It's officially party season! And we're so excited for another year of Christmas parties and gatherings where we catchup with all friends and family, eat delicious food and most importantly play a bunch of hilarious and silly games.
If you're in need of some game inspiration for your next festive get together, we've got 50 games that are guaranteed to bring all the fun for everyone.
50 best Christmas games
Christmas Charades
Just like the classic game but make it festive charades only so actions like wrapping presents, stuffing a turkey, or movies such as The Polar Express and ELF.
What you'll need:
- Paper and pens to write your charades
Christmas Pictionary
Similar to the normal version, but again guests are only allowed to draw festive themed things on a white board or large piece of paper. Some ideas to get you started: Snowman, Santa's sleigh, the nutcracker etc.
What you'll need:
- Something to draw on - whiteboard for example
- Pens suitable to write on whiteboard
Pin the Nose on Rudolph
For this you'll need to buy a poster of Rudolph and then you'll blindfold guests, and then spin them around, and get them to try and place Rudolph's red nose in the correct position. Closest person wins.
What you'll need:
- Blindfold
- A poster of Rudolph and red noses (available on Amazon)
Name That Christmas Tune
Play a few seconds of a Christmas song and guests must guess the artist or name of the song.
What you'll need:
- A speaker
- Phone to select the music
Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Hide a number of Christmas themed items around your home (candy canes, baubles etc) and give guests a list and a time limit to find as many items as they can.
What you'll need:
- Timer
- A number of items to be hidden
- List for each guest
Candy Cane Relay
Players must race each other to move candy canes from one bowl to the other. But the catch? They can only use their mouths.
What you'll need:
- Candy canes
- Two bowls per team
- Timer
Guess the Baubles
Fill a big jar with a bunch of mini baubles and have players guess the number of baubles in the jar. Closest person wins. Just make sure you don't forget the number!
What you'll need:
- Mini baubles
- Large clear jar
- Paper and pen for people to write their guesses
Christmas Bingo
Rather than using numbers, create or order bingo cards that feature festive items or songs for a more festive edition of the classic bingo.
What you'll need:
- Festive bingo cards - you can order some here
- Pens to mark cards
What's In the Stocking?
Fill a stocking with a number of random objects (ideally festive themed) and have guests guess what they're pulling out of the stocking without looking at it.
What you'll need:
- An empty stocking
- A number of festive objects
The Chocolate Oven Glove Game
This is a messy game so play with caution. Have guests take it in turns to wrap up in a hat, scarf, and oven gloves and then get a big chocolate bar and try and use a knife and fork to cut up and eat as much chocolate as they can before the time runs out.
What you'll need:
- Big bar of chocolate
- A pair of oven gloves
- Hat
- Scarf
- Knife and fork
Oven Glove Present Game
Another oven glove game. This time have players wear oven gloves and try to unwrap a present before the time runs out. If they don't do it in the time the gift moves onto another player.
What you'll need:
- A pair of oven gloves
- A wrapped present
Christmas Memory Tray
Collate a number of Christmas themed items onto a tray (chocolate coins, a bow etc) and give players a minute to memorise all the items. Then take the tray away and have everyone write down as many items as they can remember. The person with the most correct items wins.
What you'll need:
- A tray
- At least 8 items that can fit on a tray and are festive themed
Santa Limbo
You need a string of festive lights and a few pillows for this game. Just like the classic game of limbo challenge guests to go as low as they can, but with the added challenge of stuffing a pillowcase under their top to mimic Santa's belly.
What you'll need:
- Fairy lights
- Pillows
- Music and speaker
Who Am I Festive Edition?
The classic guessing game but only with festive characters allowed, and yes that does include festive movie characters.
What you'll need:
- Post-It notes
- Pens
Bauble Hot Potato
Get a large plastic bauble and have your guests gather in a circle, passing the bauble between them quickly without dropping it. The first person to drop it is out of the game. Keep the game going until there is only one person left.
What you'll need:
- Bauble
Reindeer Ring Toss
This is another game you'll need to buy ahead of time, and it guarantees a lot of fun. All you need to do is have one player attacher the reindeer antlers to their head and have the rest of the players take it in turns to throw the rings onto the antlers.
