Christmas Games for Family: 25 Party Games for All Ages

The best Christmas games for family get-togethers are quick to explain, use supplies you already have, and let a 7-year-old and a grandparent play on equal footing. Below are 25 Christmas games with players, ages, time and supplies for each: games for kids, all-ages party games, games for adult-only families, minute-to-win-it challenges, gift swaps, and game-show style games for the TV.

A good plan for one evening: an active game for the kids before dinner, a game show on the TV afterward, and a gift swap to finish.

The free Christmas trivia board. Players buzz in from their phones and the board keeps score.

Jump to: Crowd picker · Kids · All ages · Adults · Minute to win it · Gift games · No supplies · On the TV · Outdoor · FAQ

Pick the right Christmas game for your family

Mix ages on every team: one kid, one teen, one adult. The kid answers the easy ones, and nobody runs away with the game.

Christmas games for kids

These burn off sugar and need little more than paper, tape and music.

1. Pin the Nose on Rudolph

• Players: 3+ | Ages: 3–8 | Time: 10–15 minutes
• Supplies: A reindeer drawn on poster board, red paper circles, tape, a blindfold

Tape Rudolph to the wall. Blindfold each child, spin them gently three times and let them stick the nose where they think it goes. Write each name on its nose so you can crown the closest one.

2. Christmas Freeze Dance

• Players: 4+ | Ages: 3–10 | Time: 10 minutes
• Supplies: A holiday playlist

Kids dance while the music plays and freeze when it stops. Anyone who moves is out and becomes a judge. Call out a pose before each stop (snowman, reindeer, elf) to make the freezes funnier.

3. Candy Cane Hunt

• Players: 2+ | Ages: 3+ | Time: 15 minutes
• Supplies: Wrapped mini candy canes

Hide candy canes around a room like an Easter egg hunt. Tie a ribbon on one "lucky cane" worth a small prize. Give toddlers a head start, and count the canes before and after so none end up in the couch until March.

4. Snowball Toss

• Players: 2+ | Ages: 3+ | Time: 10 minutes
• Supplies: Rolled-up white socks or cotton balls, three bowls or buckets

Set the buckets at three distances worth 1, 3 and 5 points. Each player throws five "snowballs" per turn. Little kids stand closer.

5. Reindeer Ring Toss

• Players: 2+ | Ages: 4+ | Time: 10–15 minutes
• Supplies: A grown-up in a headband with paper antlers (or a chair turned upside down), paper plate rings

Cut the centers out of paper plates to make rings. Kids toss them onto the "antlers." A good-natured uncle as the reindeer is half the fun.

Christmas party games for the whole family

Mix ages on every team and these work from grade-schoolers to great-grandparents.

6. Christmas Draw and Guess

• Players: 4+ | Ages: 6+ | Time: 20–30 minutes
• Supplies: Paper or a whiteboard, prompt slips, a timer

Write prompts on slips: gingerbread house, sleigh, the Grinch, ugly sweater, fruitcake, snow globe. Teams take turns drawing while teammates guess within one minute. No letters or numbers in the drawings.

7. Hide the Pickle Ornament

• Players: 2+ | Ages: 4+ | Time: 5–10 minutes
• Supplies: A pickle-shaped ornament

While everyone is out of the room, one person hides the green pickle among the branches. The first to spot it wins a small prize or opens the first present. The tradition is often called German, though its true origin is disputed. Either way, a green pickle on a green tree is harder to find than it sounds.

8. Pass the Present Story

• Players: 6+ | Ages: 5+ | Time: 10 minutes
• Supplies: One wrapped gift, a short story with lots of "left" and "right"

Sit in a circle. The host reads a silly Christmas story, and every time the word "left" or "right" comes up, the gift moves one person in that direction. Whoever holds it at the end keeps it. Write your own story in five minutes: "Santa LEFT the North Pole late because RIGHT before takeoff, Rudolph..."

9. Survey the Family

• Players: 2 teams | Ages: 8+ | Time: 20–30 minutes
• Supplies: Paper, a pen

A survey-style game. A week before, text the same five questions to everyone coming: "Name something you put on a Christmas tree." "Name a Christmas movie." "Name a food you'd find at Christmas dinner." Tally the answers. At the party, teams take turns guessing the most popular answers, and each answer is worth the number of people who gave it.

