35 Christmas Party Games for Families (Kids, Teens & Big Groups)

Pick a game in 10 seconds

Situation	Try these
Big family, all ages	Name That Carol, Christmas Pass the Parcel, Secret Elf
Kids under 10	Santa Says, Snowball Toss, Elf Hunt
Teens	Holiday Lip-Sync Battle, Christmas Movie Emoji Quiz, Two Truths and a Christmas Lie
No supplies at all	Christmas Song Lightning Round, The A-to-Z Christmas List, Christmas Would You Rather
After dinner, low energy	Guess Whose Memory, Christmas Pictionary, Stocking Guess
Gift exchange	White Elephant with a Fair Picker, Mystery Sock Swap, The Left-Right Gift Game

Every game below is original and family-safe: no alcohol, no gambling, nothing messy or risky, nothing that involves strangers or posting online. The sections run from the fastest to start to the calmest to finish, which is also a decent running order for the party itself. The “Make it fair” tips show where a random pick keeps the peace; the free finger chooser on this site does that in your phone’s browser, and the app does it offline.

No-prep games you can start right now (phone only)

These five need one phone and nothing else. They lean on three things a phone can do faster than a parent can: pick a person at random, split a crowd into teams, and hand out a turn order. The app packs are not Christmas-themed, so type your own holiday dares into My dares first (there are 12 ready to copy below), or play with the all-ages Family pack as it is.

1. Christmas Dare Round

   Players: 3 to 10Ages: All agesTime: 10 to 20 minNeeds: One phone

   Before the party, type a dozen Christmas dares into the app’s My dares list (the 12 below get you started). Everyone puts a finger on the phone, the countdown runs, and whoever is picked does the dare that appears. Play a few rounds between other games or while dessert is being served. Nobody is ever picked by a person, so nobody can complain.

   Make it fair: Let the picked player choose Truth instead of Dare if they would rather talk than dance.

2. “Most Likely To”: Christmas Edition

   Players: 4 to 12Ages: 6 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: One phone or a question list

   Read a “who is most likely to” question out loud: most likely to peek at presents early, to fall asleep during the movie, to eat the last cookie. On three, everyone points at someone. The person with the most fingers pointed at them gets one sentence to defend themselves. Then pick the next reader and keep going.

   Make it fair: The app’s Most Likely mode picks the reader for you, and the list on this site has 200 clean questions.

3. Who Opens the Next Gift?

   Players: 3 to 20Ages: All agesTime: As long as the pile lastsNeeds: One phone and the gifts

   Instead of youngest-first or oldest-first, everyone puts a finger on the phone before each gift. The finger that lights up opens next, and that person sits out until everyone has had a turn. With more people than fit on the screen, play in rounds of five: the winner of each round opens, the rest wait for the next round. It ends the “it’s my turn” negotiation before it starts.

   Make it fair: The free finger chooser on this site works if the app is not on the phone yet.

4. Carol Battle

   Players: 6 to 20Ages: 8 and upTime: 15 minNeeds: One phone and loud voices

   Split into two teams. Call out a word (snow, bells, star, night) and Team A has 10 seconds to sing a line from any Christmas song that contains it. Team B then needs a different song with the same word. A team that stalls or repeats a song loses the round. First to five rounds wins, and the losers sing the winners’ favorite carol.

   Make it fair: Teams mode in the app splits everyone’s fingers into even color teams in one countdown.

5. Fair-Turn Charades

   Players: 4 to 12Ages: 6 and upTime: 20 minNeeds: Slips of paper

   Write Christmas scenes on slips: decorating the tree, a snowball fight, Santa stuck in a chimney, a reindeer with a cold. Use a turn order to settle who acts first, second and third, so nobody waits forever. The actor draws a slip and mimes it with no words while everyone guesses. The correct guesser earns the point and the next actor is already decided.

   Make it fair: Turn order mode in the app numbers every finger 1st, 2nd, 3rd in one go.

