Christmas Party Games for Families and Large Groups

You have a house full of people, or a classroom, or a meeting room with a tray of cookies, and about an hour and a half to make it feel like a party. Most hosts do not need more games. They need the right few for the people who are actually coming.

This guide gives you twenty games sorted by situation: all ages together, large groups, the table, quiet corners, classrooms and offices. Each one says who it suits, how many can play, what to prepare and how it goes. A comparison table and a 90-minute plan are further down.

What are good Christmas party games for families?

Good family games are ones where a small child and a grandparent can play together and both have a real chance. That usually means teams, simple rules and a task that takes a minute or less.

All ages together

1. Christmas charades. Suits ages 6 and up, 6 to 20 people. Write 30 slips with things to act out: a snowman melting, wrapping a gift, a reindeer with a cold. Teams take turns; one person acts for 60 seconds while their team guesses. Younger children can whisper to a grown-up who acts for them.

2. Hide the ornament. Suits ages 3 and up, 4 to 15 people. One grown-up hides a soft, unbreakable ornament in plain view. Everyone searches, and the first person to spot it sits down quietly without saying a word. The last people still looking get the clue “warm” or “cold.” It takes five minutes to set up and works in any room.

3. Gift-wrapping relay. Suits ages 7 and up, 6 to 16 people in teams of three or four. Give each team a small box, a roll of paper, tape and a bow. One at a time, each member adds one step (fold paper, tape, ribbon, bow) before passing it on. Judge on speed and then on neatness. Cut the paper into sheets beforehand so nobody is hunting for scissors.

4. Wrapped gift pass. Suits ages 4 and up, 8 to 25 people. Wrap one small prize in many layers of paper, with a short instruction between layers (“sing one line of a carol,” “name a snow animal”). Pass it around a circle while music plays. When the music stops, the holder unwraps one layer and does the task. Pick allergy-safe prizes, since a child may open the last layer.

What Christmas games work for large groups?

Games that work for large groups let everyone play at the same time and need no one to wait for a turn. Bingo, mingling games and team rounds do this best.

Large groups

5. Christmas bingo. Suits ages 5 and up (picture cards for non-readers), 10 to 60 people. Print a different card for each player and call the items from a list. No two cards should share a winning line, or you will have three winners at once. Offer a small prize for a line and a bigger one for a full card.

6. Team trivia. Suits ages 8 and up, 12 to 50 people in teams of four to six. Write a dozen questions in three rounds, easy to hard, and ask one team member to write the answers. Add a tie-breaker, such as “How many days of Christmas does the song count?” Keep it to ten minutes per round so the room stays lively.

7. Find someone who. Suits ages 6 and up, 15 to 60 people, standing and mingling. Give each guest a sheet with lines such as “has been in snow this year,” “can wrap a gift in under a minute” or “knows all the words to a carol.” They collect one signature per line. This game is helpful when people do not know each other.

8. Dice gift swap. Suits ages 8 and up, 8 to 30 people. Seat everyone in a circle with a pile of wrapped gifts in the middle and one die. Pass the die around; whoever rolls a six takes a gift from the pile and unwraps it. When the pile is empty, start a second round: a six now lets you swap your gift for a neighbor’s. Call time after eight more minutes. Everyone keeps what they hold.

Some hosts like to have the cards, prizes and score sheets ready before guests arrive. The Christmas Party Games Mega Bundle has 602 pages across 44 sections, including 30 different Christmas bingo cards for adults, 90 multiple-choice trivia questions and three ready-made party plans for families, offices and friends.

Which Christmas games work at the table?

Table games work best when they need only a pen, a sheet of paper or good conversation. They fit between courses and let slower eaters catch up.

Sit-down games

9. Lists game. Suits ages 8 and up, 3 to 20 people. Choose a category (“things on a Christmas tree,” “winter sports”) and a starting letter. Everyone writes as many answers as they can in 60 seconds. Answers that nobody else wrote score a point each. Run six or seven rounds with new letters.

10. Two truths and a fib, Christmas memories. Suits ages 9 and up, 4 to 12 people. Each person says three things about past Christmases, one of them invented, and the others vote on the fib. Grandparents often win this one because they have the better stories.

11. Would you rather. Suits ages 5 and up, 2 to 30 people. Ask a question with two silly choices: “Would you rather have a snowman that talks or a sleigh that flies?” Everyone says their pick and why. It needs no preparation but works better with 20 cards written ahead, since it is hard to invent questions on the spot.

