25 Christmas Games Fun Holiday Games for Kids and Adults

How to play

This activity is more of a Christmas-themed experience than a traditional game, but it’s guaranteed to be lots of fun!

The purpose is to inspire great ideas for Christmas presents and to share enjoyable memories from past holidays. By the end, everyone will have gathered plenty of inspiration and thoughtful gift ideas. It’s a perfect activity to enjoy with friends or colleagues during a workplace Christmas celebration.

To prepare, print small sheets of paper with three to six questions about Christmas gifts. Ask everyone to answer the prompts and then read their responses aloud. Hearing everyone’s stories and experiences will not only entertain the group but also inspire creative and meaningful gift ideas. A mix of ages and interests makes the activity even more enjoyable.

Each printed question should begin with the phrase “A Christmas gift…” to maintain the theme. Since this is a relaxed, low-key parlor game, give everyone at least ten minutes to write down their answers.

Here are some example questions you can use:

• A Christmas gift you’ve received that’s been very useful.
• A Christmas gift that was unexpected.
• A Christmas gift you wish for this year.
• A Christmas gift you’ll never forget.
• A Christmas gift you gave that didn’t work out.
• A Christmas gift you gave that turned out to be a great success.

How to play

This is a fun Christmas game suitable for people of all ages, making it perfect for teams of seniors, kids, and young adults during the holidays. While the game can be played individually, I recommend forming teams to enhance the social aspect.

To prepare for the game, print out papers containing the letters of the alphabet (A-Z) and hand one sheet to each team.

The objective is for each team to come up with as many Christmas (or Holiday)-related words as possible, with each word corresponding to a letter. For example: R - reindeer, F - Frosty. Give the teams 5 minutes to complete this task.

The team that covers the most letters will be declared the winner.

How to play

You can play this Christmas carols game in teams or individually. It’s a fun activity suitable for mixed ages, making it perfect for family gatherings during the holidays or for friends at a Christmas party. If you’d like, you can create a playlist of everyone’s answers to play in the background.

Rules of the Game

The rules are simple. Provide each team or participant with a piece of paper. They will have 2 minutes to write down as many Christmas carols as they can that include the word “Christmas.”

The team or participant with the most correct answers wins the game.

Variants

You can adapt this game to use other Christmas-related words or themes. For example, try writing down as many movie titles as possible that contain the word “Christmas.” Or songs that include words like ‘snow’ or ‘Santa’.

How to play

For this game, each participant must bring 1 to 2 wrapped gifts. The rules for these gifts can vary. Here are a few suggestions for structuring the game: Each participant buys a gift within a specified budget. Participants bring something they already own, wrapped. Each person brings one wrapped gift with the theme “edible.” The most common approach is to bring one to two gifts each; however, if you are in a smaller group, bringing more gifts makes the game more enjoyable.

There are many variations of the Christmas gift game. Below are two of the most common variations:

Variant 1: Gifts Are Opened

To start, everyone sits in a circle or around a table and places their wrapped gifts in the center. Each participant takes turns rolling the dice. If you roll a 1 or a 6, you can choose a gift from the pile. (Some people prefer to use two dice, allowing you to take a gift if you roll a double.)

Once all the gifts have been selected, everyone opens their gifts and places them in front of themselves. Next, set a timer for a secret duration of time, ideally between 8 and 15 minutes. Keep the timer short to maintain participants’ interest.

After that, everyone rolls the dice again, one by one. If you roll a 1 or a 6, you can “steal” a gift from another participant. A friendly variation of this rule states that you may steal gifts only from someone who has more than one gift. Alternatively, you can allow anyone to take from anyone, which might leave someone without any gifts if the time runs out.

This process continues until the timer goes off, and then everyone keeps the gifts they have accumulated by the end.

Variant 2 (Gifts Remain Secret)

This variant begins the same way as Variant 1: everyone places their wrapped gifts in a pile, and participants take turns rolling the dice. If you roll a 1 or a 6, you can take a gift from the pile. This continues until all gifts have been selected.