Christmas party games for kids

Games for the three-to-nine crowd have one rule: nobody waits long for a turn. Each of these runs in about ten minutes, uses things you already own, and has a version where no one is eliminated, because a four-year-old who is “out” is a four-year-old who is now under the table. Let the kids pick which one is next; the random button above settles ties.

6. Santa Says

   Players: 3 to 15Ages: 3 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: Nothing

   One person is Santa and gives orders: “Santa says touch your toes,” “Santa says wiggle like an elf.” Players only obey orders that start with “Santa says.” Anyone who moves on a plain “jump!” is out, but out players become Santa’s helpers and watch for mistakes, so nobody sits bored. The last player standing is the next Santa.

   Make it fair: For very small kids, skip eliminations and just cheer the funniest moves.

7. Pin the Nose on Rudolph

   Players: 2 to 10Ages: 3 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: A reindeer drawing, red paper circles, tape, a scarf

   Draw a reindeer face on a large sheet and tape it to a door at kid height. Each child gets a red paper nose with a loop of tape on the back. Blindfold them with the scarf, turn them around twice, point them at the door, and let them stick the nose where they think it belongs. The nose closest to the right spot wins, and the one farthest away gets the biggest laugh.

8. Snowball Toss

   Players: 2 to 10Ages: 3 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: Rolled-up socks, a laundry basket

   Make “snowballs” from rolled socks or crumpled paper. Set a basket a few steps away and mark a throwing line with a scarf. Each player throws five snowballs and counts how many land in the basket. Move the line back one step each round for older kids. Keep score on paper, or just play until the snowballs run out.

   Make it fair: Use the finger chooser to decide who throws first, so the biggest kid does not always go first.

9. Freeze Dance, Christmas Edition

   Players: 3 to 20Ages: 3 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: A speaker

   Play a Christmas song and everyone dances. When the music stops, freeze. Anyone who wobbles is out for that round, or, for younger groups, does a silly pose and stays in. Add themes between songs: dance like a reindeer, a melting snowman, an elf packing presents. The best freeze pose each round picks the next song.

10. Stocking Guess

    Players: 2 to 12Ages: 4 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: A stocking and 8 to 10 small objects

    Fill a stocking with small household items: a spoon, a toy car, a candy cane, a sock, a bell. Players take turns feeling the outside of the stocking (no peeking inside) and whispering their guesses to the host or writing them down. Pull the items out one by one at the end. The player with the most correct guesses wins the candy cane.

11. Candy Cane Fishing

    Players: 2 to 8Ages: 4 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: Candy canes, string, a wooden spoon

    Tie a loop of string to a wooden spoon to make a fishing rod. Lay candy canes hook-up on the floor or a table. Each player has one minute to hook as many candy canes as they can with the loop, no hands allowed. Younger kids get a bigger loop and a closer start. The catch is theirs to keep.

12. Elf Hunt

    Players: 2 to 10Ages: 3 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: A small elf toy or a paper elf

    One player hides the elf somewhere in the room while the others close their eyes. The seekers hunt while the hider calls “warmer” and “colder.” Whoever finds the elf becomes the next hider. Play as many rounds as the kids want; it is a calm-down game as much as a party game.

13. Christmas Memory Tray

    Players: 2 to 10Ages: 5 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: A tray, a towel, 10 to 12 holiday objects

    Put ten to twelve holiday objects on a tray: an ornament, a bow, a cookie cutter, a bell, a candle. Everyone looks for 30 seconds, then cover the tray with the towel. Players write down or say every object they remember. For round two, secretly remove one object and ask what is missing.

    Make it fair: Pair one adult with one kid so the writing stays fair for little ones.

Christmas party games for teens

Teens will play anything that lets them perform, compete or catch an adult in a lie, as long as it does not feel like a kids’ game. These six are short, loud and a little competitive. Teams work better than solo turns at this age; the random team generator splits a list of names evenly, and in the app everyone’s fingers get split into color teams in one countdown.

