Christmas has always been one of my favourite times of year, not just for the food and the lights, but for the excuse it gives us to come together, slow down and have some fun playing games. As a former teacher, lifelong game enthusiast and now a mum of two, I have spent years designing, organising and play-testing games. These days I am also a bestselling author with an ever-growing collection of game books for holidays, parties, classrooms and family gatherings at home.
Note that all the games and activity ideas in this post are taken from my jam-packed book: Christmas Games: 100+ Fun Ideas for Festive and New Year Celebrations!
If there is an opportunity to inject a bit of laughter, connection and friendly chaos into a room, I will find it!
In this blog, I am bringing together a selection of my favourite festive games, specially chosen for adults, whether you’re planning a big Christmas party with friends, or a small gathering at home with your partner or loved ones. These are tried-and-tested ideas that my husband and I genuinely love playing, and I hope they bring as much joy to your Christmas as they do to ours.
Let the festive fun begin!
1. Dirty Santa
Number of players: Minimum 6, no maximum
Equipment needed: One wrapped gift per person
This lively gift-exchange challenge works brilliantly at any festive gathering. Every participant brings one wrapped present, ideally following a loose theme such as humorous items, handmade creations, or a small budget limit. All the gifts are placed together in the centre of the room, and everyone sits in a circle ready to begin.
Select someone to start. The first player chooses a wrapped present from the pile and opens it while everyone watches. The next person then has a decision to make: they may either take the first player’s opened gift or select a new one from the pile to unwrap. If a gift is stolen, the affected player immediately chooses a replacement from the unwrapped pile and opens it.
The group continues in this manner, one by one, with each new player having the option to “steal” an opened present or unveil a new mystery item. Once every participant has taken a turn, the very first player (who never had the opportunity to steal at the beginning) is allowed one final swap with anyone in the circle.
2. Read My Cold Lips
Number of players: Minimum 2, must be an even number
Equipment needed: Pre-written Christmas phrases, headphones
Split everyone into teams of two. Prepare a selection of Christmas sayings and lyrics, write each onto a small slip of paper, and place them all inside a Santa hat. Examples might include lines such as “Baby, it is cold outside” or “On the twelfth day of Christmas”.
Player 1 puts on headphones with festive music playing loudly, while Player 2 draws a slip from the hat and reads the phrase aloud. Because Player 1 cannot hear and must rely entirely on lip-reading to guess the phrase. They receive one attempt per round and earn one point for each accurate guess.
After every attempt, switch roles so that both players have equal turns at reading and lip-reading. Continue for several rounds and total the scores at the end to determine the champion.
3. Candy Cane Washing Line
Number of players: 2
Equipment needed: A length of tinsel or ribbon (approximately 140 cm), two sturdy chairs, a timer, 10–20 candy canes
This energetic head-to-head game is excellent for competitive groups. Tie the tinsel or ribbon tightly between the backrests of two chairs placed about 1.5 metres apart. This becomes the “washing line”.
Divide the candy canes equally between the two players. Each competitor stands on their own chair, facing the washing line between them. When the timer starts, both players must drop their candy canes from above (no lower than shoulder height) in an attempt to hook them over the line.
For every cane that falls to the floor (including if one is knocked off by another candy cane), players may climb down, retrieve it, and try again. Set the timer for one to two minutes, depending on how fierce you want the contest to be.
Have everyone else do a 10-second countdown, and the participant with the most candy canes successfully hanging on the line at the end wins. To heighten the atmosphere, play upbeat Christmas music — and remind everyone that leaning over the line is not allowed.
4. Eating Snow Cones
Number of players: 2
Equipment needed: 20 plastic cups, one table, two buckets or bins
This is a fast, physical racing challenge. Place twenty plastic cups upside down on a table in two neat rows of ten, with a bucket or bin positioned at the end of each row. Both contestants stand at opposite sides of the table, ready to begin.
At the call of “Go”, each player must move their cups into their designated bucket one cup at a time. There are two potential strategies: start nearest the bucket for an easy beginning but a tiring finish, or start at the far end for a frantic opening but a straightforward end. The race continues until someone has cleared all ten cups into their bin and claims victory.
If you want to make Christmas extra special, make sure you grab a copy of my book Christmas Games: 100+ Fun Ideas for Festive and New Year Celebrations!
