Gifts are great, but making memories and laughing is a staple during this time of year. And there’s where fun Christmas games make their appearance. Boring Christmas games have no place in my house, so we’ve got a bunch of fun games that you’ll want to play now.
Christmas games are the perfect thing to do after the dishwasher is loaded and your Tupperware is full of leftovers. Sure, you could lay on the couch and watch Hallmark holiday movies, but why not liven up your annual get-togethers with a bit of friendly competition?
Traditional board games, cards, or classics like Bingo never go out of style, but we’ve rounded up more exciting holiday games to get your party going. Stay on top of game sales by bookmarking The Krazy Coupon Lady’s Game Deals page.
Christmas Games for Groups
Whether big or small, group games can be fun and downright competitive. Clear some space and get ready to laugh.
1. Gingerbread House Competition
For some families, building gingerbread houses is a regular annual event. To make this a game, set a timer for teams of two to three people to see how well they can construct their home. Help your friends out by giving them mini gingerbread house kits so the competition won’t take as long.
Related: Best Gingerbread House Kits
2. Ugly Sweater Contest
This is one of my favorite Christmas games because it’s high on creativity. Decide who the judges will be and plan your look way before Christmas. Here’s your chance to break out your inner supermodel as you show off your DIY or store-bought ugly Christmas sweater.
3. What Do You Meme? Game
It’s only fitting that in 2022 we have a meme game since everyone is obsessed with them. The family edition of What Do You Meme? allows all generations of the family to play as they try to create the funniest memes. After grabbing a caption card, players match it to a photo meme card to come up with the most humorous answers.
4. Cookie Decorating Contest
Pretend like you’re on a cooking show and decorate pre-baked cookies better than your grandma. Set up a couple of stations of baked cookies, sprinkles, and frosting. Either let it be a timed game or an artistic judgment of sorts.
5. 5-Second Rule Game
The 5-Second Rule Game is suggested for kids 17 and older and makes for a funny group Christmas game because you never know what will be said. The goal is to answer three questions from one of the cards included in five seconds. Whoever has the most answered questions (counted as points) wins.
6. Holiday Charades
You don’t need to buy a game to play Charades — you just have to be a good silent actor. With Charades, pantomimes (aka acting out a phrase) are what matter. Prepare a list of holiday-related acts and form teams of equal numbers.
When it’s your time to go, grab a phrase from a bowl or bag and act it out silently. Have your teammates try to guess what’s being acted out. Keep score and set a timer so everything is fair. The team with the most accurate guesses wins.
7. Holiday Trivia Game
The type of trivia — movies, songs, traditions — doesn’t matter as long as it’s commonly known. You could buy a holiday trivia game, download one from Etsy, or make up your own. Shoot for 25 true/false and multiple-choice questions like “why is Christmas celebrated in December?” or “do more people eat turkey on Thanksgiving or on Christmas?”.
8. Rich Kid Christmas
Do you want to pretend that you’re a rich kid for Christmas? Sign me up. Gather photos of your most outrageously expensive dream items — think a Rolex, Fiji vacation, 300-foot yacht — and have your friends and family guess the price. Give points to teams that reach the closest dollar amount. As with most things, there’s a similar virtual option in the Rich Dad Santa app.
9. Family Feud
You’ve seen the show on TV, so now’s your chance to shout out the answers in your living room. Divide your players into two evenly numbered groups (aka families) to compete against each other when the “host” asks a question. The first group to buzz in gets to answer the question first and move on to the next round.
Of course, you can buy the Family Feud Game or you can make your own with the buzzer app and a big poster board. Before your family gathers, make a list of questions and an answer key for the designated host. Write the topic on the poster board as each member of the family steps up and tries to answer.
10. What’s in the Bag?
Much like the Halloween mystery box game, players need to guess what an item is by touch. Place the object — a pine cone, cooked pumpkin, a Santa hat — in a paper bag. Blindfold players or have them close their eyes tightly while they put their hand in the bag. Give them 30 seconds to guess what it is. Keep a list of winners to give out prizes, like Hershey’s Kisses.
11. Scattergories
Scattergories is a fast-paced trivia game that I try to beat my family in every year. The 6-player game requires players (13 years old and up) to think as fast as they can to answer questions based on the letter rolled on the dice. For example, all answers will need to start with the letter F if F is rolled. Your team earns points if the other team doesn’t have the same answer.
12. Holiday This or That
This Christmas game is similar to the Would You Rather line of questioning. Websites like Etsy have a variety of printables, but making your own sheet is fun and easy. Try this game as an icebreaker at holiday parties to get to know each other or play it as a fun holiday game to pass the evening. For instance, ask whether they would pick the movie Elf or Home Alone?