14. Christmas Movie Emoji Quiz

    Players: 3 to 12Ages: 10 and upTime: 15 minNeeds: Paper, or the notes app on one phone

    Before the party, write ten Christmas movies as strings of emoji on a sheet of paper or in one phone’s notes app. Show them one at a time and let teams shout the title. The first correct answer wins the point and a wrong shout costs one. The winning team writes the next set during the break.

15. Wrap a Snowman

    Players: 4 to 16Ages: 8 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: Toilet paper, a paper hat, a scarf

    Split into teams of three or four. Each team picks a snowman and has three minutes to wrap them from shoulders to knees in toilet paper, then add a scarf and a paper hat. The youngest kids at the party are the judges. Unwrap carefully afterward so the paper goes in the recycling, not on the floor.

16. Holiday Lip-Sync Battle

    Players: 4 to 12Ages: 10 and upTime: 20 minNeeds: A speaker and a playlist

    Each person or pair draws a Christmas song from a hat and gets one minute to lip-sync it with full commitment. The audience scores with their hands: one to five fingers. Props from around the house are allowed; singing out loud is not. The top two scorers go head to head on a duet.

17. Christmas Song Lightning Round

    Players: 4 to 20Ages: 8 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: Nothing

    Pick a word: snow, bells, star, joy, night. Going around the circle, each person names a Christmas song that includes the word. No repeats, and three seconds to answer. Anyone who stalls is out for that word. Change the word when only two players are left.

18. Gingerbread Build-Off

    Players: 2 to 10Ages: 8 and upTime: 30 minNeeds: Gingerbread kits or graham crackers, icing, candy

    Each builder or pair gets the same materials and 20 minutes. Set a theme: tallest tower, best front door, most ridiculous roof. Judge on a scale of one to ten per category, and let everyone eat their entry afterward. Lay a towel under the building zone first.

19. Two Truths and a Christmas Lie

    Players: 3 to 10Ages: 10 and upTime: 15 minNeeds: Nothing

    Each player tells three short Christmas stories about themselves: two true, one made up. The group votes on which one is the lie. You score a point for every player you fool and a point for every lie you catch. The best lies get retold every year.

Games for big groups and large families

With fifteen, twenty or forty people, the game has to run itself: everyone plays at the same time, scoring is simple, and the host only has to read something out loud. These eight scale from a crowded living room to a church hall. Where teams are needed, make them even and random; nobody should be picked last at Christmas.

20. Human Christmas Tree

    Players: 6 to 30Ages: 5 and upTime: 15 minNeeds: Paper, tape, scissors, a few ribbons

    Split into teams of four to six. Each team picks a “tree” and has five minutes to decorate them with paper ornaments, ribbon garlands and a star. The tree is not allowed to help. Judges award points for creativity, height and the best star. Photos stay on the family phone.

21. Christmas Bingo

    Players: 5 to 40Ages: 5 and upTime: 20 minNeeds: Paper and pens

    Each player draws a three-by-three grid and fills it with nine holiday words chosen from a list of twenty you read out: sleigh, elf, cocoa, mittens, chimney, and so on. The caller then reads the words in random order. The first line of three wins a small prize and the first full card wins the round. Large groups can play two cards per person.

22. Name That Carol

    Players: 4 to 40Ages: 6 and upTime: 15 minNeeds: A music app, or a good hummer

    Play the first three seconds of a Christmas song, or hum it, and the first person to name it wins the point. Teams make it louder: the first team to name five songs wins. Mix classics and newer songs so grandparents and teens both get their turn to shine.

23. Christmas Pass the Parcel

    Players: 5 to 20Ages: 3 and upTime: 15 minNeeds: A small gift wrapped in many layers, music

    Wrap a small gift in eight to ten layers of paper, with a sweet or a dare written on a slip between the layers. Pass the parcel around the circle while music plays. When the music stops, the holder removes one layer and does the dare. Whoever opens the last layer keeps the gift.

