You’ve set a date for the big holiday party. Now, it’s time to figure out how to entertain your guests. Whether you’re hosting a party for adults, an office celebration, or a family get-together, plan some games for endless laughs and a little friendly competition. By keeping everything holiday-themed, the whole night comes together.
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Get startedIn this guide, we’re sharing our favorite holiday party game ideas for adults, coworkers, and all ages. You’ll find classic holiday games alongside plenty of Christmas ones, from trivia and charades to gift exchanges, so there’s something for every gathering. Whether you want grown-up Christmas party games, easygoing holiday games for the whole family, or a few low-key party games for the office, these picks (and fun holiday party invitations) will liven up your festivities. If a gift exchange is on the list, our Secret Santa and white elephant invitation wording guide has the invitation wording alongside the rules.
What Are the Best Games to Play at a Holiday Party?
Check out this list of 37 of the best games to play at a holiday party. We’ve divided them up into three categories: adults, workplace, and all ages. That will help you go straight to the games that best match your celebration’s guest list, whether you want them holiday-themed, Christmas-themed, or a mix of both.
7 Holiday Party Games for Adults
Matching invitation: Playful Candy Canes Invitation
We love all-ages holiday and Christmas party ideas, but sometimes you want something a little less kid-friendly. If you’re looking for more grown-up party activities or Christmas party games for a small or large group of adults, these are some of our top picks.
1. Festive Cocktail Competition
Do you make the best merry margarita? Challenge your party guests to a cocktail competition. See who can make the tastiest version of a classic drink, design and make your own concoctions, or host a blind taste test.
2. Holiday Scattergories
Scattergories is a great party game for adults, and you can easily match it to your holiday party theme by using words and categories that fit the season. Try a Christmas Scattergories printable, or make your own.
3. Most Likely To
Bring out some laughs with a holiday-themed version of the classic “most likely to” game. Make a list of situations, like “most likely to crash Santa’s sleigh” or “most likely to run off with all the gifts,” and see if you all agree on who matches each the best.
4. Party Video Games
If you have a TV or game console, try video games like the Jackbox party packs. Every pack contains a variety of fun word-based or competitive party games designed for adults-only celebrations. While there isn’t a dedicated holiday pack, you can often use custom prompts or questions to make it match your event.
5. Paper Plate Game
Hand out paper plates, have everyone place them on their heads, and give them a marker and prompt. Ask everyone to draw on the paper plate, and see whose creation is the funniest! Use festive prompts like Christmas tree, reindeer, snowman, or gift for a seasonal twist.
6. Festive Karaoke
Grab a karaoke machine and host a karaoke night, complete with all the classic holiday songs and some of your own favorites mixed in. Make this a fun singalong, or turn it into a contest with prizes like “loudest singer,” “funniest cover song,” and “best tearjerker performance.”
7. Holiday-Themed Jeopardy
See which of your party guests knows the most about the holiday season with a themed game inspired by Jeopardy. Instead of high-figure sums, swap the prize pool for festive cookies, gift cards, or gift baskets.
6 Holiday Party Games for the Workplace
Matching invitation: Santa’s Pajamas Invitation
Planning this year’s work Christmas party? Introduce some of these crowd-friendly party games and contests to liven up your office Christmas party, pour the hot cocoa, and bring everyone together for some festive cheer. These Christmas party games work just as well for coworkers as they do at home.
1. Festive Trivia Game
Holiday or Christmas trivia games are so much fun to put together, especially if you get to do it while you’re on the clock. Set up a DIY trivia quiz that challenges team members’ knowledge on everything from Christmas traditions to chart-topping holiday songs and movies.
2. Ugly Sweater Contest
If there’s a perfect place for an ugly sweater contest, the office holiday party is it. Invite everyone to make the most of the holiday season and come to your office party in their most hilarious knitwear. Award a prize for taking part and a bigger gift for the best-dressed coworker. Our ugly sweater party invitation wording guide has office invitations that put the contest categories on the card.
3. Competitive Sports
Add some friendly competition to your holiday celebration. If you have a ping pong table, make use of it, or bring in games you can set up and take down again, like darts, giant Jenga, or cornhole. If you’re lucky enough to be blessed with snow on the ground, a snowball fight can work for the right crowd. You can also combine multiple activities into an Office Olympics!
4. Best Photo Booth Photo Contest
We love a party photo booth, and a holiday party gives you the perfect excuse to bring out fun props like Santa hats, antlers, or even a Grinch mask. Challenge your colleagues to see who can come up with the best photo booth pictures, and hand out a gift card to the winning individuals or teams.
5. Themed Escape Room
If you’re heading off-site for this year’s company Christmas party, why not book a festive escape room? See if there’s one running in your city, and swap solving work problems for logic problems in an escape room that doubles as a holiday team-building activity.
