Christmas Party Games for Families (All Ages)

On this page

1. Games the whole family can play at the table
2. Active games for indoors
3. Quiet games and crafts
4. Outdoor games if you’ve got snow (or not)
5. How to mix ages so everyone has fun
6. Questions hosts ask

Charades is the one game almost every family already knows. Our printable deck has 58 Christmas prompts, from “shoveling snow” to “a penguin sliding on its belly,” so nobody has to think one up on the spot. Pre-readers can play too: an adult whispers the card to them.

The trick with a family crowd is range. A game that thrills a 6-year-old will bore a 15-year-old, and a game the teens love might leave Grandpa out. The games below say which ages they suit, and the section at the end covers how to mix them.

Games the whole family can play at the table

These work sitting down, with anyone who can hold a pencil or point, and they pause easily when the cookies come out of the oven.

1. Christmas bingo (free printable)

Every card is different, with 24 words like Reindeer, Snow Globe and Hot Cocoa. Ages 4 and up (little ones can play with a reading buddy), 15 to 30 minutes per session. Use buttons or mini marshmallows as markers. Full rules, variations and printing tips are on our Christmas bingo page.

2. The left-right gift game (free printable)

Everyone holds a small wrapped gift while someone reads a silly story about a family wrapping presents at the last minute. Every time the story says LEFT or RIGHT, gifts get passed that way. When the story ends, you keep what you’re holding. It takes under ten minutes, works for ages 5 and up, and is an easy way to hand out stocking-stuffer gifts.

3. Christmas This or That

Hot cocoa or eggnog? Snowball fight or sledding? Read a card and everyone points at their pick. Kids get a rare chance to outvote the adults, and it needs zero setup. Our free printable deck has 50 cards.

4. Family Christmas trivia

Mix kid-level questions (how many points does a snowflake have?) with harder ones for adults, and put at least one kid and one adult on each team. Our Christmas trivia questions and answers include a round written for kids, plus movies, music and traditions for the grown-ups.

5. What’s missing?

Put 12 to 15 small Christmas things on a tray: an ornament, a candy cane, a bell, a pine cone, a cookie cutter. Everyone studies it for 30 seconds, then you cover it and secretly remove one item. First to name what’s gone wins the round. It suits ages 4 and up and gets harder if you remove two things.

6. Christmas story chain

One person starts a story with a single sentence: “On Christmas Eve, a reindeer named Pickles got lost.” Then everyone adds a sentence in turn. The story goes somewhere strange within five turns. There are no winners, and it’s a good one for the car ride to Grandma’s too.

7. Hum that carol

One player hums a Christmas song while the others guess the title. Humming only, no words. Put a grandparent and a kid on each team so someone knows the old carols and someone knows the new songs.

8. Guess the jar

Fill a clear jar with mini candy canes, jingle bells or wrapped chocolates and count them first. Everyone writes a guess on a slip. Closest guess takes the jar home. It runs quietly in the background, no host needed.

Active games for indoors

For when the kids are bouncing off the walls. Clear a space, move anything breakable off low tables, and keep toddlers out of the path of bigger kids.

9. Candy cane hunt

The Christmas version of an egg hunt. Hide mini candy canes around one or two rooms and give each kid a small bag or stocking. For mixed ages, give the little ones a head start or hide some low and some high. If you’d rather write riddle clues, our scavenger hunt clues for kids around the house work with a candy cane at the end.

10. Christmas charades (free printable)

The deck at the top of the page. Split into two teams with a mix of ages and give each actor 60 seconds. For little kids, let them act in pairs with an adult.

11. Indoor snowball fight

Crumple up scrap paper or used wrapping paper into “snowballs,” split the room in two with a line of tape, and give everyone two minutes to throw as many snowballs as they can onto the other side. When time’s up, the side with fewer snowballs wins. It doubles as cleanup for the wrapping paper.

12. Pin the nose on the reindeer

Draw a big reindeer face on poster board and cut out red paper noses with tape on the back. Blindfold players, spin them gently once, and let them stick the nose on. Toddlers can play without the blindfold.