However, in this version, the gifts are not opened right away. You set a timer for 8-15 minutes, and everyone takes turns rolling the dice. If you roll a 1 or a 6, you may steal a gift from someone else. Once the timer runs out, everyone opens their collected gifts to see what they have received.

What makes this variant particularly fun is that the most exciting moment occurs at the end. It’s hilarious to see what’s inside the gifts that everyone was trying to steal!

A Fun Twist on Variant 2 (Empty Gift)

For an added surprise, include some gifts in the pile that are either empty or contain something humorous. Wrap these just like any other gift. This twist often leads to hilarious reactions when participants open their gifts and discover they’ve unwrapped an empty package! Please do not use this on children, as they may become very disappointed.

How to play

One cozy and entertaining game that younger children especially enjoy during the holiday season is Christmas Hide-and-Seek. It becomes even more exciting when adults join in too!

In this Christmas version of hide-and-seek, one person hides while everyone else counts aloud to 30. Once the counting is finished, it’s time for everyone to find the hidden person. The first person to find the hider gets to be the next one to hide, or you can take turns and keep score by awarding a point to whoever finds the hider first.

The twist is that the person hiding must wear a fun, festive accessory, such as reindeer antlers, a fluffy Santa hat, or any other holiday-themed item. This makes hiding a little more challenging! To add an extra layer of difficulty, you can use something that jingles, like bells.

This game works wonderfully outdoors, too, if you prefer. It’s a lovely activity to play during the day or later in the evening when the garden is illuminated with cozy Christmas lights. Surprise the kids with this playful and heartwarming game!

Variation

You can also play a variant where one person hides while everyone else searches for them. When someone finds the hidden person, they quietly join them in their hiding spot. The game continues until only one person is left searching. That person is considered the “loser” of the round for being the last to find everyone.

How to play

If you’re looking for a challenging Christmas game for teenagers or adults, this is a fun option! It can be played sitting around a table or in a living room with everyone spread out.

Choose 10 Christmas/Holiday-related words that all players are familiar with. Scramble these words, print them on paper, and hand them out. The game can be played in teams or individually.

Set a timer for 2 to 5 minutes. The winner will be the team or player that successfully unscrambles the most words within that time.

Here are some examples of words to scramble.

• Ornament
• Ribbon
• Holly
• Pinecone
• Gift
• Elf
• Snowman

How to play

Here is a cozy and social Christmas game idea that both kids and adults can enjoy. You can arrange it at your home during the holidays or play it as a fun party game with friends.

To prepare for the activity, set up a table with cookies and Christmas-themed decorations for decorating.

Each contestant will have 1 minute to decorate their cookie. Writing letters or numbers on the cookies is not allowed. Once someone finishes decorating, collect their cookie so no one can see the creation.

After everyone has completed their cookies, neatly arrange them on a table and assign a number to each. Participants will then guess which person decorated each cookie.

The winner is the one who guesses the most correct answers. Additionally, there will be a bonus winner: the person whose cookie was most often identified by the other players.

If you want a more relaxed and cozy atmosphere, you can skip the time limit and secrecy. Instead, have everyone decorate one cookie at the same time, then vote for the best-decorated cookie.

How to play

Emoji Pictionary is a popular game that requires some preparation from the organizer.

The concept is simple: create festive words or phrases related to Christmas or the holiday season that can be represented using emojis. You can choose to focus on a specific theme, such as titles of Christmas songs or holiday movies. Feel free to include some that are tricky or clever!

Print the emojis and hand them out to the participants. The player who solves the most wins!

How to play

Here is a Christmas-themed parlor game that can be enjoyed by almost everyone (as long as they can read and write). It’s perfect for playing with kids in school, at a Christmas party with adults and teenagers, or among family members. Everyone can join in!

There’s no time limit for this game, making it a fun and relaxing activity to share with your loved ones during the holidays.

The game can be played in two versions: pairs or individually.

Preparation

To prepare, print sheets of paper with 8 to 10 Christmas or holiday-related words or phrases. Participants will need to complete these. For example, if the word is Snow, someone might finish it as Snowball.

Play in Pairs

In the pairs version, players must try to finish the words or phrases in the same way their teammate does. Each matching answer earns one point. The team with the most points at the end wins the game.