5. Under the Mistletoe
Number of players: Minimum 8, must be an even number
Equipment needed: Mistletoe
Best played in a roomy area, this game combines running, swapping and plenty of laughter. Imagine several bunches of mistletoe suspended around the playing space. Under each imagined bunch stands a pair of players linked arm in arm. You will need at least three pairs, although larger groups can add more.
Two people remain unpaired: one becomes the Kisser, and the other becomes the Dodger. The Kisser chases the Dodger around the space, weaving between the stationary couples. If they catch the Doger with a ‘tag’, then they swap roles.
When the Dodger is about to be caught, they may dash to any standing pair and quickly switch places with one of them. The newly freed person becomes the new Kisser, and the previous Kisser becomes the Dodger.
There is no final winner; play continues until the group has had enough running and swapping.
6. Gift Wrap-Up
Number of players: Minimum 2, no maximum
Equipment needed: String, wrapping paper and tape
Ask everyone to form pairs. Tie the right hand of one partner to the left hand of the other so that each duo has only one free hand apiece. Their task is to wrap a present to match a sample gift on display. The more elaborate the example wrapping, the more entertaining the challenge.
Set a strict time limit of one to three minutes. When the time is up, a judge inspects the efforts and selects the team whose parcel most closely matches the sample.
7. Festive Cheer
Number of players: Minimum 6, no maximum
Equipment needed: None
Divide the group into two teams. The team taking their turn chooses one person to act as the Singer, who stands at one end of the room while their teammates wait at the opposite end. The opposing team positions themselves between the two groups as Mischevious Elves.
The Singer decides on a Christmas song. After a countdown from the Mischevious Elves — “3, 2, 1” — the Singer performs a single line from the chosen song. They may repeat that same line up to three times while their teammates on the other side of the room attempt to work out the tune. Meanwhile, the Mischevious Elves create as much noise and confusion as possible, shouting, singing and generally attempting to drown out the clue.
Once the Singer has used all three attempts, the guessing teammate announces their answer. A correct response earns a point. Swap roles and keep track of scores to find out which team wins.
8. Winter Breeze
Number of players: Minimum 2, no maximum
Equipment needed: 15 tea lights, a lighter
Arrange fifteen tea lights in a long line on a table and light them. Players queue at one end of the line. Each participant leans forward and attempts to blow out as many candles as possible while saying the phrase “Merry Christmas Woo Woo” in one long, breathy exhalation. Mark which candle they reached before the flames went out, relight the candles, and allow the next player to begin.
For adult groups, you may introduce a festive twist: place next to the candles different shots (or different-sized shots!). Whatever the last candle blown out lands on, then they must do that shot.
9. Walking in the Air
Number of players: Minimum 2, no maximum
Equipment needed: Christmas songs
Put on the seasonal classic, Walking in the Air, and display the lyrics on a phone or projector. One by one, participants try to sing as far through the chorus as possible on a single deep breath. The person who gets the furthest before needing to breathe again earns the title of best festive vocalist.
You can continue playing the game with different festive songs.
10. Ho Ho Ho
Number of players: Minimum 5, no maximum
Equipment needed: None
Select one person to sit in a chair facing away from the group – they can be blindfolded if you don’t trust them not to cheat! Everyone else forms a quiet queue behind them in a random order. The first person in line steps forward and, disguising their voice, says: “Ho, ho, ho, [player’s name]!” The seated individual must guess who is speaking.
If the guess is correct, the speaker moves to one side of the chair (staying hidden from the players view); if incorrect, they move to the other side (staying hidden from the players view). One by one, everyone takes a turn until the whole group has spoken. At the end, the seated player turns around and counts how many correct guesses they managed. Rotate positions and keep track of the scores.
11. Musical Santa Hats
Number of players: Minimum 5, no maximum
Equipment needed: Santa hats (one fewer than the number of players), Christmas music
Place several Santa hats on a table or in the centre of the room, making sure there is always one hat less than the number of players. Start the Christmas music and have everyone walk or dance around the hats.
When the music stops unexpectedly, players must scramble to grab a hat and put it on. The person left empty-handed is eliminated. Remove one hat before the next round and continue until only one competitor remains — the victorious Santa of the evening.
Don’t forget to check out my book, Christmas Games: 100+ Fun Ideas for Festive and New Year Celebrations!
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