13. Christmas MadLibs
Christmas MadLibs is great for any time of year, so it makes for an easy, last-minute solution as a Christmas game. Hand out sheets to your guests and have them fill in the blanks to create memorable, unique, and hilarious stories.
14. Pictionary
Put your drawing skills to the test with Pictionary, where your guests (8 years old and up) have to guess what you’re sketching. You only have one minute to convey what’s on the card you pulled. Luckily, there are erasable markers!
15. Most Likely To … Christmas Edition
Just when you think you know your friends and family, here comes a game to challenge that. With the Christmas version of Most Likely To, you may pose questions like who’s the most likely to start decorating in October? or who’s the most likely to peek at their gifts? Create your own list of 20 – 25 questions and see who you think you know.
16. Heads Up!
When it comes to family board games, Heads Up! is sure to bring loads of laughter. It’s like charades, but you have to guess the word held on your forehead based on clues that others give you. You’re given 60 seconds and have to guess a person, place, or thing. Free versions of Heads Up! are available on Google Play and the App Store.
17. Card Games
You can’t go wrong with a good old-fashioned game of cards. A 2-pack of playing cards is only $1.25 at Dollar Tree. Take your pick from Gin Rummy, Spades, Bid Whist, or Poker. Online versions are simple to use by using Playingcards.io.
18. Family Fact or Fiction?
You’ll need 12 players for this game, and the objective is to see if your friends and family can guess whether your statements are true or false. Have everyone write a fact and a lie about themselves. Then each player (one at a time) will read their statements out loud.
After all of the guests vote on whether it’s a fact or fiction, the person will reveal the truth. Designate someone to keep score on who correctly guesses to pick a winner.
The Fact or Fiction app may be fun on the go.
19. Gift Wrap Challenge
On your mark, get ready, wrap! For the gift wrap challenge, time your guests as they wrap odd-shaped Christmas presents in a designated time, like two minutes. Lay out wrapping paper, bows, tape, and scissors on a table and watch two people compete.
20. Name That Christmas Carol
Write down a few lines of well-known Christmas carols on paper and add them to a bowl or bag. Divide into two teams and have each player — one at a time — read the lines and guess the song within 30 seconds. Assign five points for each correct answer until the team with the most correct wins.
21. Two Truths and a Lie
Here’s another holiday twist on fact or fiction. With four players, ask each participant to think of three Christmas gifts — one gift they’ve never received (the lie) and two that they’ve actually gotten (two truths). As they stand to state their gifts, other players have to guess the lie.
22. Christmas Emoji Movie Guessing Game
Having a printable Christmas emoji movie game is the fastest way to start having fun, but by all means with some planning you could create your own. Pick 10 Christmas movies (yes, Die Hard counts!), pass out pencils, and set a timer for two minutes. Give one point each to each correct answer.
23. Christmas Word Scramble
Who doesn’t love a good mental challenge during the holidays? Print a ready-made Christmas word scramble game to pass out to participants. Give everyone five minutes to unscramble the words, and then read the answers aloud.
24. Christmas Karaoke
Get everyone into the holiday spirit with a few rounds of Christmas karaoke. Free websites like KarokeVerson.com and KaraFun take the pressure off of having to buy or rent a machine. Belt out your favorite tunes and have your peers judge your talent.
25. Human Christmas Tree
This is like the Halloween mummy wrapping content but with Christmas decorations. Pick two representatives to pose as “trees” and have a team of people decorate the person as fast as possible.
26. Gift Stacking Relay
Divide your group into two teams of five individuals. Arrange five gifts on a table on each team’s side. Set a timer for each runner to grab a gift and carry it across the room as fast as possible. The next runner will repeat the process, stacking the gifts on top of each other and carrying them across the room again. The last person will have to carry five gifts without dropping them.
Christmas Games for Virtual Parties
Honestly, most Christmas games can very easily be played virtually. We thought these options were especially fun for coworkers or family members who can’t make it in person.
27. Seasonal Scavenger Hunt
Before you shun this Christmas game idea, I actually played a version of this at a virtual baby shower, and it was hysterically fun. The host will announce an item that you must find and show to the camera within 15 seconds.
It could be something red or an item that says Christmas on it. The player who returns fastest with the correct item gets a point. The person with the most points could win a gift card.
Use these gift card deals for your last-minute holiday gifts.
