The Christmas party is one of the highlights of the year, but even the best food, music and decorations can only take you so far. If you want everyone to relax, have a laugh and actually get involved, here’s our list of the best Christmas party games that’ll make your festive get together go with a bang!
1. Christmas Quiz
A Christmas quiz is always a winner because everyone can get involved. Split your group into teams and include a variety of rounds to keep things interesting. You could have Christmas general knowledge, festive music, TV and film questions, famous Christmas adverts, picture rounds, Christmas traditions from around the world and even a round all about your own school. Include questions about memorable moments from the year, funny staff quotes or school events to make it feel more personal. Don’t forget a small prize for the winning team to add a little friendly competition.
2. Christmas Bingo
Christmas bingo is simple to organise and works brilliantly during a meal or drinks reception. Instead of traditional numbers, create festive-themed bingo cards featuring Christmas items such as Santa, reindeer, mince pies, Christmas trees, crackers and snowmen. As each picture or festive phrase is called out, players mark off their cards until someone completes a line or a full house. Small festive prizes help keep the excitement going throughout the game.
3. Festive Scavenger Hunt
A Christmas scavenger hunt gets everyone moving and working together. Hide festive items around your venue or create a list of Christmas-themed challenges for teams to complete. They might need to find hidden candy canes, solve festive riddles, locate Christmas decorations or answer clues that lead them around the room. It’s an excellent icebreaker and encourages friends or colleagues from different departments or walks of life to work together.
4. Christmas Photo Challenge
Give each team a list of festive photos they need to recreate before the evening ends. They could include building a human Christmas tree, recreating a famous Christmas film scene, pretending to pull Santa’s sleigh or posing like Christmas carollers. You could also include challenges such as taking a selfie with someone wearing the brightest Christmas jumper or creating the funniest festive group photo. Once everyone’s finished, display the pictures and vote for the funniest.
5. Guess the Christmas Song
Play just the first few seconds of popular Christmas songs and see which team can identify them the quickest. Mix timeless classics with modern festive hits to make it more challenging. You can even throw in a few songs that mention winter without actually being Christmas songs to catch people out. It’s surprising how competitive this game becomes once the music starts.
6. Christmas Charades
Charades always gets people laughing, especially with a festive twist. Fill a bowl with Christmas films, songs, festive traditions, famous characters and seasonal activities. Players take turns acting them out while their teammates race against the clock to guess correctly. The more dramatic the acting, the funnier the game becomes.
7. Christmas Pictionary
Christmas Pictionary is another fantastic team game that doesn’t require any artistic talent. Players draw festive words or phrases while their teammates try to guess what they’re sketching before time runs out. From snowflakes and stockings to Santa and Christmas pudding, the drawings are often hilarious, especially when they’re slightly unrecognisable.
8. Secret Santa
Secret Santa remains a Christmas party favourite. Set a sensible spending limit so everyone feels comfortable taking part, then enjoy watching colleagues unwrap thoughtful, funny or unusual gifts. You could even choose a particular theme such as homemade presents, local gifts or something red and festive to make it even more entertaining.
9. Christmas Awards Ceremony
Celebrate your staff with a fun awards presentation. Keep everything light hearted and positive by creating amusing awards such as Best Coffee Maker, Most Likely to Say “Can I Have a Quick Word?”, Classroom Organisation Champion, Photocopying Hero, Best Christmas Jumper or Biggest Desk Snack Collection. Personalised certificates, novelty trophies or small prizes make the awards feel even more special while recognising everyone’s contribution throughout the year.
10. Christmas Would You Rather?
This simple game gets everyone talking. Read out festive dilemmas such as whether you’d rather spend Christmas in the North Pole or on a tropical beach, receive one enormous present or 20 tiny ones, or only eat mince pies or Christmas pudding forever. There’s no right answer, which often leads to plenty of funny debates and conversations.
11. Festive Heads Up
Write the names of Christmas characters, festive films, songs or seasonal objects on sticky notes and place one on each person’s forehead without them seeing it. Players ask yes or no questions to work out who or what they are before time runs out. It’s easy to organise and always creates plenty of laughter.
