37 Most Fun Christmas Games for Your Holiday Party in 2023

Get into the holiday spirit while channeling your competitive spirit and play a few rounds of Christmas games this holiday season. According to the Pew Research Center, nine in ten Americans celebrate Christmas, meaning households across the country are already preparing for the holiday season. Christmas games are a wonderful addition to the holiday work party or the festive family cookout.

The holiday season is already stressful enough. Instead of sweating over wondering what are good games to play during Christmas? Break out this helpful handout on the most fun Christmas games and save a bit of that planning energy for entertaining your beloved guests.

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• Best Family Christmas Games Online
• Festive Christmas Party Games for Adults
• Traditional Christmas Games for Families
• Classic Games With a Christmas Twist

Best Family Christmas Games Online

1. Yule Tide Trivia

For some of us, gathering the whole family around the dinner table to play some rousing Christmas game just isn’t an option. Kids live thousands of miles away, friends are always busy and with so much going on during the holiday season, minimizing travel where you can is always agreeable. Consider adding online trivia games to your arsenal of virtual game nights.

With so many themes to choose from, you’re sure to find something that puts everyone in a festive mood. Christmas games online can be hard to find so create your own yule tide themed trivia for a festive virtual Christmas game.

2. Santa Scavenge

A virtual scavenger hunt is the perfect family Christmas game online for a gathering of competitive relatives. Beat the clock while competing against each other or work together to solve an array of almost uncrackable clues.

3. Escape the North Pole

A virtual escape room offers a game experience unlike any other. Become a cyber spy, venture through a cursed forest or make your way out of the North Pole all from the comfort of your own computer. Together, you and your virtual team will solve a variety of interactive puzzles all on the web.

4. Gingerly Competitive

Christmas games online can be just as tasty as they are fun, and one traditional in-person competition makes for an equally enjoyable virtual Christmas game.

Host an online gingerbread competition and showcase your artistic skills. See who comes up with the most unique and eye-catching designs while preserving and celebrating this holiday tradition.

5. Christmas Cookie Bake-Off

Once you’ve made a gingerbread house, it’s time to decorate the cookies! Or skip the gingerbread house altogether and join online baking classes to host a cookie decorating competition with loved ones around the world.

Who will make the most dazzling tree-shaped cookie? Who can make the biggest Santa’s hat out of cookie batter? A cookie decorating competition offers a perfect blend of creativity and holiday cheer.

6. Don’t Play a Game, Watch a game

Sometimes the best option is to keep it simple. Instead of putting together a Christmas game, why not just watch one? Every Christmas, many get together to watch the thrilling Christmas Games NFL teams participate in.

But if you can’t gather in person to watch, watch together online! Football devotees impatiently await the Christmas Games NFL provides, so join in on the enthusiasm together.   

7. The Fleet of the Elves

For a friendly, family Christmas game online that’s fun for all ages, try kicking off the Christmas game session with an Elf Name Generator. Give each attendee the chance to generate a mystical name like Gingersnap Wigglehope, Frosty Frostmoon or Twinkle Jinglewine.

8. Online Express

Family Christmas games online can still evoke the spirit of giving as gift exchanges can take place virtually and in person. With just a little bit of planning, you can pull off an online gift exchange seamlessly.

All you have to do is set a date and figure out who is exchanging gifts with whom. If you want to go the Secret Santa route, have everyone use the host’s address on the return label to keep the secrecy.

9. Happy New Gear

If you and your pals spend a good bit of your time talking to each other over a headset as you play video games together, consider playing Christmas video games together for a festive twist.

There are games that take place in a Christmas setting like Tom Clancy’s The Division. Play as your favorite holiday character in movie tie-in games like Home Alone. Christmas video games are more popular than you think, so give one a try this season.

Festive Christmas Party Games for Adults

10. Crafty Santa

You may be on the prowl for out-of-the-box gift exchange ideas. If so, try turning the gift exchange into a game itself. Give the players 20 minutes to create a gift made of household items.

If you don’t want players rummaging through your kitchen or living room, have a table of usable household items already set up. Once the time is up, have each player present their unique gift to the group. 

