The holiday season is fast approaching. It’s time to start thinking of ideas for family or group games for your Christmas party. Organizing a Christmas party requires a lot of organization and creativity.
Looking for game ideas can cause stress and especially the pressure to provide an atmosphere that everyone enjoys. In this article, we share different Christmas game ideas to help you choose the right games for your guests to liven up your Christmas party.
5 family game ideas for a Christmas party
The holidays are a great time to get together as a family. Here’s a list of fun games you can play with your family.
Christmas pictionary
Christmas-themed pictionary is a great idea. Simply write words (gift, fireplace, Santa, stocking, etc.) on small pieces of paper and place them in a box. Next, divide the players into teams and in each round, one player of a team will choose a word from the box and have one minute to get the other team members to guess it by drawing it. The team gets a point when they guess the word correctly. Teams can take turns until one team reaches 20 points.
Christmas charades
Prepare a list of words or phrases related to the Christmas theme and write them on cards. Then divide the family into two or three groups depending on the number of people and select one person each turn to mime the chosen word or phrase.
The main rule of this game is that you can’t speak, you can only mime the word to guess. Each group has a time limit to meet. The group that guesses the term correctly wins a point. The first group to reach 20 points wins.
The 20 questions to Santa
One player (Santa) chooses an object that can be related to the Christmas theme. The other players must try to guess it by asking a maximum of 20 questions that can be answered with “yes” or “no”. If all the questions are asked by the players and the correct answer is not found, Santa starts again with a new object. The player who guesses the object takes Santa’s place.
The dance with bells
Place a dozen bells in an empty tissue box and tie it behind the player’s back. The player must dance to the music to get as many bells out of the box as possible, and has only one minute to do so. The player who drops the most bells wins.
Guess the name of the song
Divide the children into two or three groups and play the beginnings of Christmas songs. Each group must try to find the name of the song as quickly as possible. Each group has one minute to guess the name of the song, or the other group has to guess it.
5 Christmas game ideas for a large group of people
Who am I?
A classic among classics. This game is suitable for a group of 5 to 50 people. Take Post-its and write down names, words, or expressions related to the Christmas theme such as movie titles, famous Christmas characters, animals, etc. Each player must then stick their Post-its on the forehead of the person on their left.
Once all participants have Post-it notes stuck on their foreheads, everyone must try to guess the name of the character, film or object written on their forehead by asking questions to which the answer must be « yes » or « no ». The loser is the one who guesses last.
Human Christmas tree
The task is to choose two or three representatives, depending on the number of people present, to serve as a figurative Christmas tree. Each team will gather around a human Christmas tree and attempt to decorate it with various decorative items. You can designate two or three judges who will select the winning human tree based on the decoration. You have 5 minutes to decorate your tree before the judges decide which tree is the winner.
Guess the number of baubles on the Christmas tree
When you decorate your Christmas tree, count the number of baubles you will hang. During the evening of your Christmas party, give your guests (family, friends, or colleagues) pieces of paper to estimate the number of baubles hung on the Christmas tree. The one who comes closest to the correct answer wins.
The pile of gifts
This party game is fun and is suitable for both children and adults. In order to play, you will need several gift boxes of different sizes and shapes. Here are the steps of the game:
- Divide the participants into two teams with equal numbers of members.
- Divide each team so that half is at one end of the room and half are at the other end.
- Place a table at each end.
- Put 4 or 5 boxes of gifts on each table.
- A team member picks up a box and transfers it to the other end of the room.
- His teammate takes the same box and adds another one on top of it to transfer them together to the other table.
- The 3rd member will do the same thing by adding a 3rd box to the other two and must carry them without dropping them on the floor.
- The process continues until the team manages to transfer the gifts without dropping any boxes.
Trivia quiz
Prepare about 20 questions related to well-known Christmas movies and divide the participants into different groups. Give each group a questionnaire and for each correct answer, one point is added. The aim is to answer as many questions as possible correctly.
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3 ideas for Christmas games for adults
The Christmas drinking game
This game for adults is to be played in moderation. Play a Christmas movie and choose a list of keywords related to the Christmas theme (tree, gifts, etc.). Each time these words are spoken during the movie, the participants must take a sip of their drink.
Christmas Story
Everyone should stand in a circle and someone starts a Christmas-related story with a single sentence. The next person starts the story with what has already been told and adds their own sentence. The goal of the game is to not forget a detail while repeating the story. The game continues until one participant manages to memorize the whole story without making any mistakes.
Song guessing game
Prepare a list of Christmas songs (about 30-50 songs) or find a playlist. Divide into two or three teams, depending on the number of players present. The game master plays a Christmas song and the participants have to guess the artist or the title of the song as quickly as possible. Each time a team guesses correctly, they win a point. The team with the most points wins the game.
4 gift exchange game ideas
The dice game
This game is perfect for the end of the evening when there is no more energy and when the concentration is not there anymore. You can play the dice game in two ways:
- The first is to put a gift in the center of the room. The participants start to roll two dice in turn. The first participant to roll two identical numbers gets to collect the gift.
- The second way is to roll a die and act according to the number that appears. For example:
- 1: pass the gift to the person on your right
- 2: pass the gift to the person on your left
- 3 or 4: exchange your gift with a person of your choice
- 5 or 6: unwrap your gift
The card game
You will need two packs of cards. Start by distributing the contents of the first pack of cards to the players. Make sure everyone has the same number of cards. With the second deck (after removing the cards that were not dealt), players take turns drawing cards and whoever has the card in their hands can choose a gift. Once there are no more gifts, the participants can steal gifts from each other.
Gifts at auction
Before your Christmas party starts, give your guests fake money. You can use Monopoly, Canadian Tire or homemade money, just make sure you give them the same amount. Throughout the evening, you will be giving out money to the winners of the various games that are being played. At the end of the evening, when it’s time to exchange gifts, select a game master and start bidding on the gifts at a given price. The game ends when there are no more gifts to buy.
The over-wrapped gift
This party game is guaranteed to make you laugh. It involves wrapping gifts with several layers of paper and excess glue. Participants must put on a pair of oven mitts and take turns trying to unwrap the gift of their choice in 30 seconds. When a person successfully unwraps a gift, he or she keeps it and retires from the game, otherwise he or she passes the mittens to the next person. The game ends when there are no more gifts to unwrap.
3 thematic ideas for Christmas parties
Having a themed idea for your Christmas party brings guests together even before they start playing together. The costume, decorations, and food help them get in the mood quickly.
Ugly Christmas sweaters
Ask your guests to wear the ugliest Christmas sweater they can find. It’s a simple idea, but one that brings a lot of joy.
Christmas party in white
If you’re a fan of themed parties, hosting a white Christmas party is a great choice. Invite attendees to dress in white.
Fancy dress party
Ask your guests to dress up in a Christmas theme (Santa, reindeer, snowman, elf, etc.). This Christmas party theme idea is suitable for adults and children.