13. Jingle bell freeze dance

Play Christmas music and everyone dances. When the music stops, freeze. Anyone who wobbles is out and helps judge the next round. Ages 2 and up, and grandparents can judge from the couch.

14. Pass the present

Wrap a small prize in many layers of paper, with a tiny treat like a sticker or a chocolate coin tucked into each layer. Pass it around a circle while music plays. When the music stops, whoever holds it unwraps one layer. The person who reaches the middle gets the prize. Whoever controls the music can make sure every kid gets a turn.

15. Jingle bell shake

Fill an empty tissue box with a few jingle bells and tie it around a player’s waist. They have one minute to wiggle every bell out without using their hands. Race two players at once: a kid against a grandparent is a fair fight.

16. Snowman wrap

Teams of three get a roll of toilet paper and one minute to wrap a teammate into a snowman. Add a scarf and a hat at the end and take a photo. Ages 5 and up; keep the paper away from faces.

17. Reindeer ring toss

A grown-up wears a headband with antlers while kids toss pool rings or paper plate rings at them from a few feet away. Move the thrower closer for small kids. Anyone who rings an antler gets a point.

Quiet games and crafts

Good for after dinner, or for the hour before everyone leaves when energy is dropping.

18. Christmas word scramble (free printable)

Twenty-two Christmas words with the letters mixed up, from ELVES to GINGERBREAD. Best for ages 8 and up; pair younger kids with a teen or an adult. The answer key prints on a separate page.

19. Christmas word search

Another free printable, with 18 words hidden across, down and diagonally. It keeps a kid busy for 10 to 15 minutes and works well at a restaurant table or in the car.

20. Blind Santa drawing

Everyone holds a paper plate on top of their head and draws Santa on it while someone calls out the parts: hat, face, beard, belly, boots. Nobody can see what they’re drawing. The results get hung on the fridge.

21. Cookie decorating contest

Set out plain sugar cookies, a few colors of frosting and sprinkles. Everyone decorates two, and the family votes for categories like “most Christmassy,” “most creative” and “most sprinkles per square inch.” Everybody wins something, which matters when the youngest judges are also contestants.

22. Gingerbread house challenge

Split into teams of mixed ages, each with graham crackers, frosting and candy. Give them 30 minutes to build. It’s a longer activity, so it works best on a slow afternoon, and it doubles as a decoration afterward.

23. Christmas memory circle

Go around the room and each person shares a favorite Christmas memory, but kids get to ask one follow-up question to anyone. It’s not really a game, and that’s fine. Kids get to hear what Christmas looked like when their grandparents were small.

Outdoor games if you’ve got snow (or not)

24. Snowman building contest

Teams get 20 minutes and a bag of props: scarves, buttons, a carrot, sticks. Judge on height, style and creativity. No snow? Build snowmen out of paper plates and cotton balls at the table instead.

25. Christmas light scavenger hunt

After dark, pile into the car or walk the neighborhood with a list to spot: a blow-up snowman, a star on a roof, a wreath on a car, lights in the shape of a candy cane, a window with a menorah or a nativity. First to spot each gets a point. It works for every age, including the ones who’d rather stay in the car.

How to mix ages so everyone has fun

Say your family gathering has a 4-year-old, two 9-year-olds, a 14-year-old, four parents and two grandparents. A few rules keep the games from splitting into kids versus grown-ups:

• Mix the teams. Put at least one kid and one adult on every team for trivia, charades and the snowman wrap.
• Give the little ones a job. Toddlers can be the “music stopper” for freeze dance or the official bingo caller’s helper.
• Let teens run something. A 14-year-old who’s too cool to play can host trivia or read the left-right story instead.
• Keep grandparents seated. Bingo, the story chain and What’s Missing? work from a comfy chair.

If your family is mostly grown-ups this year, try our Christmas party games for adults, which lean more toward gift swaps and trivia. You’ll find every Christmas printable we have, including the word search, on the Christmas games page.

Questions hosts ask

By the Party Game Book editors. Every game here is free to print for personal, classroom and non-commercial use. How we make and check our games.