Individual Play (Everyone Against Everyone)

In this format, each player aims to write a word or phrase that matches the most answers provided by other participants for each given word or phrase. Players earn one point for every matching phrase submitted by someone else. At the end of the game, the player with the highest score is declared the winner.

10 Suggestions for Phrases to Finish

How to play

Prepare a fun Christmas activity for your loved ones. You can play it on Christmas Eve, during your Christmas party, or even as a challenge with colleagues at work.

To prepare, write down some well-known Christmas-themed movie titles but remove certain words from those titles. Print these papers and hand them out to your friends and family, asking everyone to fill in the missing words.

You can play this game as a team or individually. Each team or player earns 1 point for each correct word. Here are a few examples to inspire you; feel free to use them!

11 Suggestions for Christmas Movies

1. Christmas with the _____       Christmas with the Kranks
2. Home _____       Home Alone
3. _____ actually       Love Actually
4. The polar _____       The Polar Express
5. Miracle on _____ Street       Miracle on 34th Street
6. Dr. Seuss’ How the_____Stole_____       Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas
7. The _____ before Christmas         The Nightmare Before Christmas
8. _____ Lampoon’s Christmas _____       National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
9. The man who _____ Christmas       The Man Who Invented Christmas
10. _____ the Coopers       Love the Coopers
11. While You Were _____       While You Were Sleeping

How to play

Prepare this super fun holiday game for adults to enjoy around the table. The game works just as well in pairs as it does individually. You can adapt it to include modern hits or stick to classic favorites.

The objective is to guess the titles of Christmas songs based on clever descriptions of them that you’ve created.

Example:

• Longing for a colorless holiday – “White Christmas”
• Dancing on all sides of a big, decorated plant – “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”

Feel free to make the descriptions as tricky or silly as you like. Play, laugh, and challenge your friends and family!

How to play

Season-themed mini-games are a lot of fun! Create entertaining tasks or challenges for your participants to solve or complete. Some challenges can be tricky, while others may be straightforward competitions.

This game is perfect for playing at home with family and friends at a Christmas party. You can play in teams or individually. If playing in teams, each team should designate one participant for each mini-challenge.

Award points to the teams or players in descending order based on performance, giving the best a higher score, and so on. At the end, tally up the points and declare a winner.

You can create competitions on a variety of themes. Here are a few suggestions for Christmas-themed mini-challenges:

• Tealight Challenge: Have participants try to light and extinguish a tealight as many times as possible using only one match.

• Gingerbread Race: Who can eat a gingerbread cookie the fastest?

• Marshmallow Tower: Stack holiday-themed marshmallow. You have 30 seconds to build the tallest tower; the height after the time runs out counts.

• Christmas Song Challenge: Sing the first line of as many Christmas-related songs as possible in 30 seconds.

• Orange Balancing Act: Who can balance an orange on their head for the longest time? No aids allowed.

• Christmas Word Game: Each participant must, in turn, say a word that starts with “Christmas” within 5 seconds. Anyone who fails is out, and the game continues until only one winner remains.

• Cookie Strike: Each participant places a cookie on the table. Within 5 seconds, they must hit their cookie with a single strike, breaking it into as few pieces as possible.

Encourage fun interpretations and unexpected solutions to the tasks!

How to play

Here’s a fun Christmas game that’s perfect for connecting with family or friends who are far away while still enjoying time together.

The idea is simple: each team takes photos of various items from a points list you’ve created. You’ll need to agree on a set time limit to collect as many points as possible by photographing the listed objects.

For a photo to count, at least one team member must be visible in the photo alongside the object.

Here’s an example of what your points list could look like:

• 1 point: Gingerbread cookie, Christmas ornament, wrapping paper.
• 2 points: Christmas sweater, Christmas curtains, wrapped present, Christmas card, holiday flower.
• 3 points: Decorated Christmas tree, Christmas stocking, snow globe, gingerbread cookie with your name on it.
• 5 points: Tree skirt, Christmas-themed book, gingerbread house, yourself dressed up as Santa.

