Christmas is a cherished holiday that's full of celebrations with family and friends. 'Tis the season to have a blast playing these Christmas party games at gatherings big and small. Full of revelry and good cheer, the following games prove why Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. So gather round with your little elves and make some memories. Even Santa himself would want to join in on this jolly good fun.
Party Games for Christmas Foodies
Add some yumminess to your holiday games by making festive foods the highlight. Players will have fun and get to eat delicious treats, so it's a win-win!
Who Can Create the Craziest Meal for Buddy the Elf?
In the holiday film Elf, Buddy the Elf explains that elves have four basic food groups: syrup, sugar, candy, and candy corn. In one scene in the movie, he sat down to a bowl of spaghetti topped with candy, Pop-Tarts and maple syrup. In the spirit of elf eats, set up a charcuterie board or smorgasbord filled with Buddy-approved foods. The sky's the limit on what to include, as Buddy would eat any sugary concoction. Give everyone a plate or bowl and challenge partygoers to create a meal that Buddy would devour. Tell them to name their meal as if it were being offered on a menu. The most creative dish wins, and after judging, kids can eat their entries if they wish. This fun and easy game is best for ages 5 and up.
Bobbing for Snowballs
Put a wintry twist on bobbing for apples and bob for snowballs, which in this case are powdered doughnut holes. You'll need a few dozen powdered doughnut holes and some small, deep bowls. Give each player their own bowl containing five powdered donuts, and see how many they can bob for and eat without using their hands. The player to eat the most powdered donut holes in under a minute wins. Best for ages 5 and up.
Who 'Nose' the Christmas Scents?
Find out who in your crew can make sense of the scents synonymous with Christmas. Place peppermint candy, gingerbread, pine, cocoa powder, cinnamon and any additional scents you'd like to use into individual clear jars with lids that are easy to open to take a whiff. Give each player an oversized Santa hat to put on and pull over their eyes as a blindfold. Hand players the jars one at a time and ask them to determine which scent they're smelling. Have a notepad and pen handy to record everyone's answers to determine who made the most 'scents.' For additional details, visit the Kid-Friendly Things to Do blog, which inspired this game. Consider giving players and winners a treat as a prize for playing along, as all that sniffing will make them hungry. Players ages 3 and up will enjoy this sensory filled game.
Candy Cane Fishing
A favorite Christmas confection, candy canes are the highlight of this game. All you'll need are several candy canes, some ribbon or string, a bucket filled with candy canes to fish for and an empty bucket where players will deposit their hooked candy canes. Tie a long strand of string or ribbon to the straight end of the candy canes you'd like to use as fishing rods. Let players see how many candy canes they can hook from the full bucket to carry carefully to the empty bucket. The player who hooks and safely delivers the most candy canes in a certain amount of time wins. There are many variations of this game, including using candy canes to fish for ornaments with hooks or small wrapped toys tied with loopy ribbons for easy catching. Use what you have and be creative! To make this game easier for younger kids, let them hold the candy cane itself, with no string or ribbon attached, to hook the objects. The prize for playing and winning this game can be a candy cane. This game is fun for ages 3 and up.
Christmas Cookie Challenge
This game is delicious! Hand out small, circular homemade or store-bought Christmas cookies to all participants. Have each player put their hands behind their back and tilt their head back to face the ceiling. Place a cookie on their forehead and challenge them to get the cookie from their forehead to their mouth solely by making facial expressions, being careful not to drop the cookie on the floor. Winners who get the cookie to their mouth without dropping it are rewarded by getting to eat the cookie! This game can be played by all ages.
Active Christmas Games
Get up and get moving with these delightful games that will provide lots of laughter and fun at Christmas gatherings.
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
Rockin' around the Christmas tree is a melodic holiday spin on musical chairs. Set up chairs or pillows one shy of the amount of players, either around your actual tree, or in a larger area if you need more space. Play the Christmas tune Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, and when you stop the music intermittently, participants must scramble to sit on a chair or pillow. Whoever doesn't make it to a chair or pillow is out. Remove one chair or pillow and repeat until only one person is left standing - or sitting, as the case may be. Raise the stakes before rolling the music by announcing that the winner gets to place the star on top of the Christmas tree. This game is best for ages 3 and up.