12. Christmas Trivia True or False
Read out festive facts and let teams decide whether they’re true or false. Include unusual Christmas traditions, surprising historical facts and interesting festive records. Most people are convinced they know Christmas inside out until this game proves otherwise.
13. Christmas Name That Tune
Instead of identifying songs from the opening few seconds, challenge teams by playing instrumental versions or cover versions of popular festive classics. This makes the game a little trickier and encourages plenty of singing along as people suddenly recognise the tune.
14. Pass the Parcel for Adults
This childhood favourite works just as well for adults and it’s one of the best Christmas party games. Wrap a prize in several layers and include a funny challenge, festive joke or Christmas trivia question between each layer. Every time the music stops, the person holding the parcel removes one layer and completes the challenge before passing it on. The anticipation builds with every round.
15. Christmas Balloon Pop
Fill balloons with festive challenges, dares, jokes or trivia questions before inflating them. Throughout the evening, players pop a balloon and complete whatever activity is hidden inside. Challenges might include singing a line from a Christmas song, telling a festive joke or naming five Christmas films in ten seconds.
16. Christmas Memory Game
Place a selection of festive items on a tray such as baubles, tinsel, crackers, candy canes, decorations and Christmas cards. Give everyone one minute to study the tray before covering it up. Players then write down as many items as they can remember. The person with the highest score wins.
17. Reindeer Antler Ring Toss
One volunteer wears inflatable or novelty reindeer antlers while teammates take turns trying to throw rings over them. It’s simple, silly and creates some brilliant photo opportunities as everyone cheers each other on.
18. Candy Cane Hook Challenge
Using only candy canes held in their mouths, players must transfer as many mini candy canes as possible from one bowl to another within a set time. It sounds easy until everyone starts laughing halfway through.
19. Christmas Finish the Lyric
Play a Christmas song before stopping it halfway through a line. Teams must correctly sing or say the next lyric to score points. You’ll soon discover who really knows every festive classic by heart.
20. Christmas Guess Who
Before the party, ask everyone to submit an old school photograph. Display them throughout the evening and challenge staff to match each childhood picture with the correct colleague. It’s guaranteed to create plenty of laughs and lots of conversations about hairstyles, fashion choices and childhood memories.
21. Christmas Cup Stack Challenge
Give each player a stack of plastic cups and see who can build and dismantle the tallest Christmas tree shaped tower in the fastest time. It sounds straightforward, but once the timer starts and everyone rushes to balance their cups, things become surprisingly chaotic. You can even use green cups with a gold one on top to make them look extra festive.
22. Wrap the Present Relay
Split everyone into teams and hand each group an empty box, wrapping paper, tape and scissors. The twist is that only one person from each team can wrap for ten seconds before passing everything to the next teammate. By the end you’ll end up with some beautifully wrapped presents and some that look like they’ve survived a snowstorm. Fastest finished present wins, with bonus points for neatness.
23. Christmas Alphabet Race
Set a timer and challenge teams to write down a Christmas related word for every letter of the alphabet. Some letters are easy, while others will have everyone scratching their heads. You’ll soon hear plenty of debates over whether certain answers should count, which only makes it even more entertaining.
24. The Stocking Surprise
Fill a large Christmas stocking with a collection of unusual festive items. Without looking inside, players reach in and try to identify as many objects as they can just by touch. From baubles and cinnamon sticks to pine cones and tiny ornaments, it’s much harder than people expect and usually leads to some very confident but completely wrong guesses.
25. Snowball Bucket Toss
Scrunch up sheets of white paper to make snowballs and place buckets at different distances around the room. Each bucket can be worth a different number of points, so players have to decide whether they’ll play it safe or go for the harder shots. It’s quick to set up and gets surprisingly competitive.
26. Elf Instructions
Choose one player to give instructions while their teammate completes a simple Christmas task such as decorating a paper tree or arranging festive decorations. The catch is the person doing the task has to keep their eyes closed the entire time. The results are rarely what anyone expected and everyone watching gets just as much fun out of it.
