Christmas Games for Families, Office Parties, or Any Holiday Get Together
Whether you are at a Christmas party with friends or neighbors, planning a work party for co-workers or employees, or just sitting around the living room with your own family, the 7 games listed below are sure to be a hit for any family, people of all ages, and groups of all sizes.
1) Gift Unwrapping Madness: In preparation, wrap a gift inside a box (wrap it a few times), and then place that box inside a box and also wrap that box many times, etc. – do this with a few boxes. Place the gift in the center with a pair of mis-matched gloves. The goal is to be the first to unwrap all the boxes to win the gift. At ‘Go’ the first person will roll two dice. If they roll double 3’s or 6’s, they will put on the gloves and start unwrapping. The next person will then roll, and once they also roll two 3’s or 6’s, the first person will stop and the next person now puts on the gloves and starts unwrapping. This continues until one person un-wraps everything and wins the gift.
2) The Gift Giving/Taking Frenzy: Each person will come to the party with a wrapped gift. The item can be a ‘white elephant’ or very nice item. Place all the gifts in the center and everyone sits in a circle. The first person will go and choose one gift and unwrap it in front of everyone. Going to the left, the next person can either choose a new gift from the center, or take the gift from the first person (or anyone else in the circle who has chosen one as the game progresses). But, after the 3rd time a gift has passed hands, it is frozen and can’t be chosen any more. If a gift is taken from you, you choose another gift (either from the center or from someone else – but no taking the gift back that someone just took from you). Each person will have a gift at the end of the game.
3) Christmas Carol Drawing Charades: Everyone will write a common Christmas story or carol and place them all in a bowl. Divide everyone playing into two teams. One person from each team will come to the front and together choose one slip. They will then go back to their team and at ‘go,’ have to draw the story/carol on a paper. No talking – just drawing. The first team to guess correctly gets a point. The team with the most points once all the slips have been drawn is the winner! A variation is rather than drawing, teams will have to act the carol.
4) C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S Digital Race: Divide everyone playing into teams of three, and each team will need a car and digital camera (or cell phone camera). At ‘go,’ each team will venture out and drive around the city and try to find random Christmas related objects for each letter of the word C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S., and take a picture of it. For example, teams might take a picture of a Santa for ‘S’, a Christmas Tree for ‘T’, or Mistletoe for ‘M’, etc. The first team back wins (only if they have a picture for each letter as proof that they found an item for each letter)!
5) Christmas Spelling: Write down the letters of the alphabet on little slips of paper so that each letter is on its own slip (you will need to actually do this a few times so there are 3-4 slips for each letter). Then, in preparation, write down many Christmas related words (examples: tree, presents, mistletoe, reindeer, Santa, Rudolph, gifts, shopping, manger, Christ, chimney, etc.). Divide everyone playing into two teams, and to start, send one person from each team to the front. At the front will be a table will all the letters scattered on the table (letters facing up and mixed). At ‘go,’ a moderator will yell out one of the Christmas related words. The two at the table will race to spell that word out, using the letters on the table. The first to spell the word correctly (placing slips of paper in a row to spell the word) receives a point. Send another player up from each team, and this repeats until one team scores 20 points and wins!
6) Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt: This game takes a little preparation, but it is certainly a blast. Go out through the neighborhood one night and look at neighbors’ Christmas lights. Write down clues that will help players know what house / lights are being described from the clues, without actually revealing the house or neighbors names (Example, I'm a two story house dressed in red and white lights near the school). Then, divide everyone into groups of three and give each team a copy of all the clues. Each team should have the clues in different order, so they are not all going in the same route. As teams go, they have to write down the actual address of each house to prove they actually went there. The first team back wins!
7) Christmas Card Game & Gift Stealing: For that next family game night at Christmas time, pull out a deck of cards and play this fun game. But, in order to play, everyone has to come to the game with a wrapped White Elephant gift. Deal out 8 cards to each player. The person to the left of the dealer will lay a card – whatever card is laid, everyone else has to lay a card from that suit. Then, the person who has the highest card wins that hand and gets to choose a gift. They will unwrap the gift so everyone can see it. Then, that person will lead out with another card, and again, everyone will lay. Whoever now lays the highest card can either choose a new gift, or take the gift from the last person. This continues, and there is no limit to how many times a gift can exchange hands, and you can take a gift from anyone at any time. It is possible for people to get many gifts if they keep winning hands too. Once everyone runs out of their eight cards, deal again, and continue playing until either every gift has been chosen or until whenever you want to stop.
