The holidays are a special time filled with baking, decorating, and wrapping gifts. While it’s busy, the best memories often come when we take a break to play together. Whether you are hosting a big family gathering or a small get-together, it’s important to get everyone— from toddlers to grandparents—off their phones and interacting. This helps create a stress-free and joyful season.

If you want to add some fun and laughter this year, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve put together a list of Christmas games for both adults and kids that will keep the festive spirit high all season long.

A Holiday Memory: The Year of the “Snowman”

Three years ago, we had a chaotic Christmas Eve. A winter storm knocked out the electricity, leaving us with a long, dark night ahead. We started to panic until my youngest daughter grabbed some toilet paper and said we should “build a snowman.”

In minutes, we were all on the floor, wrapped in toilet paper, laughing so hard our sides hurt. It wasn’t the high-tech Christmas we planned, but it became one of our most joyful memories. This is the magic of games—they change a simple moment into a lasting tradition.

Active & Hilarious Christmas Games

• Toilet Paper Snowman: Divide into teams. One person acts as the “snowman” while the other wraps them in toilet paper, finishing with a scarf and hat. First team to complete their masterpiece wins!

• Santa Limbo: Use a string of Christmas lights as your limbo bar. Players stuff a pillow under their shirts for a “jolly belly” and see how low they can go!

• Snowball Relay: Use a spoon and a marshmallow. Race to a finish line without dropping your “snowball.” If it falls, you start over!

• Rudolph Race: A hilarious test of precision—use a dollop of Vaseline on your nose to pick up a pom-pom and move it to a plate.

• Santa’s Sack Race: Grab a large burlap sack or a clean, heavy-duty garbage bag. Players must jump or scramble to fill the sack with pre-wrapped boxes placed at the far end of the room and race back to the starting line. It’s chaotic, noisy, and perfect for burning off all that Christmas sugar!

• Sled Races (Indoor Edition): If the weather doesn’t permit outdoor hills, use cardboard boxes or laundry baskets on a smooth floor. Have someone act as the “engine” to push players across the room to a finish line. The first “sled” to cross without losing their passenger wins.

• Christmas Dance Freeze: Play a playlist of high-energy Christmas hits. When the music stops suddenly, everyone must “freeze” in a festive pose. The last person to stop moving or the one who wobbles first is eliminated.

• Feed the Snowman: Use a piece of white poster board with a hole cut out for the snowman’s mouth. Have players stand back and toss “snowballs” (white pom-poms or balled-up socks) into the mouth. Give different points for the distance of the throw.

Cozy Indoor & Tabletop Games

• Cookie Tasting Game: Blindfold participants and have them guess the flavor of various holiday cookies. It’s a delicious way to determine who has the most sophisticated sweet tooth.

• Ornament Hot Potato: Pass a plastic ornament in a circle while music plays. When the music stops, the person holding it is out!

• Christmas Movie Bingo: Perfect for when you just want to relax on the couch. Create bingo cards featuring common movie tropes (like “someone falls in love” or “a magical snowstorm”) and watch the magic unfold.

• Guess the Christmas Smell: Fill jars with cotton balls soaked in peppermint, pine, or nutmeg. Blindfold guests and see who can identify the scents.

• Holiday Share-a-Story: Kick off a collaborative tale. The first person says one sentence (e.g., “The reindeer woke up and realized he had lost his map!”), and the next person adds the next sentence. By the time it circles back, you’ll have a hilarious, one-of-a-kind Christmas story.

• Name That Christmas Song: Play just the first two or three notes of a holiday classic. The first person to shout out the correct song title gets a point. You can make it harder by requiring them to name the artist as well!

• Candy Cane Hunt: This is an indoor version of an Easter egg hunt. Hide mini candy canes all over the living room or dining area. For an added challenge, use different colored candy canes and assign point values to each color.

• Christmas “I Spy”: Great for keeping young children occupied. Create a printable checklist of items found on your tree or around the room (e.g., “a blue ornament,” “a star,” “a Santa figurine”) and have them check them off as they spot them.