    Make it fair: Let the finger chooser pick who starts holding the parcel.

24. The Left-Right Gift Game

    Players: 6 to 30Ages: 4 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: One wrapped gift per person, a short story

    Everyone sits in a circle holding a wrapped gift. Read a short Christmas story out loud. Every time you say “left,” everyone passes their gift to the left; every “right,” to the right. When the story ends, you keep whatever is in your hands. Write a story with twenty lefts and rights and read it fast.

25. Reindeer Relay

    Players: 6 to 20Ages: 5 and upTime: 15 minNeeds: Spoons, rolled-up socks, a hallway

    Two teams line up at one end of a hallway. Each runner balances a “snowball” (a rolled sock) on a spoon, hops to the far end like a reindeer, hops back, and hands over the spoon. A dropped snowball sends the runner back to the start. The first team to finish wins; mix adults and kids on each team so the race stays close.

26. Secret Elf

    Players: 6 to 30Ages: 5 and upTime: The whole partyNeeds: Slips of paper with names

    At the start of the party, everyone draws a name. During the party you secretly do one kind thing for that person: refill their drink, save them a seat, compliment their sweater. At the end, everyone guesses who their elf was. Correct guesses get a candy cane, and so does the elf nobody managed to spot.

27. Christmas Trivia Teams

    Players: 6 to 40Ages: 8 and upTime: 20 minNeeds: 20 questions written in advance

    Split into even teams of three to five. Ask twenty questions in rounds of five: songs, movies, traditions around the world, family history. Teams write their answers down, then swap sheets with another team to mark them. Include a few questions only the kids will know so they can save the team.

Gift exchange games

A gift exchange is a game whether you plan it or not, so plan it. Agree on a price limit in the invitation, keep every gift wrapped until its turn, and decide the opening order with something nobody can argue with. A random pick in front of the whole group is the fairest option; see 30 fair ways to decide who goes first if you want alternatives.

28. White Elephant with a Fair Picker

    Players: 5 to 20Ages: 8 and upTime: 30 minNeeds: One wrapped gift per person

    Everyone brings a wrapped gift under an agreed price and adds it to the pile. Instead of drawing numbers, everyone puts a finger on the phone before each turn; the picked person either opens a new gift or steals an opened one. A player who was stolen from picks again right away. Each gift can be stolen twice, then it is frozen. The game ends when the pile is empty.

29. Pick-and-Act Gift Shuffle

    Players: 5 to 20Ages: 6 and upTime: 20 minNeeds: Wrapped gifts, six action slips in a bowl

    Write six actions on slips and put them in a bowl: swap with the person on your left, swap with anyone, unwrap yours, hold on tight, everybody passes right, pick again. Each turn, the finger chooser picks a player, who draws a slip and does what it says. Unwrapped gifts can still be swapped. Play until every gift is open.

30. Mystery Sock Swap

    Players: 4 to 16Ages: 6 and upTime: 15 minNeeds: One large sock per gift

    Each gift goes inside a big sock instead of wrapping paper. Players pick a sock, feel it, and announce their guess before pulling the gift out. A correct guess earns the right to swap with anyone. Gifts around a theme, like kitchen gadgets, socks or candy, make the guessing part of the fun.

31. Grab Bag Draw

    Players: 4 to 20Ages: 4 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: A pillowcase, small wrapped gifts

    Put all the small wrapped gifts in a pillowcase. Use the finger chooser to decide the order, then each player reaches in without looking and pulls one out. After everyone has a gift, allow one minute of free trading. Then open all of them at once on the count of three.

Quiet games for after dinner

After the big meal, energy drops and the youngest guests are close to bedtime. These four keep everyone at the table with pens, memories and a bit of imagination. They are also the games grandparents tend to win.