Silent Santa Bells
Everyone knows how stealthy Santa has to be when he's putting presents under the tree. Players can channel their inner Santa in this game where they wear Christmas bells and try to silently deliver gifts without a jingle. You'll need a few sets of jingle bells that players can either wear as a necklace, around their waist, and/or around their ankles or attached to elf slippers. If you can't find the bells in ready-made lengths you need, you can hot glue bells to long ribbons and then tie them around each player. This game can either be played one person at a time or with multiple players, but you'll have to listen closely to whose bells are jingling. After adorning them with bells, give each player two gift boxes to deliver and a stocking to hang. They need to start at the front door or the chimney of the house and make it to the tree and the mantel to place their goods, without their bells being heard. The most silent contestant wins. Younger kids can play, but may be frustrated when their bells jingle, so this game is best for players ages 5 and up.
Antler Ring Toss
Kids love Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, so this Antler Ring Toss game is sure to please. You can purchase the game here, so it's super convenient and can be used yearly. The object of the game is simple. One person wears the inflatable reindeer antlers hat, and the other players toss the inflatable rings from a predetermined distance to try to get them onto the antlers. Whoever gets the most rings onto the antlers wins! Suitable for kids ages 3 and up.
Dress-Up & Fashion a Polaroid Garland
This gleeful game doubles as a party favor guests can take home. You'll need a Polaroid Instant camera and plenty of Polaroid Instant film. Hide festive and picturesque props such as a Santa hat, Santa beard, ornament necklace, antler headband, ugly Christmas sweater and more throughout the house and yard that players can find and wear to pose for holiday pics taken with the Polaroid camera. Once the photos have developed, give players a ribbon or string and some cute clothespin clips to fasten their photos to, to make their own garland. This game is best suited for kids ages 8 and up, but younger kids can participate with the help of an older player.
Let It Snow
Snow can become part of your celebration regardless of the weather with the Let it Snow game inspired by this freestyle Shake-a-thon game. Upcycle four rectangular tissue boxes and cut two slits into the back of each box so you can slide belts through them and fasten them to players' waists. Next, fill each box with seven ping-pong balls which will act as the snow. Give each player 30 seconds on the clock to shake out as many balls as they can. The player to make it snow the most (shake out the most ping-pong balls), wins. This game is great for players of all ages.
Clever Christmas Games
Everyone will need to use their noggin to participate in these Christmas games designed to make you think.
Christmas Trivia & Quizzes
Give each player or team a copy of this free, printable Christmas trivia game that's full of entertaining questions about beloved holiday films, Christmas carols and more. Set a timer for how long you'd like to give players to answer the questions. Once time is up, read the correct answers aloud and let players and teams check how many answers they got right. If multiple-choice questions are more your partygoers' speed, print these Christmas quizzes featuring festive questions. The player or team with the most correct answers wins. This game may be played and enjoyed by all ages.
Christmas BINGO
If you're looking for a crowd-pleasing game for all ages, then bingo, this is it. Entertain guests with these printable Christmas BINGO cards featuring Santa, ornaments, angels and more holiday inspired pictures. Provide everyone with a small pile of Christmas-themed Hershey's Kisses to mark their cards when a match is called out.
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Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Kids can get some energy out and work as a team on a Christmas scavenger hunt. Divide players into groups of two or more and give them a list of clues to follow, such as the Christmas scavenger hunt clues provided at Play Party Plan. You'll need to print the clues, cut them out and tape them in the various locations described in the clues. Wrap some small gifts to award the first team that completes the hunt. If you'd like to customize your own scavenger hunt, use these blank printable scavenger hunt templates. This hunt may be enjoyed by all ages, but younger kids may need an older partner to help guide them.
Christmas Mad Libs
Everyone is sure to chuckle at this Christmas Mad Libs printable from Happiness is Homemade by Heidi Kundin. Depending on how many players there are, you can pass out copies to teams or fill one out as a larger group. What a fun way to bond and giggle! This game is good for all ages, and may even teach kids a thing or two about grammar.
Christmas-Themed Family Feud
Who's ready to play Christmas-themed Family Feud? Divide teams into equal amounts of players and ask questions based on the holidays. You can find the information you need to play Family Feud at home here. Create the Christmas-related questions and answers, and rank the answers in order of popularity. Teams can then have a go at guessing the most popular responses and all the subsequent answers to compete for the winning spot. This game is suitable for all ages.
And to All a Good Night!
The merry Christmas games listed here are sure to be a hit at your holiday parties. Everyone will have a great time laughing and enjoying each other's company while taking part in these lighthearted contests. Guests will leave your party with happy memories made during a good night for all.