What you'll need:
- Reindeer ring toss set - available to buy here
Snowball Toss
A fun way to use up wrapping paper. Take the wrapping paper that was covering your presents and scrunch into balls to mimic snowballs and then take it in turns to see who can get the most snowballs in a bucket from varying distances.
What you'll need:
- Bin or bucket to collect paper
- Leftover wrapping paper
The North Pole Freeze Dance
Play Christmas music and everyone dances, when you stop the music anyone still moving is out of the game.
What you'll need:
- Music and speaker
Candy Cane Fishing
Attach the straight end of a candy cane to a piece of string (0r festive ribbon) and then try and see how many candy canes you can fish on a table. Set a time limit and have people compete in teams to increase the competition.
What you'll need:
- Candy canes
- String/ribbon
Hot Cocoa Pong
An alcohol free version of beer pong everyone can get involved with. Set up a number of cups just like in beer pong but rather than throwing ping pongs into cups of beer, throw marshmallows into cups with a small amount of hot chocolate in them so they don't spill over.
What you'll need:
- Red cups
- Marshmallows
- Hot chocolate
Guess the Quality Street
Get a tin of your favourite Christmas chocolates (Quality Street, Heroes etc) and then blindfold guests and have them guess which chocolate they're tasting.
What you'll need:
- A tin of Quality Streets (or chocolate tin of choice)
- Blindfold
Guess the Christmas Smell
In a similar vein you could also blindfold your guests and get them to guess the festive scented things such as peppermint, oranges, and cinnamon.
What you'll need:
- Blindfold
- Festive items to smell - cinnamon sticks, oranges etc
Bauble Spoon Race
Just like a classic egg and spoon race but this time replace the egg with a bauble.
What you'll need:
- Set of wooden spoons
- A collection of baubles that will fit on a spoon
The Great Christmas Debate
This is a fun game to do while still sat at the table after you've eaten. Pre-prep a number of potential controversial Christmas debates such as 'Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?' or 'the roast potatoes are the best part of the Christmas dinner' and have your guests debate the topics.
What you'll need:
- List of debates
Christmas Balloon Pop
Fill up balloons with small festive challenges e.g. sing Jingle Bells and then have your guests take it in turn to pop the balloons and complete the challenges within.
What you'll need:
- A pack of balloons
- Challenges written on small pieces of paper
Do a Festive Quiz
Sometimes all you want to do is a classic quiz and we've rounded up the best festive quiz questions to ask your guests.
What you'll need:
- A quiz
- Paper and pens for guests to write answers down
Christmas Candle Blowing Game
Lineup a number of tea lights (we don't recommend playing this game with children) and have guests take it in turn to see who can blow the most out in one breath by saying 'Merry Christmas'.
What you'll need:
- Tea lights
- Lighter or matches
Candy Cane Hunt
Just like an Easter Egg hunt with the festive twist of candy canes, or you could do it with chocolate coins.
What you'll need:
- Candy canes
Snow Blower
Lineup two rows of party cups upside down and rest a cotton-ball on each cup. Then have guests race each other by using a party blower to tip each cotton-ball off the cup. The first one to get all the cotton balls off the cups is the winner.
What you'll need:
- Red cups or paper cups
- Cottonballs
- Party blowers
Christmas Touch Down
Create a line on the floor using some masking tape or a long ribbon. Guest must stand behind the line and then try and bend over and it place their bauble as far as they can without going over the line. The person who puts it furthest wins.
What you'll need:
- Masking tape or long ribbon
- A bauble per team
Snow Shovel
Get a big bag of cotton-balls and lay them out on a smooth surface such as a kitchen counter. Blindfold a player and hand them a spatula and bowl. They then have a set time limit, say 30 seconds, to gather as many cotton balls as they can into the bowl. Expect hilarious results.
What you'll need:
- Blindfolds
- Cottonballs
- Spatulas
- Large bowls
Hungry Reindeer
Reuse those snowballs for another game. Put the cotton balls back into the centre of the table and give everyone plastic cups to cover their hands to mimic reindeer hooves. Set a time and have everyone race to gather as many cotton balls as they can using their new hooves and place them in their bowls.
What you'll need:
- Red cups or paper cups
- Cottonballs
- Large bowls
Draw the Snowman
Just drawing a snowman? Sounds simple right? Well not if you have to do it blindfolded.
