30 Festive Christmas Games to Spread Holiday Cheer

Growing up, my Christmases were always packed with games—from silent competitions with my cousins on Christmas Eve (eight of us vying for a cash prize) to unwrapping and playing brand-new board games with my extended family on Christmas night.

Christmas simply isn’t complete without a few games. While any party or board game can liven up your holiday gathering, opting for a Christmas-themed game adds an extra layer of festive spirit. When selecting games, think about your audience (some games aren’t suitable for office parties or family gatherings with kids or grandparents), the group size, and, most importantly, how much fun everyone will have.

Discover these Christmas games to make this year’s holiday even more enjoyable. (We’ve categorized them by audience, but don’t hesitate to mix and match—games like Christmas Music Name That Tune can be a hit with both kids and adults.)

All-Ages Christmas Games to Play With Your Family

Whether you need a quick game to entertain the kids before dinner or a fun activity to engage everyone after the gift unwrapping, these Christmas games are perfect for all ages.

Christmas Gift Bingo

For large families with generous gift exchanges, keep kids engaged during others’ turns by creating Christmas gift bingo cards. They can mark off items like socks, electronics, edible treats, or jewelry as they’re opened. Reward bingo winners with small bags of candy.

Santa Cookie Elf Candy Snowman

This lively and quick card game, created by the makers of Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, is a delightful activity suitable for all ages.

Christmas Guess Who

For this game, all you need are sticky notes. Place a name on each person’s forehead, and they must guess their identity by asking yes-or-no questions to others.

To add a festive twist, restrict the names to holiday-themed characters like Frosty, Rudolph, or Santa.

Find the Pickle

This classic German tradition involves concealing a pickle-shaped ornament on your Christmas tree. The first person to find it wins a special prize.

If you don’t have a pickle ornament, pick an unusual one from your collection and let the kids search for it instead.

Candy Cane Scavenger Hunt

Looking for a game to keep the kids entertained? Hide candy canes around your home and let the children hunt for them. (The winner can hide them again to extend the fun.)

Christmas Music Name That Tune

To play this classic Christmas game, use a music streaming service and pause the song after a few seconds. The challenge is to guess the tune as quickly as possible.

Tip: If younger kids are playing, switch to Christmas Music Freeze Dance for a more kid-friendly alternative.

Mitten to Win It Challenge

Give each participant a pair of mittens and challenge them to complete festive tasks like wrapping presents, hanging ornaments, frosting cookies, or unwrapping candy canes. (Be sure to wash the mittens afterward!)

Ring the Reindeer Antlers

You can purchase an inflatable version of this simple yet entertaining holiday game or create your own using an antler headband and pipe cleaner rings.

Stocking Stuffer Relay

Split into teams and provide each with a stocking, a bowl of small items like mini marshmallows or M&Ms, and a tablespoon. Players race to transfer the items into the stocking using only the spoon. Decide if the winning team must fully fill their stocking or if the team with the most items after two minutes wins.

Snowball Fight

If you’re fortunate to have snow on Christmas, take the snowball fight outdoors. Otherwise, use pompoms or fake snowballs as a festive indoor alternative.

Christmas Tree Ring Toss

This straightforward game involves tossing five rings onto a set of plastic Christmas trees to see how many you can land. It’s an ideal activity for kids, family, and friends, offering lighthearted fun for everyone.

Crowd-Pleasing Party Games for Christmas

Whether you’re spicing up your holiday cocktail party with some competition or entertaining older family members after the kids are asleep or busy with their new toys, these adult-friendly Christmas games will elevate your celebrations.

Christmas Murder Mysteries

For a group that loves drama, assign roles from one of the many holiday-themed murder mystery games available. (We recommend the holiday sets from Masters of Mystery, which allow the host to participate, accommodate up to 20 players, and can be played in-person or virtually to include distant family and friends.)

Holiday Decorating Smackdown

Raid your craft supplies for this competitive game, where teams face off to create the best festive decoration—whether it’s a wreath, centerpiece, ornament, or gingerbread house—and compete for the top spot.