10. Christmas Movie Charades

• Players: 6+ | Ages: 8+ | Time: 20–30 minutes
• Supplies: Slips of paper, a bowl, a timer

Write titles on slips: Elf, Home Alone, The Polar Express, A Christmas Story, Frosty the Snowman, The Grinch. Teams act them out silently, one minute per turn. For a harder round, act out a scene and make the team name the movie.

Christmas family games for adults

For the families where everyone is over 30 and nobody needs Pin the Nose on Rudolph anymore. These lean on memory, humor and friendly rivalry.

11. Know Your Crew

• Players: 4–20+ | Ages: 10+ | Time: 20–40 minutes
• Supplies: A TV and phones

Know Your Crew turns your guests into the questions. Before the party, everyone answers a few fun questions about themselves on their phone, like a favorite childhood gift or a worst holiday mishap. At the party, the answers appear on the TV and teams guess who said what. There's a baby-photo round too. Pick the Family vibe to keep it holiday-safe for all ages.

12. Most Likely To: Christmas Edition

• Players: 6+ | Ages: 10+ | Time: 15 minutes

The host reads a prompt: "Most likely to start wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve," "Most likely to return a gift by December 26," "Most likely to cry at a Christmas movie." On three, everyone points at someone. The most-pointed-at player wins the "award." Keep it kind.

13. Holiday Two Truths and a Lie

• Players: 4+ | Ages: 10+ | Time: 15 minutes

Everyone shares three Christmas memories: two true, one invented. The table votes on the lie. "I once got a live goldfish in my stocking" is the kind of line that makes this game.

14. Guess the Song: Decades Showdown

• Players: 4+ | Ages: 10+ | Time: 15–30 minutes
• Supplies: A TV or laptop with speakers

With Guess the Song, you pick genres and decades, and 30-second song previews play until someone buzzes in with the title. Each generation picks a round. The 1970s round belongs to the parents, the current hits belong to the cousins.

Christmas minute to win it games

Each challenge lasts 60 seconds. Run three or four as heats, keep a tally on a whiteboard, and the overall winner picks the movie.

15. Gingerbread Face

• Supplies: Gingerbread cookies

Place a cookie on your forehead. Move it to your mouth using only your face. No hands.

16. Candy Cane Fishing

• Supplies: Candy canes

Hold a candy cane in your mouth by the straight end and hook as many other candy canes off the table as you can.

17. Christmas Tree Cup Stack

• Supplies: 36 red or green plastic cups per player

Build a pyramid "tree" (8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 cups) as fast as you can. Fastest complete tree wins.

18. Snowball Scoop

• Supplies: Cotton balls, two bowls, a spoon, a blindfold

Blindfolded, scoop as many cotton balls as you can from one bowl to the other with a spoon. Teammates may shout directions.

Christmas gift exchange games

19. White Elephant

• Players: 6–30 | Ages: 10+ | Time: 30–60 minutes
• Supplies: One wrapped gift per person, numbered slips

Set a price limit. Everyone brings one wrapped gift and draws a number. Player 1 opens a gift. Each player after that either opens a new gift or steals one that's already open. A player who loses a gift opens a new one or steals from someone else, but can't steal back the gift just taken from them. The game ends when every gift is open.

House rules that keep it moving:

• Three-steal limit. A gift is "frozen" after its third steal.
• Final swap. Player 1, who never got to steal, may swap with anyone at the end.
• Other names. Many families call the same game Yankee Swap or Dirty Santa. The rules are close, though house rules vary.

20. The 12 Days of Christmas Gift Swap

• Players: 6–12 | Ages: 6+ | Time: 20–30 minutes
• Supplies: One wrapped gift per person, 12 numbered cards

Everyone sits in a circle holding a wrapped gift. Write 12 action cards, one for each "day": "Swap with the person across from you," "Everyone pass your gift two to the left," "Trade with someone wearing red," "Open your gift," and so on, ending with card 12, "Everyone opens." Players take turns drawing cards in order and doing what they say. It's gentler than White Elephant, so it works with kids.

Free Christmas games with no supplies

No shopping, no printing, no setup. Good for the car ride to Grandma's too.

21. 20 Questions: Christmas Edition

• Players: 2+ | Ages: 5+ | Time: 10 minutes

One person thinks of something Christmas-y: a character, a food, an ornament, a movie. Everyone else gets 20 yes-or-no questions to figure it out.

22. Holiday Hum

• Players: 4+ | Ages: 5+ | Time: 10–15 minutes

One player hums a Christmas song, no words allowed. The first to name it scores a point and hums next. It's harder than it sounds once the nerves kick in.