27. Christmas Tongue Twisters
Write down a selection of festive tongue twisters and challenge players to read them out as quickly as they can without making a mistake. Once people start tripping over their words, the laughter quickly spreads around the room. The harder the phrases, the better.
28. Decorate the Gingerbread Without Gingerbread
Instead of decorating biscuits, give teams plain paper cut outs shaped like gingerbread people along with pens, stickers, coloured paper and craft supplies. Set a time limit and let everyone get creative. Once they’re finished, vote for categories such as funniest, most glamorous or most likely to end up on a Christmas card.
29. Christmas Countdown Challenge
Give each team a list of festive tasks worth different points. They might need to name ten Christmas films, sing part of a festive song, solve a seasonal anagram or find someone wearing something red. Teams decide which challenges they’ll complete before time runs out, making every round different.
30. The Christmas Price Guessing Game
Collect photos of popular festive foods, decorations or Christmas treats and ask everyone to guess how much each one costs. Include everything from luxury hampers to giant chocolate selection boxes. Some of the answers will surprise everyone and there’s always plenty of debate before the real prices are revealed.
31. Christmas Story Builder
One person starts a festive story with a single sentence before the next person adds another. The story continues around the room until everyone has contributed. It usually begins with Father Christmas delivering presents and somehow ends with reindeer on holiday or a Christmas pudding saving the day. Nobody knows where it’ll end up, which is exactly what makes it so funny.
32. Jingle Bell Balance
Give each player a spoon with a jingle bell balanced on top. They must walk around a simple course without dropping it. Add a few gentle obstacles or ask them to walk backwards for an extra challenge. It’s much trickier than it looks once everyone starts laughing.
33. Christmas Categories
Choose a festive category such as Christmas foods, festive films, things you’d find in Santa’s workshop or items on a Christmas dinner table. Players take turns giving an answer without repeating one that’s already been said. As the list gets longer, the pressure builds and people suddenly forget even the most obvious answers.
34. Build a Paper Snowman
Give each team white paper, sticky tape and craft materials, then challenge them to create the tallest freestanding snowman within a set time. Creativity counts just as much as height, so there’s plenty of room for some wonderfully ridiculous designs.
35. Santa’s Suitcase
Tell everyone that Father Christmas is packing for his Christmas Eve journey and secretly choose a rule for what can go into his suitcase. Players take turns suggesting items while the host only accepts those that fit the hidden rule. It could be that every item starts with the same letter or has a certain number of syllables. Everyone will be trying to work out the pattern while coming up with increasingly bizarre suggestions, making it a brilliant game to finish the evening.
36. Christmas Dice Challenge
All you need is a dice and a list of festive actions for each number. Roll a one and you might have to sing a Christmas song. Roll a four and you could have to tell your best cracker joke. Keep taking turns until everyone’s had a go. You never know what’ll come next, which keeps everyone on their toes.
37. Christmas Cup Pyramid Relay
Give each team a pile of cups and challenge them to build a perfect pyramid before taking it all back down again. Once the first person finishes, the next teammate has to repeat the challenge. The first team to get everyone through the relay claims the win. It’s fast paced, surprisingly tense and always gets people cheering each other on.
38. Festive Anagram Challenge
Mix up the letters of Christmas words, festive films, famous songs and seasonal foods, then see who can solve the most before the timer runs out. Start with a few easy ones before throwing in some real head scratchers to keep everyone guessing.
39. Santa Says
Give the classic game a Christmas makeover with Santa taking the place of Simon. Players only follow instructions if they’re preceded by “Santa says”. Before long people will be laughing as colleagues accidentally sit down, clap or spin around when they weren’t supposed to.
40. Christmas Chain Reaction
Start with a Christmas word such as holly. The next player has to say another festive word beginning with the last letter of the previous answer. Keep the chain going for as long as possible without repeating anything. It sounds simple, but once the pressure’s on and everyone’s watching, even the easiest Christmas words suddenly disappear from your memory.
41. Christmas Emoji Translation
Create a sheet filled with festive phrases, Christmas songs and famous films written only using emojis. Teams have to work out what each one represents before the timer runs out. Some will be obvious, while others will leave everyone completely baffled until the answers are revealed.