6. White Elephant Gift Exchange
To add some extra sparkle to your holiday party, add a festive or Christmas gift exchange. A white elephant gift exchange is perfect as it’s light-hearted, so there’s no pressure or big budgets involved. Guests bring a wrapped gift, and take turns unwrapping one — but beware as others can “steal” the gift from them!
12 Holiday Party Games for All Ages
Matching invitation: Charming Snowman Invitation
Looking for family-friendly holiday and Christmas party games? You’re in luck. Many games work for all ages, from traditional charades to holiday bingo. Here are some of our go-to favorites.
1. Scavenger Hunt
Split your group into teams or compete as individuals to be the first player to return with every item on their list. Create your own DIY list with Christmas-themed items like reindeer, trees, and candy canes, or look for a printable version.
You can also make it a photo scavenger hunt and ask teams to get photo proof of their finds instead.
2. Holiday Bingo
Bingo is a fun game for every age, and you can easily put a festive twist on it with holiday or Christmas bingo cards. You can often find these in-store around the festive season, or use a tool like Canva to create your own.
3. Pictionary
Add this classic word or phrase guessing game to your holiday party lineup, and swap your list of words for festive prompts instead. See who can get the highest score and win a little holiday treat, like a candy cane or box of gingerbread cookies.
4. Christmas Movie Quiz
This is a fun Christmas game. You can either DIY your own quiz, complete with video clips and images if you’re tech-savvy, or look for an online holiday movie quiz instead. Gather everyone around, make sure they can see the screen (or print out copies of your quiz), and enjoy some holiday cheer.
5. Festive Board Games
We adore board games, and there are lots to choose from. Some of our favorites are Jenga, Yahtzee, Farkle, Blank Slate, or a holiday version of Monopoly. This is an ideal holiday party idea for families.
6. Traditional Card Games
Have a pack of playing cards lying around? Invite a small group to join you for some classic games like Rummy, Crazy Eights, or Pass the Ace. You can also play specialty card games like Uno, Skip-Bo, and Five Crowns.
7. Name That Tune
Add a musical party game to your event with a festive version of Name That Tune. Swap today’s pop favorites for Christmas carols, like Jingle Bells or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
8. Holiday Charades
Charades is a popular family game, and it’s perfect for groups of any age. Create a list of holiday or Christmas charades prompts and see which team is the best at guessing!
9. Holiday Coloring Competition
Looking for a game for your younger (or young at heart) party guests? Hand out some blank coloring pages and introduce a competition, and the winner gets a sweet festive treat. If you have a lot of kids, you could even split it into different age groups. Don’t forget to award every entrant with a small gift!
10. Festive Baking Competition
Baked goods are one of the best things about the holidays, so add a little competitive spirit to mix. Challenge your party guests to bring along their best festive bake for judging, whether it’s a gingerbread house, marshmallow snowman, or holiday-themed cupcakes.
Want something you can do on the day? Swap baking for decorating with a festive cookie decorating party.
11. Festive Minute to Win It Games
Minute to Win It games are ideal for parties as you don’t need many materials and can often use what you have lying around the house. Introduce some festive Minute to Win It games, and see which of your party guests are the most talented.
12. Holiday Family Feud Game
Who doesn’t love Family Feud? Recreate your own version at your next holiday party by splitting into two teams and pitting them against each other to guess the most popular answers to some holiday-themed questions.
Christmas Party Games for Adults
Matching invitation: Ol’ Fashioned Fun Invitation
Hosting a Christmas party this year? These games lean a little more grown-up and a lot more festive, so they’re perfect for an adults-only night, a family gathering, or a work party. Each Christmas game below is quick to set up with things you already have around the house, from candy canes to wrapping paper, and most work for two teams or the whole family. Mix in a few decorations and a winter wonderland backdrop and your Christmas party games will feel like a full, holiday-themed event.
1. Christmas Trivia Showdown
Split your guests into two groups and test each team’s knowledge with a round of Christmas trivia. Ask fun facts about songs, movies, and traditions, award points for correct answers, and crown the team with the most points. It’s one of the easiest festive games to run, since all you need is a question list and a way to keep score.
2. Name That Christmas Tune
Play short clips of a popular Christmas song and have players race to shout out the title. The first person to shout the correct answer wins the point, and you can track correct answers on a scoreboard. For a harder holiday twist, hum the tune or play only the first second of each clip. Christmas songs everyone half-knows, like Jingle Bells or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, make this a reliable crowd-pleaser.
3. Reindeer Relay Race
Divide players into two squads, hand the first person on each team a set of reindeer antlers, and set up a short course. Players take turns wearing the reindeer antlers and racing to a Christmas tree and back. The first team to get every member through wins. It’s high-energy, a little silly, and perfect for a work Christmas party.