Creative or funny interpretations can earn bonus points!

How to play

Here’s a classic Christmas game that never gets old! The great thing about it is that you can play it multiple times with different words each round. It requires almost no preparation from the host, making it perfect for a relaxed holiday gathering.

The goal of the game is simple: your guests, colleagues, or family members must create as many new words as possible using only the letters from a chosen word. Since it’s a holiday-themed game, pick a festive word that has lots of possible combinations.

A great example is the word “GINGERBREAD.” From that word, players can form smaller words like age, bag, big, rain, grab, garden, and many more.

Award points based on the length of the words. For instance, a three-letter word like “bag” earns 3 points, while a six-letter word like “garden” earns 6 points. The team (or individual) with the highest total score at the end wins.

This game is often most enjoyable when played in teams, but it works just as well for individuals. To keep the atmosphere calm and enjoyable, give participants plenty of time to think (around 10 to 15 minutes is ideal).

Overall, it’s a fun and low-key Christmas activity for adults to enjoy with friends and family.

Here are some examples of words you can use:

• Snowflakes
• Candycane
• Giftwrapping
• Celebration
• Candlelight
• Ornamenting
• Decorations
• Gingerbread

How to play

If you want a fun Christmas candy game for kids, try this Candy Cane game.

Provide each kid with a candy cane. Then place a generous amount of candy canes on a table, along with an empty bowl.

Every contestant places a cane in their mouth. The kids will then compete, one at a time.

The mission is to move candy canes from the table and drop them into the bowl. No hands are allowed. Instead, the kids must use the candy cane in their mouth to “hook” candy canes from the table and drop them into the bowl.

Each child has one minute to collect candy canes. The child who gathers the most candy canes will win the game and take home all their collected candy canes.

How to play

Here’s a fun, low-key holiday game for adults that requires some preparation. Start by gathering famous quotes from various Christmas movies, TV specials, or series. Then, participants will try to match each quote with the correct title from which it originates.

Here are some examples of well-known quotes:

• “You can be too old for a lot of things, but you’re never too old to be afraid.” (Home Alone)
• “Son of a nutcracker!” (Elf)
• “There was more than one lobster at the birth of Jesus?” (Love Actually)

How to play

Name 3 is a fun activity suitable for kids, teenagers, and adults. This game always leads to amusing discussions. You can play in teams or individually (I prefer to team up!).

To prepare for the game, write down some Christmas or holiday-themed categories or statements (6-8 categories will do). Here are some examples:

• Overplayed Christmas Songs
• Popular Holiday Foods
• The Smells of Christmas
• Christmas Movie Titles

Each participant/team should now write down three answers for each category that they believe will be the most common answers among the group. The reason for this is that you only earn points if others have the same answers as you.

Once everyone has prepared their answers, gather as a group to review each category. Go through one category at a time. Whenever someone writes an answer that matches another player’s, both players receive one point. The order of answers within a category does not matter, as long as they belong to the same category.

For example, if three players write down “Home Alone” in the Christmas Movie Titles category, then all three teams earn two points each.

The team or participant with the highest score at the end of the game wins!

How to play

This is the Christmas version of “Pin the Tail on the Donkey,” and the kids will have even more fun if the adults join in too!

Preparation: Draw a large snowman on a sheet of paper (it doesn’t have to be fancy). Then, draw and cut out some carrot noses.

To play, each player takes turns putting on the blindfold. Give them three spins, then position them in front of the snowman. With a paper carrot in hand, they must try to stick it in the correct spot on the snowman’s face. The player who gets closest wins!

How to play

This Christmas game can be as straightforward or as elaborate as you like. The easiest version is to place 10 raisins on a tray or table. One child leaves the room while the other children secretly choose one raisin to be the “buzz-raisin.”

Once the choice is made, the child returns and points to one raisin at a time. If no one says anything, that child can pick up the raisin and keep it before pointing to the next one. However, if the child points to the buzz-raisin, everyone shouts “Buzz!”, and that child loses the round.

Then it’s the next child’s turn with 10 new raisins. The player who collects the most raisins wins.