Have Fun!
1) Gift Unwrapping Madness: In preparation, wrap a gift inside a box (wrap it a few times), and then place that box inside a box and also wrap that box many times, etc. – do this with a few boxes. Place the gift in the center with a pair of mis-matched gloves. The goal is to be the first to unwrap all the boxes to win the gift. At ‘Go’ the first person will roll two dice. If they roll double 3’s or 6’s, they will put on the gloves and start unwrapping. The next person will then roll, and once they also roll two 3’s or 6’s, the first person will stop and the next person now puts on the gloves and starts unwrapping. This continues until one person un-wraps everything and wins the gift.
2) The Gift Giving/Taking Frenzy: Each person will come to the party with a wrapped gift. The item can be a ‘white elephant’ or very nice item. Place all the gifts in the center and everyone sits in a circle. The first person will go and choose one gift and unwrap it in front of everyone. Going to the left, the next person can either choose a new gift from the center, or take the gift from the first person (or anyone else in the circle who has chosen one as the game progresses). But, after the 3rd time a gift has passed hands, it is frozen and can’t be chosen any more. If a gift is taken from you, you choose another gift (either from the center or from someone else – but no taking the gift back that someone just took from you). Each person will have a gift at the end of the game.
3) Christmas Carol Drawing Charades: Everyone will write a common Christmas story or carol and place them all in a bowl. Divide everyone playing into two teams. One person from each team will come to the front and together choose one slip. They will then go back to their team and at ‘go,’ have to draw the story/carol on a paper. No talking – just drawing. The first team to guess correctly gets a point. The team with the most points once all the slips have been drawn is the winner! A variation is rather than drawing, teams will have to act the carol.
4) C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S Digital Race: Divide everyone playing into teams of three, and each team will need a car and digital camera (or cell phone camera). At ‘go,’ each team will venture out and drive around the city and try to find random Christmas related objects for each letter of the word C.H.R.I.S.T.M.A.S., and take a picture of it. For example, teams might take a picture of a Santa for ‘S’, a Christmas Tree for ‘T’, or Mistletoe for ‘M’, etc. The first team back wins (only if they have a picture for each letter as proof that they found an item for each letter)!
5) Christmas Spelling: Write down the letters of the alphabet on little slips of paper so that each letter is on its own slip (you will need to actually do this a few times so there are 3-4 slips for each letter). Then, in preparation, write down many Christmas related words (examples: tree, presents, mistletoe, reindeer, Santa, Rudolph, gifts, shopping, manger, Christ, chimney, etc.). Divide everyone playing into two teams, and to start, send one person from each team to the front. At the front will be a table will all the letters scattered on the table (letters facing up and mixed). At ‘go,’ a moderator will yell out one of the Christmas related words. The two at the table will race to spell that word out, using the letters on the table. The first to spell the word correctly (placing slips of paper in a row to spell the word) receives a point. Send another player up from each team, and this repeats until one team scores 20 points and wins!
6) Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt: This game takes a little preparation, but it is certainly a blast. Go out through the neighborhood one night and look at neighbors’ Christmas lights. Write down clues that will help players know what house / lights are being described from the clues, without actually revealing the house or neighbors names (Example, I'm a two story house dressed in red and white lights near the school). Then, divide everyone into groups of three and give each team a copy of all the clues. Each team should have the clues in different order, so they are not all going in the same route. As teams go, they have to write down the actual address of each house to prove they actually went there. The first team back wins!
7) Christmas Card Game & Gift Stealing: For that next family game night at Christmas time, pull out a deck of cards and play this fun game. But, in order to play, everyone has to come to the game with a wrapped White Elephant gift. Deal out 8 cards to each player. The person to the left of the dealer will lay a card – whatever card is laid, everyone else has to lay a card from that suit. Then, the person who has the highest card wins that hand and gets to choose a gift. They will unwrap the gift so everyone can see it. Then, that person will lead out with another card, and again, everyone will lay. Whoever now lays the highest card can either choose a new gift, or take the gift from the last person. This continues, and there is no limit to how many times a gift can exchange hands, and you can take a gift from anyone at any time. It is possible for people to get many gifts if they keep winning hands too. Once everyone runs out of their eight cards, deal again, and continue playing until either every gift has been chosen or until whenever you want to stop.
Have Fun!
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