30+ Christmas Games to Play With Family and Friends

My Christmases growing up were filled with games—whether it was "who can stay quietest the longest" on Christmas Eve with my cousins (there were eight of us born within a decade of each otherall competing for a cash prize)or playing the latest fresh-from-the-Christmas-wrap board games with my aunts and uncle on Christmas night.

So Christmas just doesn't feel like Christmas without a game or two. While pretty much any party game or board game can be a fun addition to your holiday partychoosing a game with a Christmas twist can help boost the festive feel. Of coursewhen you're choosing games for Christmasyou need to consider the audience (some of the racier options won't work as office Christmas party games—or for families where little ones or grandparents are in the mix)the size of the get-togetherand of coursethe fun factor.

Check out these Christmas games to help you make this year's holiday even more fun. (We've divided them up by appropriate audiencesbut feel free to steal from another category—Christmas Music Name That Tune could be just as fun with an adults-only crowd as it is with the kids.)

All-Ages Christmas Games to Play With Your Family

Whether you're looking for a quick Christmas game to keep the kiddos occupied in winter while they're waiting for dinneror you just want a fun game that'll get everyone involved once the unwrapping is donetry these Christmas game options.

Christmas Gift Bingo

Have a big family and a very generous gift exchange? Help kids stay interested when it's not their turn to get a gift by creating Christmas gift bingo cardsso they can earn their marks when their relatives open up sockssomething electronicsomething you can eatjewelryand more. Give out small bags of candy to the bingo winners.

Santa Cookie Elf Candy Snowman

This funfast-paced card game (by the people who brought you Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza) is an all-ages treat.

Christmas Guess Who

All you need is a pack of sticky notes for this game. You stick a name to each person's foreheadand they have to try to figure out who they are by asking questions of everyone else.

Limit the game to holiday characters like Frosty and Rudolph to give it a Christmas touch.

Find the Pickle

This simple German tradition involves hiding a pickle ornament on your Christmas tree. The person who spots it first gets a prize.

Don't have a pickle ornament? Choose another oddball from your current ornament stashand have the kids hunt for it.

Candy Cane Scavenger Hunt

Need a game that'll keep the kiddos occupied? Hide candy canes around the houseand set the kids off in search of them. (You can task the person with the most canes hide them again to keep the fun going.)

Christmas Music Name That Tune

All you need is a music streaming service and a fast hand to shut the song off after just a few notes to play one of the best games for Christmas.

Note: If you're playing with a lot of young onesopt for Christmas Music Freeze Dance instead.

Mitten to Win It Challenge

Gift competitors sets of mittensthen challenge them to complete a set of Christmas-related tasks—think wrapping a gifthanging a (unbreakable) Christmas ornamentfrosting a cookieor unwrapping a candy cane. (Just be prepped to wash those mittens promptly after the games are over!)

Ring the Reindeer Antlers

You can buy an inflatable set of this super easy (and surprisingly fun!) holiday gameor DIY your own with an antler headband and pipe cleaner rings.

Stocking Stuffer Relay

Divide into teamsand give each team a stockinga bowl of goodies (think mini marshmallowsM&Msor tiny pom-poms)and a tablespoon. Each player on the team tries to bring goodies across the room as swiftly (and safely) as possibleusing just the tablespoon. You decide whether the winning team needs to fully stuff their stockingor if you'll give the win to the team that gets the most goodies into the stocking after two minutes of play.

Snowball Fight

If you're lucky enough to have snow on Christmastake the battle outside. If notuse pompoms or faux snowballs as a fun alternative.

Christmas Tree Ring Toss

A simple game with a simple premise—take turns tossing five rings across a bed of plastic Christmas trees to see how many land. This game is perfect to play with little kidsfamilyand friends for a fun and lighthearted activity.

Crowd-Pleasing Party Games for Christmas

Whether you want to add a competitive twist to your annual holiday cocktail party or want to have a little fun with your older family members once the little ones are in bed or occupied with their new giftsthese more adult games for Christmas will make your holiday.

Christmas Murder Mysteries

For a dramatic crewhand out the parts to one of the many holiday-themed murder mystery games out there. (We're partial to the holiday-themed sets on Masters of Mysterywhich let the host play alongcan be scaled for up to 20 playersand can be played both in-person and virtuallyif you want to gather far-flung family members and friends into the game.)

Holiday Decorating Smackdown

Unload your craft closet for this gamewhich pits teams against each other to create a festive holiday decor item (a wreathcenterpieceornamentor gingerbread house)and be judged the best.