Competitive Games for Kids & Adults

• Christmas Family Feud: Create a list of holiday questions (e.g., “Name a popular Christmas carol”) and poll your family beforehand. Split into teams and battle for the win!

• Gingerbread House Competition: Instead of just decorating, challenge family members to build replicas of their own homes or famous movie sets.

• Christmas Wrapping Race: See who can wrap a gift the fastest—but here’s the twist: everyone has to wear thick winter oven mitts while they do it!

• White Elephant: A classic gift-exchange game where players can “steal” gifts from one another. It never fails to bring out the playful, competitive side in everyone.

• Santa Hats Cup Stacking: Set a timer for 60 seconds. Each player is given a stack of red solo cups. They must stack them into a pyramid and then collapse them back down into a single stack as fast as possible. The tallest stable tower wins!

• Guess the Number of Candies: Fill a clear mason jar with red and green M&Ms or peppermint candies. Have every guest write down their guess on a small piece of paper when they arrive. The person who comes closest to the actual number without going over wins the whole jar!

• Ring the Reindeer Antlers: Buy or craft a pair of reindeer antler headbands. Have one person wear them while other players toss red-and-white striped pipe-cleaner rings at the “antlers.” It’s tougher than it looks, especially if the person wearing the antlers is trying to dodge!

• Christmas Family Trivia: Before the event, ask each family member to send in one “little-known fact” about themselves. For example, they could share something like, “I once spent Christmas in Tokyo” or “My favorite holiday tradition is eating pickles on Christmas morning.” Read these facts aloud and let everyone guess who wrote each one.

Tips for a Successful Game Night

To make your gathering even more memorable, consider these quick tips:

1. Festive Prizes: Keep it simple and fun. Use reindeer antlers, Santa hats, or serve boozy eggnog for the adults and extra candy for the kids.

2. Keep it Flexible: Not every family enjoys being active. Include a mix of high-energy games and quieter activities on your list.

3. Don’t Aim for Perfection: My experience making a “toilet paper snowman” showed me that the best moments often happen when things get messy.

Whether you’re putting the star on the tree or racing to fill Santa’s sack, these games are made to bring your family together. This year, focus on laughter and connection instead of a perfectly planned day. After all, the best gift you can give your family is time spent enjoying each other’s company.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the best Christmas games for a multi-generational group?

The best games for mixed ages focus on luck or simple physical actions instead of complex knowledge. Christmas Bingo, Ornament Hot Potato, and Christmas “I Spy” are great options. They are easy to explain and suitable for both kids and grandparents. Plus, they don’t require fast movement.

How do I make these games fun for adults?

To keep adults engaged, incorporate “grown-up” stakes! Offer prizes like a bottle of wine, a box of luxury chocolates, or a gift card. You can also make games like Christmas Family Feud or Christmas Movie Trivia more competitive by setting a strict timer or adding “boozy” elements to the loser’s challenges.

How can I keep kids entertained during Christmas dinner prep?

When you need the kitchen to yourself, set the kids up with games that keep them stationary but busy. Christmas Mad Libs, Holiday Word Search, or the Snowman Slam (using plastic cups) are perfect because they can be played on a tabletop or in a corner of the room without needing constant adult supervision.

What do I need to prepare for a Christmas game night?

Many of the games mentioned above only need common items from home, like toilet paper, plastic cups, marshmallows, spoons, or tape. To make things easier, prepare a “Game Kit” box the day before the party. Fill it with these basic items as well as some fun extras like Santa hats, tinsel, or printed bingo cards.

How can I make my holiday party games more “Instagrammable”?

To make your games more shareable, focus on how they look. Set up a Holiday Photo Booth. Use bright ribbons and bows on your props. For games like Christmas Guess Who, think about using Polaroid-style photos. Provide fun props like reindeer ears or large Santa hats during the games to help capture fun, spontaneous photos.

Happy Holidays!