11. Merry Murder Mystery

Murder mystery games make engaging, inclusive and memorable Christmas game ideas for adults. So much of the holiday season revolves around the kids so plan some quality time for the adults and solve your way through a murder mystery game kit.

12. On the Hunt for Santa

Get the whole office out of from behind their desks for a Santa hunt around the office. Santa games are a tradition in many households and a good-ole Santa hunt is an entertaining work Christmas party idea.

Hide any number of Santas both big and small around the office. Whoever can find the most by the end of the day wins an exceptional Christmas game prize!

13. 'Nog Pong

Replace the beer with some eggnog and host an exciting beer pong tournament: Christmas edition. Team up with your bestie or compete against your favorite cousin and make your way to the top of the Eggnogg Pong leaderboard.

14. How Low Can Santa Go?

See how low you can really go in a Santa game you won’t forget. Each player must put on Santa’s favorite hat and his infamous beard before they try to navigate under a limbo stick — decorated with Christmas lights of course — without falling or touching the bar.

15. Santa’s Stationery

If you’ve ever dreamed of having your own line of stationery, this game may help you come up with a few ideas. Present a Christmas card to your guests.

Have each of them guess what message they think is on the inside of the card. The crew will then vote on the message they think best fits the Christmas card.  

16. Runway on the North Pole

Often Christmas traditions make the best Christmas party games, and one tradition holds rank over the rest: the ugly Christmas sweater. Turn this time-honored tradition into a game by making it a contest!

Ask each guest to wear the ugliest Christmas sweater they can find. As the party continues, guests can vote for who they think has the ugliest sweater by putting their name in a jar.

17. Sentimental Exchange

For this year’s gift exchange, shake things up and exchange ornaments. Christmas ornaments are special because they only come out of their box once a year.

Each ornament holds sentimental value and a special memory from a year past. You won’t just be exchanging ornaments; you’ll be exchanging keepsakes.

18. Who Did What?! On Christmas?!

It’s always a good idea to include some ice breaker games in your list of Christmas party games. Turn the classic game of “Find Out Who” into a Christmas game.

Ask each guest to send you a Christmas fact about themselves. Gather the facts and put them on a worksheet to hand out at the beginning of the party. Guests then must find out who each fact belongs to. The first to fill out the worksheet wins a prize.

19. Screen and Swig

Combine the world of drinking games with Christmas cheer and play a fun drinking Christmas game. First, choose a classic Christmas movie to watch as a group.

Next, put together a list of common Christmas words like Christmas, Santa, presents, holiday, snow, etc. Each time a word from the list is said on screen, take a swig.

20. Gift Wrap Relay

See who can wrap the fastest with a gift wrap relay. In every friend group there’s always one friend who proclaims to be the best wrapper, but are they the fastest?

Make sure each round of wrapping is a bit harder than the last by using hard-to-wrap objects like a pineapple or a hammer.

Traditional Christmas Games for Families

21. A Few of Your Favorite Things

Christmas gifts and games go hand-in-hand so gather your friends and family to exchange favorite things gifts. A favorite things gift exchange invites guests to bring their favorite things — books, brands of socks, stationery, etc. — and hand them out to the other guests.

By the end of the experience, everyone leaves with a variety of fun, favorite gifts.

22. Santa’s Cookies

This game will be especially fun for the kids in the family. We all know Santa loves his cookies, but can he eat them without using his hands?

Each player must step into the man in red’s shoes and participate in this Christmas game while wearing a Santa beard. They must then try to eat as many cookies as they can without using their hands.

23. How Many?

Many traditional Christmas games can also function as great Christmas games for school. This Christmas Game requires just two supplies: candy and a jar.

Fill a jar with candy and be careful to count the candy as you put it in the jar. Whoever can guess the correct amount – or close enough – wins the candy.

24. Pin the Nose on Rudolph

This spin on a classic party game is a great addition to Christmas games for school or Christmas games for families alike. Hang a poster of Rudolph on a wall at a height that’s accessible to all players.

As each player steps up for a turn, blindfold them and spin them around a few times. Hand the player Rudolph’s nose and send them towards the poster. They must try to pin the nose as close to the correct location as possible.

25. What’s in the Stocking?

For this game, you’ll need a few stockings and a few small gifts. Fill each stocking with a single gift. Participants can take turns holding the stocking and feeling around the gift from the outside. They are not allowed to look inside the stocking.