Christmas Minute to Win It

Look to the old game show for inspiration for some fun featssuch as marshmallow-on-a-spoon relayseating a cookie that's placed on your face (without using your hands)or moving candy canes from one container to another using only a candy cane and their mouth. (Give prizes to the winners to encourage people to compete.)

Merry Dissmas

The creators of superstar game What Do You Meme are back with this spicy new contestwhich asks you to roast your fellow participants with the funniest diss to questions likeWho gave you the worst gift?—don't worrywe've got Mom covered—or Who's the biggest prankster—and what's their best prank? (Note: This game works best with family members or the friends you consider family.)

Great Holiday Baking Competition

Who makes the best sugar cookiesand whose chocolate goodies steal the show? Have guests bring their Christmas baking finest for judging. (Bonus: Your party's desserts are already covered.)

Christmas Family Feud

It's your time to shine as the party's very own game show host! Christmas family feud is just like it sounds—break players into two teamsask holiday-themed questions (name an iconic Christmas movie!)and reference your list of answers before adding up points. If one team doesn't have an answer or gets it wrong twicethe opposing team has a chance to steal those points.

Jingle Pong

Give the classic drinking game a festive update by swapping the ping pong balls for jingle bells—and consider trading in the beer for eggnog instead if you want to really commit to the season.

Cards Against Humanity

Love Cards Against Humanity but want a more seasonal touch? You can supplement your Cards Against Humanity set with one of their seasonal expansion packs! (P.S. This game is for adults only!)

Christmas Charades

Have everyone act out some holiday-themed clues. You can write ideas on cards or have each charades contestant come up with their own Christmasy clues.

Christmas Movie Trivia

See who can remember the names of all the Bailey kids from It's a Wonderful Life or Buddy's favorite spaghetti topping in Elf for bragging rights.

Christmas Party Games to Play With Co-Workers

For the office Christmas partyyou might have to be a little more creative to get the gang to participate. And you'll probably want to stick to games with more of an overall holiday or winter theme to be mindful of the many ways your co-workers may be celebrating the season.

Virtual Holiday Party Games

Consider looking for virtual options to bring the fun for far-flung co-workerslike escape rooms. Breakout IQ has an escape room game with a holiday theme (Frosty the Snowman!) that can be booked for up to 600 people. Unboxed Experiences offers virtual office games—including triviaoffice Olympicsor virtual escape rooms—with a seasonal flair.

White Elephant Gift Exchange

Turn the annual gift exchange into a game with the classic White Elephant gift exchange. For a White Elephantpeople bring wrapped gag or inexpensive gifts and take turns picking them—or swapping them.

Gingerbread House Competition

Grab a few of those gingerbread kitssome extra candy and frostingand a few teams of co-workers to turn this fun and festive tradition into a fun and festive team building exercise.

Ugly Sweater Contest

Ugly sweaters have become a holiday standard. Put out the request among your colleaguesand give prizes for the ugliestthe brightestand the tackiest.

Guess How Many Candies

A simple game that requires little preparation—guess how many candies! If you're in charge of organizingcollect a large pile of candy and count the exact total amount. Place the candies in a jar and have your coworkers guess the total amount on a chit of paper (that includes their name). At the end of the nightread each chit for the closest guess and offer a small prize to the winning participant. (Or let them take home the treats!)

Christmas Games for Couples (or Small Parties)

Hosting a more intimate holiday get-together? You can still bring the fun with one of these games for Christmas.

Holiday Scrabble

Give the classic word game a more challenging twist by requiring that every answer fit the holiday theme. (Try jingle or jolly for a lot of points!)

Jackbox Games

Make using phones and screens a lot more interactive with this fun set of party games. There are 11 series of games in alleach with five fun (and very funny!) games for a small crew to play. Bonus: You can set up a Zoom or Google Meet to share the screenand play the games with out-of-towners.

Christmas Movie Drinking Game

Get set up for a night with the classics (or a Hallmark Christmas movie binge-fest) by taking a sip of a festive cocktail or mocktail every time a holiday movie cliche happens. (Just coming up with the categories will be fun: Someone drinks hot chocolate! Nobody recognizes Santa in disguise!)

The Couples Game

See how well you really know your significant other with this set of questions—where you both try to see if you mind-meld and guess correctly.

The Hygge Game

Not in the mood for competition on Christmas? Slide into this soothing gamewhich has you asking questions guaranteed to spark conversationslike: If you could go back and relive one day of your lifewhat day would it be?