42. Find Someone Who…
Give everyone a checklist of festive facts such as “Find someone who’s already wrapped all their presents”, “Find someone who loves Brussels sprouts”, or “Find someone who’s watched Elf more than five times”. The first person to fill in every box by chatting to colleagues wins. It’s a brilliant icebreaker and gets everyone mingling.
43. Christmas Cup Shuffle
Place a small festive treat under one of several upside down cups and shuffle them around the table. Players have to keep their eyes on the winning cup before making their guess. Make each round a little faster to keep everyone on their toes.
44. What’s in Santa’s Sack?
Fill a large sack with wrapped mystery items and let players pick one without looking. They can shake it, squeeze it and weigh it in their hands before guessing what’s inside. The person with the most correct answers takes home the prize.
45. Christmas Movie Quote Challenge
Read out famous quotes from Christmas films and see who can name the film first. Throw in a few well known winter films that aren’t actually about Christmas to catch everyone out. Film lovers will be in their element, but there are usually a few surprise winners too.
46. The Christmas Menu Challenge
Working against the clock, teams have to write down everything they’d include in the perfect Christmas dinner. Once time’s up, compare everyone’s answers and award points for every unique item that nobody else thought of. You’ll soon discover some very unusual festive food traditions.
47. Christmas Cracker Joke Contest
Give everyone a few minutes to come up with their own Christmas cracker joke. Once they’re all read aloud, everyone votes for the funniest, the cheesiest and the one that deserves to stay firmly inside the cracker. The worse the jokes are, the more everyone seems to enjoy them.
48. Guess the Festive Scent
Place festive scented items into covered containers and let players smell each one without looking. Cinnamon, orange, pine, peppermint, cloves and ginger all work brilliantly. Players write down their guesses, and the person with the highest score wins.
49. Christmas Word Association
One player says a Christmas word and the next person has to quickly respond with the first festive word that comes to mind. Anyone who hesitates for too long, repeats an answer or says something that doesn’t fit is out. As the game speeds up, it becomes much harder than it sounds.
50. Design Santa’s New Sleigh
Split into teams and hand out paper, pens and craft materials. Each team has to design the ultimate sleigh for Father Christmas, complete with imaginative new features. Maybe it’ll have heated seats for the reindeer, a built in biscuit dispenser or a turbo mode for last minute deliveries. Once everyone’s finished, let the room vote for the design they’d most like to see taking to the skies on Christmas Eve.
The Benefits of Christmas Party Games
Christmas party games do much more than fill a bit of time during the festivities. They’re a fantastic way to bring people together, create a relaxed atmosphere and make sure everyone feels part of the celebration. Whether you’re planning a school staff party, an office Christmas do or a festive get together with friends or family, adding a few games can completely change the mood of the evening.
One of the biggest benefits is that they help people mix and mingle. It’s easy for colleagues to stick with the people they work with every day, but games encourage everyone to chat, team up and get to know people from different departments or year groups. Before long, you’ll find conversations flowing naturally and plenty of new connections being made.
The best Christmas party games also help everyone unwind after a busy year. The festive season can be hectic, and a bit of laughter is often exactly what’s needed. Instead of thinking about deadlines, meetings or lesson planning, people can simply enjoy themselves and focus on having fun together.
They’re great for boosting team spirit too. Working together to solve clues, answer quiz questions or complete silly challenges reminds everyone that teamwork doesn’t always have to happen in the workplace. Sharing a few laughs can strengthen relationships and leave people feeling more connected long after the party’s over.
Another advantage is that games make your Christmas party far more memorable. Most people won’t remember every song that was played or exactly what was on the buffet, but they’ll definitely remember the colleague who couldn’t stop laughing during charades or the team that somehow managed to lose a simple challenge in spectacular fashion.
Perhaps best of all, Christmas party games help create an atmosphere where everyone feels welcome. With a mixture of quizzes, creative challenges and light-hearted activities, there’s usually something for every personality. The result is a party where people don’t just turn up, they join in, enjoy themselves and leave with plenty of happy memories to take into the Christmas holidays.