28. Awkward Christmas Card
I’m sure you’ve seen the memes with those family Christmas cards where someone has their eyes closed or the family is dressed in identical outfits. For a virtual version, take a screenshot of everyone with their ugliest Christmas sweater, light-up hat, or goofiest face. Send everyone a copy to remember that special day.
29. Never Have I Ever: Christmas Edition
Be prepared to really get to know your coworkers and family members in the Christmas edition of Never Have I Ever. The idea is to state something that you haven’t done. The game host will begin with a Never Have I Ever question, and those who haven’t done it will keep their finger raised. Raise a finger for each time you haven’t done something.
30. Who Am I?
Imitation is a form of flattery, right? There are a couple of types of Who Am I? games. You could freestyle it by pretending to be someone else (without being offensive) either by the way they dress or their tone of voice. Or choose a celebrity or a fictional character. Others will ask questions to guess the person.
Another option is to pull Christmas Who Am I? cards and hold it away from you while other players give you clues. Sort of like Heads Up! but with holiday-themed characters.
31. Christmas Bingo
Who doesn’t love a good game of Bingo? Forget those downloadable versions; virtual Bingo, courtesy of Myfreebingocards.com, does the job. A host will yell out the letter and number while you mark off your winning square. The first person to get five squares in a row wins.
Christmas Games for Kids
32. Elf On the Shelf Hide and Seek
Elf on the Shelf has been around since 2005, and it’s a must-have item during Christmastime. Hide about a dozen of your little elves around your space and give guests five minutes to collect as many as they can.
Need some Elf on the Shelf ideas? We have several genius hiding spots for you to use.
33. Ornament Guessing Game
Guessing the number of holiday ornaments on a Christmas tree is the goal of this game. Whoever gets the closest can get a special treat. Perhaps they can eat dessert first, or you can give them an ornament to take home with them.
34. Freeze Dance Game
Try this chairless dance game that’s really fun for all ages. Play your favorite holiday tune, and once the music stops, everyone has to stop dancing. Whoever is still moving is out of the game. Keep going until one player is left.
35. Christmas Memory Game
Keep the kids busy with a game of memorization by matching the game cards.
We found this personalized Christmas memory game that you could give as gifts or use every year during gametime.
36. Video Games
We can’t escape digital forms of entertainment, so queue up the gaming system to play kid-friendly Christmas games. Kizi has free online games for kids of all ages.
37. Holiday Tic-Tac-Toe
You really don’t need a printable to play holiday tic-tac-toe, although there are free downloads available online. Play the traditional way but decorate your horizontal or vertical spaces with holiday cutouts.
38. Santa Limbo
See how low your friends and family can go with Santa limbo using a broom, belt, or ribbon. This limbo song for kids is sure to get the party started. Take pictures and video to laugh for months to come.
39. Blindfold Christmas Drawing Contest
The idea is simple — try to draw a Christmas-related item while blindfolded. Start easy with a Santa hat and move up to a decorating Christmas tree. It’s all for fun, but the drawings are sure to be memorable.
40. Pin the Nose on Rudolph
This is perfect for younger kids who want to feel included. Play Pin the Nose on Rudolph in a space big enough to spin the kiddo around. Blindfold them, take a spin, and pin Rudolph’s nose as close as possible.
41. Cookies for Santa
This hands-free Christmas game is all about precision and patience. With a team of two to four players, place a cookie on each of their foreheads. When the time starts, each of them will guide the cookie from their forehead to their mouths without using their hands. The winner is the first person to successfully navigate it hands-free.
Outdoor Christmas Games
42. Sled Bowling
If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere snow is likely around Christmas, sled bowling will be even more fun. Hop on your sled and have your teammates push you into a set of bowling pins. Oriential Trading’s 12-piece snowman bowling set also has everything you need to bowl outdoors. Form teams and knock down as many pins as you can.
43. Olympics Style Winter Games
Recreate Winter Olympics games like ice skating and curling for your next holiday party. As a DIY version, wrap and tie wax paper around participants’ feet to have an indoor ice skating challenge.
For curling, use broomsticks and paper plates on a non-carpeted surface to compete to reach a different room. Keep track of points on this printable Olympic-themed scorecard.
44. Snowman Toss Game
You wouldn’t normally think of playing cornhole outdoors in winter, but I guarantee that the whole family will enjoy this activity. Amazon has a 7-piece Christmas cornhole set that’s 4.5 feet tall and comes with five holes for your hand-molded snowballs.
45. Snowball Fight
You can’t have a list of Christmas games without a snowball fight. The objective is to hit each other with as many snowballs as possible — but not the face because that’s unsportsmanlike conduct.
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