Christmas Minute to Win It

Take inspiration from classic game shows for entertaining challenges, like relay races with marshmallows on spoons, eating cookies off your face without hands, or transferring candy canes between containers using only your mouth. (Offer prizes to winners to boost competitiveness.)

Merry Dissmas

From the makers of What Do You Meme comes this hilarious game where players roast each other with witty responses to prompts like, Who gave the worst gift?—don’t worry, we’ve got Mom covered—or Who’s the biggest prankster and what’s their best prank? (Best played with close family or friends you consider family.)

Great Holiday Baking Competition

Who bakes the best sugar cookies, and whose chocolate treats are the star of the show? Invite guests to bring their finest holiday baked goods for a friendly judging session. (Bonus: Your party desserts are sorted!)

Christmas Family Feud

Step into the spotlight as the party’s game show host! Christmas Family Feud works just like the classic game—split players into two teams, ask holiday-themed questions (e.g., Name a famous Christmas movie!), and tally points based on pre-prepared answers. If a team can’t answer or gets it wrong twice, the other team can steal the points.

Jingle Pong

Put a holiday twist on the classic drinking game by replacing ping pong balls with jingle bells—and swap beer for eggnog to fully embrace the festive spirit.

The World Hates the Holidays

Enjoy Cards Against Humanity but want a festive twist? This adults-only game follows the same rules but with a holiday-themed focus. (Alternatively, add a seasonal expansion pack to your existing CAH set.)

Christmas Charades

Have players act out holiday-themed clues. You can prepare cards with ideas or let each participant come up with their own Christmas-inspired prompts.

Christmas Party Games to Play With Co-Workers

For office holiday parties, creativity is key to encourage participation. Opt for games with a general winter or holiday theme to ensure inclusivity for all celebrations.

Virtual Holiday Party Games

For remote teams, explore virtual options like holiday-themed escape rooms. Breakout IQ offers a Frosty the Snowman-themed escape room for up to 600 participants. For smaller groups, Virtual Game Night Out hosts up to 12 players with a guide leading fun challenges.

White Elephant Gift Exchange

Transform the traditional gift exchange into a game with the classic White Elephant format. Participants bring wrapped, humorous, or low-cost gifts, taking turns to pick or swap them.

Gingerbread House Competition

Turn the festive tradition of gingerbread house building into a team-building activity by gathering kits, extra candy, frosting, and co-workers to compete in a fun and creative challenge.

Ugly Sweater Contest

Ugly sweaters are a holiday staple. Encourage your colleagues to participate and award prizes for categories like ugliest, brightest, and most outrageous sweater.

Guess How Many Candies

This easy-to-organize game involves guessing the number of candies in a jar. Count the candies beforehand, place them in a jar, and have participants write their guesses on slips of paper with their names. At the end of the event, announce the closest guess and reward the winner with a small prize.

Christmas Games for Couples (or Small Parties)

Planning a smaller holiday gathering? Keep the fun alive with these Christmas-themed games perfect for intimate settings.

Holiday Scrabble

Add a festive challenge to the classic word game by requiring all words to be holiday-related. (Words like jingle or jolly can score big points!)

Jackbox Games

Turn screen time into interactive fun with this collection of party games. Each of the 10 series includes five entertaining (and hilarious!) games perfect for small groups. Plus, you can use Zoom or Google Meet to include remote friends by sharing your screen.

Christmas Movie Drinking Game

Prepare for a night of holiday classics or a Hallmark movie marathon by sipping a festive drink or mocktail every time a Christmas movie trope appears. (Creating the categories is half the fun: Someone drinks cocoa! Santa’s disguise fools everyone!)

The Couples Game

Test how well you know your partner with this game of questions, where you both try to guess each other’s answers correctly.

The Hygge Game

If competition isn’t your vibe this Christmas, try this calming game filled with thought-provoking questions designed to spark meaningful conversations, such as: Which day of your life would you choose to relive if you could?