Which quiet Christmas games suit older relatives or tired children?

Quiet games suit anyone who needs a break from noise, and they can run in a corner while the rest of the party carries on. Each one needs only paper and a pencil or a tray.

Quiet games

12. Finish the carol. Suits ages 10 and up, 2 to 15 people. Read the first line of a traditional carol and ask guests to write the next line from memory. Use only old carols that most people know. Give a point for each correct line.

13. Picture word puzzles. Suits ages 8 and up, 1 to 10 people. Draw or print pictures that stand for phrases, such as a picture of a snowman plus a picture of a ball standing for “snowball.” Players solve them alone or in pairs at their own speed.

14. What is missing? Suits ages 4 and up, 2 to 12 people. Put 12 small Christmas items on a tray, let everyone look for 30 seconds, then cover the tray, remove one item and ask what has gone. Little ones love this, and it takes a minute to set up.

What Christmas games work in a classroom?

In a classroom, short games with clear rules and no reading barrier work best, and a station rotation lets every child play without waiting for a big group.

Classroom

15. Station rotation. Suits ages 5 to 11, a class of 20 to 30. Set up four stations, such as bingo, a drawing game, a word puzzle and a craft. Groups of five or six spend ten minutes at each and then rotate. A helper at each station keeps order.

16. Snowball question toss. Suits ages 7 and up, 10 to 30 children. Each child writes a question on a sheet of paper (“What is your favorite winter food?”), crumples it into a paper snowball and, on a signal, tosses it gently into the middle. Everyone picks up a different snowball, opens it and answers aloud. Use soft paper only and stay seated.

17. Picture bingo. Suits ages 4 to 7, 6 to 30 children. Cards show pictures instead of words, so no reading is needed. The caller shows a picture, and children cover the matching square. This game works well as a calm one right after a loud activity.

If you teach children aged 4 to 12, the Christmas Classroom Games for Kids bundle has 197 pages and 17 games in 10 sections, with 30, 45 and 60-minute party plans and station rotation grids, and a no-reading section for the youngest.

What Christmas games can you play at a work party?

At a work party, choose games that are short, take no athletic skill and are kind to everyone, including people who dislike being the center of attention.

Office

18. Swap or steal gift exchange. Suits 8 to 30 adults. Each guest brings one wrapped gift. People draw numbers; in order, each either opens a new gift or steals one already opened. Set a rule that a gift can be stolen only twice, so it ends. Fix a price limit in the invitation.

19. Holiday auction. Suits 10 to 40 adults. Give everyone the same amount of play money. Wrap small, funny items and auction them off one at a time, with the host as auctioneer. Wrapped gifts add suspense because nobody knows what they are bidding on. Only play money changes hands.

20. Who is most likely to. Suits 6 to 30 adults. Read a prompt such as “Who is most likely to wrap their gifts on Christmas Eve?” and on three everyone points at a person. Write the prompts in advance, and keep them warm and silly, never about someone’s work performance or looks.

For a whole season of hosting, the Thanksgiving and Christmas Games Bundle has 1,196 pages in 63 sections. It covers Thanksgiving dinner and Friendsgiving as well as the adult, kids, gift swap, winter and New Year sections.

How do these games compare?

This table sorts the twenty games by the things a host needs to know first: how many can play, the youngest age that enjoys it and how long it takes to prepare.

How do you plan a 90-minute Christmas party?

A 90-minute party needs three or four games, a break for food or gifts and one quiet spare. This plan suits a family party of ten to twenty people of mixed ages.

Tip: Keep one spare game in your pocket, such as “What is missing?” If a game ends early or a toddler needs a break, you will be glad of it.

For children who love codes, a Christmas treasure hunt with written clues is another option. Our guide to setting up an escape room for kids at home shows how to plan one. If you also host a fall dinner, our Thanksgiving games for family has more ideas, and our gingerbread man activities for preschool suit the youngest guests.

What to do next

1. Count your guests and their ages, then choose three or four games from the table that fit the biggest group.
2. Print or write the cards and slips the day before. Put each game’s materials in its own bag.
3. Buy small prizes so every team wins something, and check for allergies if any prize is food.
4. Browse our Christmas printables and printable party games if you would rather print cards than write them.
5. Write the schedule on one sheet and tape it where you can see it.