What you'll need:
- Blindfold per person
- Paper and pens to draw
Guest Trivia
A great game if your guests don't know each other super well. As everyone arrives have them write down a funny fact about themselves and then later on in the night read each one out and then have guests guess who each fact is about.
What you'll need:
- Paper and pen to write down fact
The Santa Stack Hat Game
Get a set of plastic cups and a cottonball. Guests can only use one hand to stack as many cups as they can onto top of each other without knocking off the cotton ball from the top cup.
What you'll need:
- Red cups or paper cups
- Cottonballs
Gingerbread House Competition
Gather all the gingerbread house kits you can and make sure there is enough for one person. Set your own rules about what will make the "best" house and then start decorating before crowning a winner.
What you'll need:
- A gingerbread house per person/team
- Extra decorations
Reindeer Races
Divide your group into teams and set up a relay race where a member for each team has a balloon between their legs and must hop from one end of the room to the other without popping or dropping the balloon.
What you'll need:
- A pack of balloons
Festive Pass the Parcel
You're never too old for the game of pass the parcel. Wrap up a gift in a number of layers of paper and pass it around the group while music is playing. When the music stops the person who is holding the gift gets to hold to unwrap a layer. The game keeps going until the final layer is unwrapped and the gift is revealed.
What you'll need:
- One gift wrapped in multiple layers of paper
- Small chocolates to put in each layer of paper
Christmas Chain Story
Have the players sit in a circle, with one person starting a Christmas story with one sentence. Each consecutive person adds a sentence, remembering what the other says.
Festive Finish the Lyrics
Play a Christmas song and stop at a random point and get guests to finish the lyric.
What you'll need:
- Music
- Speakers
Christmas Category Race
Select a random letter from the alphabet and set a time limit say 30 seconds and have guests write down as many Christmas related things as they can think of. The person with the highest number of things written down is the winner.
What you'll need:
- Paper
- Pens
Christmas Poem Challenge
Write a bunch of random festive words down and put them in a hat (or stocking). Guests must work in teams to pull three words out and come up with a poem. The most creative or funny one wins.
What you'll need:
- Paper
- Pens
- Stocking or Santa hat
Santa Says
Play this exactly like the classic game of Simon Says... except this time it's what Santa says.
Christmas Head's Up
Head's Up is a great app to bring a party together - especially using the festive edition. After splitting into teams, players take it in turns to put the phone on their head, and try to guess what the app says through their team's descriptions and actions. It's fun (and very silly).
What you'll need:
- The Head's Up app
- Phone
Festive Film Drinking Bingo
Download some printable bingo cards for you and your guests to play with while you're watching festive films. From 'drink every time Emma Thompson makes you want to cry in Love Actually' to 'drinks every time Buddy screams SAAAAANTA in Elf'. You could do this with alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages.
Snowball Twerk Pong
Create a DIY version of this game by threading a two decorated tissue boxes onto two bits of ribbon, and strapping it to two players' hips, so that the box hovers above their backsides. Fill each box with ping pong balls (the snow, duh), and challenge the two players to try and twerk the ping pong balls out of the box as quickly as possible.
If DIY isn't your forte, you can also buy a version of this game on Amazon (it's less festive, but we'll forgive you).
What you'll need:
- Two empty tissue boxes
- String or ribbon and tape to attach to boxes
- Ping pong balls
Tree Decorating Contest
If budget allows get a few small trees and some fun decorations. Split the group into teams and give them a minute to decorate their tree. They then must explain their design before a winner is crowned.
What you'll need:
- A mini tree per team
- Decorations for each team
Wreath Decorating Contest
If a whole tree is too much to decorate, what about getting into teams and decorating the best wreath? Still just as festive but not as much of an expensive and takes up less space.
What you'll need:
- A wreath per team
- Decorations for each team
Don't Touch The Biscuit
This is a very funny game ideal for playing while still sat at the table after dinner. Each guest must place a biscuit on their forehead and then use their facial muscles to move the biscuit down their face and into their mouth without touching it with their hands.
What you'll need:
- A biscuit tin full of festive biscuits
Christmas Jumper Challenge
Before your guests arrive challenge them to come to your party in their funniest bad Christmas jumper. Give a prize to the winner who has the funniest jumper.
What you'll need:
- Your funniest Christmas jumper
