Christmas party games for the whole family
How to pick and run games that a six-year-old and a grandmother can enjoy at the same table.
By Vieira and Co. 6 minute read. November 2026.
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked by Vieira and Co. How we make our content
The best Christmas party games aren’t the cleverest ones. They’re the ones a seven-year-old, a bored teenager and a grandparent can all understand in thirty seconds and still be laughing about at breakfast. Here’s how to choose them, a set of ideas sorted by situation, and a few hosting habits that keep the evening fun.
How to pick games for a mixed-age group
Before you choose anything, run each idea through these quick checks:
- Can you explain it in one sentence? If the rules need a handout, save it for a smaller crowd.
- Can a non-reader play? Young kids should be able to join with a partner, by drawing, or by acting.
- Can someone play sitting down? Grandparents, pregnant guests and anyone who just ate two plates will thank you.
- Is it over in 15 minutes? Short rounds keep attention. You can always play again.
- Is watching fun too? The best family games are entertaining for the people who sit out.
Mixed-age teams solve most problems. A kid paired with an adult means the kid gets help reading and the adult gets an excuse to be silly.
Plan the evening, not just the games
Think of the party in three parts, and pick one or two games for each:
- Arrival: something people can join midway while coats come off and the oven timer beeps.
- Main event: one bigger game with everyone together, usually before dinner while energy is high.
- After dinner: seated, low-effort games for full stomachs.
- Big groupTeam games with movement and noise. Best before dinner.
- Seated after dinnerTalking, guessing and passing games. Nobody has to stand up.
- KidsShort, hands-on, with a little prize at the end.
- Adults onlyFunnier prompts, a bit of competition, nothing that embarrasses anyone.
Games for a big group
Snowball fact toss. Everyone writes one little-known fact about themselves on a sheet of paper and crumples it into a snowball. Give the room 30 seconds of snowball fight, then each person picks up one snowball, reads it out, and the room guesses who wrote it. Great for families who only see each other once a year.
One-hand wrapping race. Pair people up. Each pair gets an awkward object (a colander, a boot, a rolling pin), wrapping paper and tape. The catch: each partner can use only one hand. Fastest neat-ish wrap wins. Kid and grandparent pairs are the funniest to watch.
Ornament hunt. Cut paper ornaments, write a point value on the back of each, and hide them around the house before guests arrive. Teams hunt for ten minutes and add up their points. Hide a few low for the little ones and a few high for the tall cousins.
Christmas charades. Write prompts on slips: building a snowman, untangling lights, a reindeer with a cold, wrapping a gift you don’t like. Teams take turns acting them out, with a one-minute sand timer or phone timer per slip.
Seated games for after dinner
Gift bag story. Fill a bag with random small objects. The first person pulls one out and starts a story about Santa’s worst Christmas Eve. Each next person pulls an object and has to work it into the plot. It falls apart beautifully.
What’s in the stocking? Fill a stocking with ten small objects (a spoon, a pine cone, a toy car, a cookie cutter) and tie it shut. Pass it around the table: everyone feels it through the fabric and quietly writes down their guesses. Empty it at the end, and the longest correct list wins.
Pass the present, holiday style. Wrap a small prize in many layers, with a silly task or a question tucked into each layer. Pass it while music plays. When the music stops, the person holding it unwraps one layer and does what it says.
Who’s most likely to. Read prompts like “Who’s most likely to open a gift early?” Count down from three, then everyone points at their pick. No points, just accusations.
Christmas games for kids
Draw Santa blind. Kids hold a paper plate on top of their head and draw Santa without looking. Hold up all the plates at the end. Nobody wins, everybody laughs.
Santa says. The classic “follow the leader’s orders” game, but only when the order starts with “Santa says.” Make the orders festive: stir the cookie dough, pull the sleigh, shiver like a snowman.
Candy cane hunt. Hide wrapped candy canes or paper cutouts around one room. Give each child a color to find so the youngest ones don’t go home empty-handed.
Dice drawing. Kids roll a die and draw the part of a snowman that matches the number. It’s quiet, it works at a table, and it’s a good game to set up while adults finish cooking.
For a classroom Christmas party
Classroom Christmas party games need to be shorter and calmer than games at home. Plan 15 to 20 minutes per activity, set up stations that small groups rotate through, and choose games that don’t depend on reading for the younger grades. Check with the teacher about any rules on food, prizes and holiday themes before you plan, since some schools prefer a general winter theme.
Funny Christmas party games for adults
Secret missions. As guests arrive, hand each one a folded card with a secret task: get someone to say “sleigh,” start a conversation about fruitcake, get three people to clink glasses. Anyone who catches you mid-mission can call it out. If you’d rather not write 30 missions yourself, our Christmas Secret Mission deck has 90 ready-made challenge cards.
The worst gift pitch. Each player picks a random object from around the house and gets 30 seconds to sell it as the perfect gift for someone in the room. The group votes for the most convincing pitch.
Caption the photo. Hold up a picture of Santa, a reindeer or a very tired elf. Everyone writes what the character is thinking on a slip of paper. Read them out anonymously and vote.
The great holiday debate. Pick a burning question (real tree or fake, when it’s too early for decorations, the best cookie). Two volunteers take opposite sides and get one minute each to make their case, and a show of hands crowns the winner.
Keep adult games kind.
Funny works best when the joke is on the situation, not on a person. If a prompt could make someone at the table feel singled out, skip it.
No-prep games for when you forgot to plan
- I packed Santa’s sleigh. Each player repeats the list so far and adds one item in alphabetical order: an apple, a bell, a candle…
- Twenty questions. One person thinks of a holiday object, everyone else gets 20 yes or no questions.
- Would you rather. Would you rather live in a snow globe or a gingerbread house? Anyone can make these up on the spot.
- Category chain. Pick a category like winter words and go around the circle. Hesitate for three seconds and you’re out.
Make a mystery the main event
If you want one big game that truly works across ages, a mystery is hard to beat. Kids are great at spotting clues; adults enjoy the puzzle solving and the drama of the final accusation. Give everyone a job (clue reader, note keeper, lookout) and nobody sits on the sidelines. That’s why we made Who Took Santa’s Cookies?, a Christmas mystery escape room for kids and adults to play together.
Hosting tips: prizes, teams and timing
Teams. Draw names from a hat instead of letting people pick, so siblings and couples get split up. Put at least one strong reader on every team.
Prizes. Keep them small and shareable: a chocolate bar, a mug, a pair of fuzzy socks. A prize table where winners choose works well, and for young kids it’s kind to make sure everyone takes home something.
Timing. Stop a game while people are still enjoying it, not when it’s run out of steam. Two or three games plus one main event is plenty for one evening.
Supplies. Have pens, scrap paper, a timer and a bowl for slips ready before guests arrive, plus a few spare pens for the ones that disappear into coat pockets.
A scorekeeper. Give this job to the relative who doesn’t want to play. They stay part of the fun, and nobody argues with the official.
Printables for this
Who Took Santa's Cookies?
A Christmas mystery escape room for kids and adults together.
Finish the Christmas Phrase
A holiday party game for kids, family, seniors and the office.
What is Santa Thinking?
A Christmas party game for family, office, kids and adults.
Christmas Secret Mission
90 party challenge cards for family, office and adults.
Roll a Snowman
A Christmas dice drawing game for kids and classroom parties.