23. The Christmas Alphabet

• Players: 3+ | Ages: 6+ | Time: 5–10 minutes

Go around the room naming Christmas words from A to Z: angel, bells, candy cane, December. Miss your letter and you're out. Q, X and Z are where it gets interesting.

Christmas games on the TV

When the whole family is on the couch after dinner, a game show on the TV turns the room into one game.

24. Christmas Trivia Night

• Players: 2–4 teams | Ages: 6+ | Time: 30–40 minutes
• Supplies: A TV or laptop

Put the free Christmas trivia board on the TV. It has 25 questions in five categories: Traditions, Santa and Reindeer, Holiday Movies, Sweet Treats and Around the World. Players scan a QR code and buzz in from their phones with no app and no account, or you can play "take turns" or "hands up" with no devices. Save the Bonus Wager tile for a dramatic finish.

If you'd rather read questions aloud, use our Christmas trivia questions with answers, which include an easy round for kids. The Christmas trivia game page has setup tips for parties.

25. Name That Carol

• Players: 2+ teams | Ages: 5+ | Time: 15–20 minutes
• Supplies: A TV or laptop with speakers

Name That Carol plays 25 public-domain carols as instrumental clips. The music keeps going until someone buzzes in with the title, and faster answers earn a speed bonus. Grandparents who know every carol by heart tend to win this one.

Name That Carol: pick a tile and the carol plays until someone buzzes.

To get either game on the TV, open it on a laptop and plug in an HDMI cable, use AirPlay from a Mac, or open gameshowly.com in your smart TV's browser. The free plan handles up to 8 phone buzzers, which is plenty for a living room of teams.

Outdoor Christmas games

If you have snow (or just a mild afternoon), get everyone outside for 30 minutes before dinner.

• Snowman building contest. Teams get 20 minutes and whatever they can find. Judge on height, style and best accessory.
• Snowball target throw. Draw a target on a fence or hang a hula hoop. Three throws each from increasing distances.
• Neighborhood light walk bingo. Before a walk, make a list: inflatable Santa, all-blue lights, a nativity scene, a light-up reindeer, a house with no lights at all. First to spot five wins.

Tips for hosting Christmas family games

• Pick an emcee. One person reading rules and keeping score keeps games moving and keeps the host free to host.
• Set up early. Test the TV and speakers, wrap the prize gifts and lay out supplies before guests arrive.
• Use cheap or free prizes. Candy, first pick of dessert or choosing the next movie all work.
• Rotate energy levels. Follow an active game with a seated one so nobody wears out.
• End on a gift game. White Elephant or the 12 Days swap makes a natural last act for the night.

Planning the night before Christmas too? Our Christmas Eve games post covers quieter games and traditions for the evening, and the party games guide collects ideas for every holiday.

Sources

Most of this post is game rules rather than facts, but where we made a claim we checked it. The Christmas pickle's disputed origin is covered by Salon, which traces the "German tradition" story and reports a 2016 survey in which 91 percent of German households had never heard of the Christmas pickle. White Elephant rules vary by family, so treat the version above as a solid starting point rather than the official one.

Christmas family games FAQ

What are some fun Christmas games to play with family?

Christmas trivia on the TV with mixed-age teams, Name That Carol, Christmas Draw and Guess and White Elephant are reliable crowd-pleasers. For little kids, add Pin the Nose on Rudolph or Freeze Dance before dinner.

How do you play the 12 Days of Christmas game?

Everyone sits in a circle with a wrapped gift. Players take turns drawing 12 numbered action cards in order, like "swap with the person across from you" or "pass your gift two to the left," and the last card has everyone open their gifts. Whatever you hold at the end is yours.

What are the 12 games of Christmas?

There's no official list. Many families pick 12 short games and play one per day in the run-up to Christmas, or all 12 as a party marathon. A good mix from this list: Freeze Dance, Candy Cane Hunt, Draw and Guess, Charades, Most Likely To, four minute-to-win-it challenges, Christmas trivia, Name That Carol and a gift swap.

How do I make Christmas fun for adults?

Choose games about the people in the room. Know Your Crew, Holiday Two Truths and a Lie and Most Likely To get adults talking and laughing far more than generic trivia. A White Elephant with a three-steal limit adds a little friendly drama to finish.

What Christmas games can you play with no supplies?

20 Questions: Christmas Edition, Holiday Hum, The Christmas Alphabet, Most Likely To and Charades with titles called out instead of written all need nothing at all.