32. Christmas Pictionary

    Players: 4 to 12Ages: 6 and upTime: 20 minNeeds: Paper, pens, a word list

    Write thirty holiday words on slips: sleigh, chimney, mistletoe, snowman, gingerbread. One artist draws while their team guesses within 60 seconds; no letters or numbers allowed. Swap artists every turn so the quiet kids get to draw too. Keep the drawings; they make the best wrapping paper next year.

33. Guess Whose Memory

    Players: 4 to 12Ages: 8 and upTime: 20 minNeeds: Paper and pens

    Everyone writes one true Christmas memory on a slip without their name: the year the tree fell over, the gift that was the wrong size. Fold the slips and mix them in a bowl. Read them aloud one at a time and let the group guess whose memory it is. The best stories always get told in full.

34. The A-to-Z Christmas List

    Players: 3 to 15Ages: 6 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: Nothing

    The first player says, “For Christmas I’m giving an Angel.” The next repeats it and adds a B word, and so on through the alphabet. Anyone who forgets an item is out, or, for a gentler version, the group helps and nobody is out. Getting past Q is a family achievement.

35. Christmas Would You Rather

    Players: 3 to 15Ages: 5 and upTime: 10 minNeeds: Nothing

    Ask the group a holiday “would you rather”: live in a gingerbread house or an igloo, have Santa’s sleigh for a day or the elves for a week, eat only candy canes or only cocoa all December. Everyone picks a side of the room, and one person from the smaller side explains their choice. Then pick who asks next.

    Make it fair: The finger chooser picks the next asker so the same person does not run the whole game.

12 Christmas dares and truths to add to the app

In the Finger Chooser app, My dares lets the group write its own truths, dares and questions; they stay on the device and can be mixed in with the all-ages Family pack or played on their own. Type these in before the party (or hand the phone to a teenager, who will add more), then play the Christmas Dare Round above.

• Dare: Sing the first line of "Jingle Bells" in your best opera voice.
• Dare: Do your best reindeer impression for 10 seconds, antlers included.
• Dare: Say "Merry Christmas" in three different accents.
• Dare: Wrap a book as a gift using only one hand while everyone counts to 30.
• Dare: Give a 20-second speech on why socks are the perfect gift.
• Dare: Act out your favorite Christmas movie scene with no words until someone guesses it.
• Dare: Hum a carol while everyone tries to guess it within 20 seconds.
• Dare: Make up a two-line Christmas poem about the person on your left.
• Truth: What is the worst gift you have ever received, and what did you say when you opened it?
• Truth: Which family member is most likely to peek at presents early?
• Truth: What is one Christmas tradition you would secretly skip?
• Truth: What did you ask for at Christmas when you were little that you never got?

Need more questions for the “most likely to” round? Our list of 200 clean “most likely to” questions has family, friends and teen sections, and a button that picks one at random.

How to run party games for a mixed-age crowd

Order the games from high energy to calm. Start with something physical while people are still arriving and the kids are bouncing (Freeze Dance, Reindeer Relay, Snowball Toss), move to a big-group game once everyone is there (Name That Carol, Christmas Bingo), save the gift exchange for the middle of the evening when attention peaks, and finish with the quiet games after dinner. Three to five games is plenty; nobody has ever complained that a party had too few games.

Pick teams in the open. Captains choosing sides is the fastest way to upset a nine-year-old. Paste the names into the random team generator and let it deal even teams, or, if everyone is in the same room, put all the fingers on one phone and let the app split them into color teams. Mix ages on purpose: a grandparent and a teenager on the same team is the point of the day.

Decide who goes first the same way every time. Whether it is who opens the first gift, who acts the first charade or who calls bingo, use one fair method and stick to it. A random finger pick that the whole room can watch settles it in three seconds, and our guide to deciding who goes first has 30 other fair ways, from the youngest player rule to a quick dice roll.

Give the shy ones a role, not a turn. Scorekeeper, timer, judge, music controller: every job is a way to be in the game without being the center of it. By the third game, most of them will want a turn anyway.