood Christmas photo
Desk or door decorating contest, judged by a neutral vote
The five minute wrapping race, in pairs
A festive emoji quiz, projected on a screen
A white elephant exchange as the final activity, with the limit sent in advance

Games for children

Musical statues to Christmas songs, with the person pausing the music switching each round
Pin the nose on the reindeer, drawn on a sheet of paper with a blindfold and sticky tape
Snowball toss using rolled up white socks and a laundry basket
Hunt the ornament, where one bauble is hidden and warmer or colder is the only clue
Reindeer ring toss, with paper plate rings and a volunteer wearing antlers
Christmas bingo, using pictures instead of numbers for pre readers

A running order for the whole evening

Games work best in an order that matches the energy in the room. This is the sequence we come back to every year.

As people arrive: something passive. A scavenger list on the table, or guess how many chocolates are in the jar.
Before food: one short, loud game to break the ice. The wrapping race or the carol hum-off.
During or just after food: the seated game. Trivia in teams, marked at the table.
After food: the physical game. Charades, human Christmas tree, musical statues if children are up.
Late on: the gift game. White elephant or secret santa as the closing event, so people leave with something.
Last thing: a film. Let the youngest person choose, or use the Christmas movie picker to settle the argument.

What you need in the games box

Assemble this once at the start of December and every game on this page becomes a two minute setup.

A spare roll of wrapping paper, tape and scissors
Paper, pens and a notepad for scores
A bag of chocolate coins and a tin of biscuits for prizes
Printed slips for charades and pass the parcel forfeits
A blindfold, or a scarf that does the job
A speaker for carols and film soundtracks
Rolled white socks for the snowball toss

For questions to print, use our Christmas trivia questions and Christmas quiz, and keep the Christmas jokes page open for the gaps between games.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best Christmas party games?: The most reliable Christmas party games need almost no equipment: the wrapping paper race, guess the carol from a hum, charades with festive film titles, pass the parcel, the present chain and a quick round of Christmas trivia. Pick one loud game, one seated game and one team game and the evening runs itself.
What Christmas games work for large groups?: For twenty or more people, use team games that do not need turns: trivia in teams of four, the wrapping paper race in pairs, a carol hum-off between two halves of the room, or a festive scavenger hunt. Avoid anything that requires each person to take an individual turn.
What Christmas party games work for an office party?: Keep them short, seated and inclusive. Christmas trivia, guess the baby photo of a colleague in a Christmas jumper, two truths and a festive lie, desk decorating in teams and a five minute wrapping race all work in a break room without alcohol or physical contact.
What Christmas games can you play with kids?: Pass the parcel, pin the nose on the reindeer, musical statues to Christmas songs, a snowball toss with rolled socks, reindeer antler ring toss and a hunt for a hidden Christmas ornament all work for children aged three and up with almost no setup.
What Christmas games can you play with just two people?: Two player options include Christmas film trivia, a carol guessing game using phone playlists, a festive drawing race where each person draws with their eyes closed, and a countdown challenge to name as many reindeer, carols or Christmas films as possible in a minute.
How long should a Christmas party game last?: Keep each game between five and fifteen minutes. Energy drops fast after that, and short games let you run three or four across an evening instead of stretching one past its welcome.
What do you use for Christmas party game prizes?: Small and shareable works best: chocolate coins, a box of biscuits, a candle, a bag of good coffee or a novelty crown for the winner. Prizes should be a nice touch rather than the reason people play.