To make it extra festive, you can draw a snowman, Santa, or a reindeer on a piece of paper. Place the raisins at different points on the drawing and play the same game.

If the children don’t like raisins, you can use gummy candies, nuts, gingerbread cookies, or any other small treats they enjoy.

Variant
In another version of the game, one person secretly chooses the “burr-raisin.” The children then take turns pointing at a raisin. Whoever points to the burr-raisin is out of the game, and a new round begins. The game continues until only one child remains.

How to play

Challenge friends, family, or colleagues at work with the game Scattergories! You can easily create a kid-friendly version of the game as well.

In this game, players must fill a table with words. The challenge is that the words need to match a category in each row, and each column must begin with a specific letter. Create 4-6 Winter/Christmas/Holiday-related categories. Below are some examples of row categories you can use. Write these on the left side of each row:

• Something red
• Christmas Song Titles
• It can be found at the north pole

Next, choose a Winter/Christmas/Holiday-related word for the columns, such as GIFT or SNOW, and write the letters of that word above each column. For example, if there is a category Christmas Song Titles, correct answers for the letters in the word GIFT would be:

• Gloria
• I’ll Be Home for Christmas
• Feliz Navidad
• The Twelve Days of Christmas

Play the game in teams or individually! The player or team with the most correct words wins. To increase the challenge, you can set a time limit of 5-10 minutes.

Kids Version

To make it easier for younger children, you can omit the requirement that words must begin with a specific letter.

How to play

If you’re looking for a fun and playful Christmas-themed game suitable for all ages, this twist on the classic clothespin game is a perfect choice.

It’s an excellent icebreaker for holiday parties! The game encourages guests to mingle right from the start, providing plenty of laughs and conversation topics.

Tell your guests that “reindeer clips” will be circulating, and that the goal is to attach one to another guest in secret. If someone discovers a clip on themselves, their task is to sneak it onto someone else without getting caught! If they get caught in the act, they must start over.

At the beginning of the party, discreetly hand out a few clips to some guests, and then let the game begin! Do not reveal how long the game will last; stop it after about 30–60 minutes, depending on what feels right. At the end, find out who has the most clips attached to them!

How to play

Here is a hilarious and fast-paced Christmas party game that’s enjoyable for everyone and often results in plenty of memorable photos and videos if you have your phone ready!

To play, you’ll need a small gift that you’ve purchased and wrapped in multiple layers of paper. The objective is to make the present challenging to unwrap.

The game starts with everyone standing around a table or sitting in a circle. Each player takes turns rolling the two dice. If a player rolls doubles, they put on the gloves (for an extra challenge, use mittens) and attempt to unwrap the gift. Meanwhile, the other players continue rolling the dice, and as soon as the next player rolls doubles, they take over the gloves and carry on unwrapping.

The game continues until someone successfully opens the gift, thereby winning its contents.

How to play

Take a cozy break and discover what your guests really love about the holidays! In this relaxed activity, participants choose from a list of options you’ve prepared. Which will they choose?

• Buy Christmas presents early or wait until the last minute
• Watch a Christmas movie or listen to Christmas music
• Real tree or artificial tree

A fun way to get to know coworkers, family, and friends a little better!

How to play

A fun holiday activity is to organize an exciting trivia for your guests! Since it’s Christmas, make sure to include season-themed facts and trivia.

You can ask about topics such as candy, food, decorations, or Christmas movies. Aim for 8 to 12 questions.

How to play

This is a fun Christmas competition game in which players are rewarded for their familiarity with some of the most well-known Christmas carols. You can play this game with colleagues as a Christmas activity at work, with friends or family during the holidays, or use it as an entertaining and challenging game at your Christmas party.

The game is most enjoyable when played in pairs, but you can also play in larger teams or individually.

To prepare the game, select several well-known Christmas carols. Then, remove specific sentences or words from the songs. The teams will then try to write down the missing lyrics.

You may find that recalling the lyrics is more challenging than you think, even though many of us have heard them countless times. Decide whether you want to set a time limit for the game or allow teams to indicate when they have finished.

Teams earn 1 point for each accurate word they recall.

Example

Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is … (bright.)