Christmas games
Games for Christmas parties, family gatherings and the long afternoon after lunch.
Start with a guide: Christmas games for kids, from toddlers to tweens, Christmas party games for adults that need almost no prep
All christmas games
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Balloon Keep Up
Keep a balloon in the air without letting it touch the floor. Simple for one balloon, frantic with three.
- 2+ players, move game
- 10 min
- Ages 4+
- Rowdy
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Candy Jar Guess
Fill a jar with candy, let everyone write down a guess, and whoever comes closest to the real number takes the jar home.
- 4+ players, think game
- 5 min
- Ages 5+
- Calm
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Charades
One player acts out a word or phrase without speaking while their team races the clock to guess it.
- 4+ players, talk game
- 20 min
- Ages 6+
- Lively
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Consequences
Each player adds one line to a story without seeing what came before, then the folded papers are opened and read aloud.
- 3–12 players, make game
- 15 min
- Ages 8+
- Calm
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Fishbowl
The same bowl of names is guessed three times: first by describing, then with one word, then in silence.
- 6–20 players, talk game
- 40 min
- Ages 10+
- Lively
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Hot Potato
A ball or beanbag is passed around the circle as fast as possible. Whoever holds it when the music stops is out.
- 5–25 players, move game
- 10 min
- Ages 4+
- Lively
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Memory Tray
Study a tray of small objects for one minute, then write down as many as you can remember once it is covered.
- 2+ players, think game
- 10 min
- Ages 5+
- Calm
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Musical Chairs
Players circle a ring of chairs while the music plays and scramble for a seat when it stops. There is always one chair too few.
- 5–25 players, move game
- 10 min
- Ages 4+
- Rowdy
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Name That Tune
Play the first few seconds of a song and see who can name it first. The shorter the clip, the bigger the bragging rights.
- 3+ players, think game
- 20 min
- Ages 8+
- Lively
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Paper Telephone
A sentence becomes a drawing, the drawing becomes a sentence, and by the end of the stack nothing is what it started as.
- 4–10 players, make game
- 25 min
- Ages 8+
- Calm
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Pin the Tail
Blindfolded and spun around, each player tries to stick a tail in the right place on a picture. Closest wins.
- 3–20 players, move game
- 15 min
- Ages 3+
- Lively
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Scavenger Hunt
Teams race to find everything on a list, hidden or in plain sight, before the time runs out.
- 2+ players, move game
- 30 min
- Ages 5+
- Lively
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Secret Santa
Everyone draws one name in secret and buys a single gift for that person, so the whole group exchanges presents for the price of one.
- 4+ players, think game
- 30 min
- Ages 6+
- Calm
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White Elephant
Everyone brings a wrapped gift, then takes turns either opening a new one or stealing one that is already open.
- 6–30 players, think game
- 45 min
- Ages 12+
- Lively
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Who Am I?
Everyone wears a name they cannot see and asks yes-or-no questions around the room until they work out who they are.
- 4–20 players, talk game
- 20 min
- Ages 8+
- Lively
How to choose
A Christmas gathering usually mixes small children, grandparents and everyone in between, often after a big meal. Start with a sitting-down game that needs no explaining, and keep anything with running for before lunch or for the yard. Have one quiet game ready for the stretch when half the room is drowsy and the other half is restless.
Not sure which of these fits your group? The game picker asks how many people you have, how old they are and where you are, then deals three games.