4. Candy Cane Game
Give each player a candy cane (or a pair of chopsticks) and a bowl of loose candy canes. With a short time limit, players transfer as many candy canes as they can into a stocking using only their candy-cane hook. Whoever moves the most candy canes before time runs out wins one of the small prizes.
5. Santa Limbo
String up a line of Christmas lights and let the limbo begin. Players take turns shimmying under the string of lights to a holiday tune, and the bar drops lower each round. Last player standing (or bending) wins. It’s a festive party game that gets the whole room laughing.
6. Jingle Bell Shake
A classic Minute to Win It game with a Christmas edition twist: strap an empty tissue box filled with jingle bells to each player’s waist, then start the clock. Players have one minute to shake every jingle bell out of the tissue box, no hands allowed. It’s pure festive flair and a guaranteed photo op.
7. Secret Santa Gift Exchange
No Christmas party is complete without a gift exchange. With Secret Santa, each guest is assigned one person and brings a wrapped gift for them, keeping their identity a secret until the big reveal. Set a small budget to keep the exchange light, and encourage a fun or punny theme for the gifts. Save each unwrapped gift for a group photo at the end.
8. Plastic Wrap Ball Game
Wrap small prizes, candy, and a few folded bills inside layer after layer of plastic wrap to form one giant ball. Players take turns unwrapping the ball while the person to their left rolls two dice, racing to roll doubles. Whatever you unwrap before the dice pass to you is yours to keep. It’s part game of chance, part grab-bag, and always a crowd-pleaser.
9. Who Am I? Holiday Edition
Write the names of Christmas characters, like Santa’s elves, Buddy the Elf, or the Grinch, on sticky notes and stick one to each guest’s forehead. Guests mingle and ask yes-or-no questions, and teammates guess who they are. It’s a low-key, conversation-starting game that works for family members of every age.
10. Toilet Paper Snowman
Divide participants into teams of two or three and hand each team a few rolls of toilet paper. One team member becomes the snowman while the others wrap them head to toe, adding a scarf and buttons for festive flair. The first team to build a snowman wins, and the wrapping paper cleanup is half the fun.
11. Red-Nosed Reindeer Toss
Set a bucket a few feet away and give each player a handful of red pom poms. Players take turns tossing their pom poms into the bucket to crown Santa’s reindeer with a shiny red nose. Award points for every landed toss, and the player with the most points after everyone takes a turn wins. It’s a simple Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer twist that kids and adults both love.
12. Christmas Charades
Write holiday phrases and movie titles on slips of paper, split players into teams, and act them out. One player performs while teammates guess before the time limit runs out. Keep the prompts Christmas-themed, and this is one of those Christmas party games that never gets old, since it needs nothing more than a list.
Holiday and Christmas Party Games: Frequently Asked Questions
What are some fun and engaging holiday games for a work party?
For a work holiday party, pick games that are easy to join and quick to explain. A Christmas trivia showdown, an ugly sweater contest, a white elephant gift exchange, and a photo booth challenge all keep coworkers mingling without putting anyone on the spot. Divide players into small teams and award points to add friendly competition to the office party.
What are some fun Christmas games for adults to play indoors?
Indoor games for adults are all about laughs in a small space. Name That Christmas Tune with a few popular Christmas songs, the Plastic Wrap Ball game, Jingle Bell Shake, and a festive cocktail competition work in any living room. Add a Secret Santa gift exchange and some hot cocoa, and you have a full night of entertainment.
What are some hilarious and funny Christmas games for adults?
The funniest Christmas games get a little goofy. The Reindeer Relay Race in antlers, Santa Limbo under a string of Christmas lights, the paper plate drawing game, and a Who Am I? round with holiday characters all deliver big laughs. These are the party games people still talk about long after the party ends.
What are the most popular Christmas games?
The most popular Christmas games are the classics: Secret Santa, white elephant, Christmas charades, Christmas trivia, holiday bingo, and a gingerbread house decorating contest. They’re popular because they’re simple, they scale from a few family members to a whole office, and nearly everyone already knows how to play.
What are some easy Christmas games you can play on Christmas Day?
On Christmas Day, keep it low-key. Two Truths and a Lie with a holiday twist, holiday charades, a Christmas song picture scramble, and board games like a holiday version of Monopoly need almost no setup. They’re easy enough to start right after dinner and fun for the whole family.
Gather Your Party People and Have the Happiest of Holidays
Whoever you’re celebrating with this year, get into the holiday spirit with our list of the best holiday party games and Christmas party games. Mix and match ideas from the collection above that fit your party theme, guest list, and vibe, and keep it all holiday-themed.
To help you set the tone right from the start, choose our holiday party invites to spread the word to your guests. Whether you’re planning an office party, family holiday party, or a Christmas party with close friends, there’s an invite to match, and they can all be customized too.