If a contestant can guess what is inside the stocking, then they receive the gift. If the stocking makes its way through each participant without a single correct guess, then you can provide the group with a hint.

26. White Elephant Exchange

Traditional Christmas games like a white elephant gift exchange help to foster lasting memories and quality time. What makes a white elephant gift exchange so much fun is that you don’t have to take it so seriously.

Both gag gifts and sentimental gifts are encouraged, making the possibilities for white elephant gift ideas endless.

27. Secret Santa Surprise

Add an extra layer of joy to your holiday celebration by participating in everyone’s favorite of the Santa Games: exchanging Secret Santa gifts.

Exchange gifts with your friends, family or coworkers in a mysterious fashion and keep the secret until exchange day.

28. Cotton Ball Christmas

What is the cotton ball game for Christmas? Well, it’s a simple game really. Each participant will try their best to scoop as many cotton balls into their bowl as possible until the time is out. The catch… they have to do so blindfolded.

29. Snowball Throw

Christmas games to play outside will transform your holiday gathering into a festive day of sport. This year is supposed to be a cold one which means most winter activities may make memorable Christmas activities.

Instead of snowball fighting, try snowball throwing. See who can throw a snowball the farthest, the hardest and the fastest.

30. Blindfolded Decorating

The most fun Christmas games always involve a blindfold. For this Christmas game, each contestant must try to decorate a miniature tree in a given time frame while blindfolded.

If a player is not able to get all the decorations on before the buzzer, they are eliminated. The host will vote for who they think put together the prettiest, most festive tree.

Classic Games With a Christmas Twist

31. Merry Mad Libs

You may remember playing a game of Mad Libs as a kid and if you do then you know how hilarious this game can be.

To turn this into a Christmas game and make it on your own, simply put together a fill-in-the-blank Christmas themed paragraph. Pass it around the table so that everyone gets a turn to fill in the blanks!

32. Santa’s Scramble!

Scramble! is an easy game you can pull off anywhere with any number of participants. Create a Christmas-themed version of this game by using holiday-related words or phrases for everyone to unscramble. For example, turn “happy holidays” into “pypah ysdalioh.”

33. Christmas Bingo

Gather the family around the table to play some Christmas board games. At the top of the board game agenda should be Christmas Bingo because it’s a delightful and engaging game for all ages. Print out a Christmas Bingo card template or get crafty and make your own.

34. Twister Christmas

Twister Christmas is just as it sounds, a holiday-themed version of the classic game Twister. To play Twister Christmas you will need the standard Twister game.

For a Christmas theme, decorate the mat and the spinner with holiday-themed images. Tape a Santa hat to each red circle, a gingerbread man to each orange circle, a Christmas tree to each green circle and so on.

35. Christmas Cornhole

Put a seasonal twist on a classic backyard activity for this Christmas Game. You’ll need cornhole boards, bean bags and a flat surface to play on.

Each team of two will take turns trying to throw their bean bags at the opposing cornhole board to score points. Similar to Twister Christmas, turn cornhole into a Christmas game by decorating the cornhole boards with festive holiday designs.

36. Christmas Movies With Emojis

Put on your detective hat for this game. Not only is putting together a cryptic Christmas movie emoji quiz easy, but it’s just as simple to play with a large group or small.

If you’re a lover of all things puzzles, then an emoji movie quiz is the Christmas game for you. Make up your own or make a few copies of a free, printable version online.

37. Christmas Pictionary

Break out the markers for a classic game of Pictionary that includes all your favorite holiday characters. Divide the group up into two teams and set up a designated drawing area.

One member from each team will draw a Christmas-themed word or phrase chosen from a hat. Their team will have 60 seconds to guess what they are drawing.

Add a playful ritual to your holiday party ideas with a few traditional and out-of-the-box Christmas games. No matter what you’re looking for — Christmas games for families, classic Christmas board games, silly Christmas party games for adults or fun Christmas games online — it’s important to remember that Christmas is all about spending time with the people who make the holiday season so jolly.

Whether you’re planning Christmas themed team building games or Christmas games to play around the dinner table, all that matters is enjoying the time together.

For even more fun holiday ideas, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!