Throw the ultimate Christmas party this year from start to finish with our list of fun activities. An important step in making your Christmas party a success is planning out exciting activities that will keep your guests entertained throughout the night. Whether you’re looking for kid-friendly ideas to keep the little ones busy or Christmas party activities for adults only, we have you covered with a list of party ideas below this season. Pick your favorite holiday party idea from those below or use them to inspire an activity of your own imagination. Get the party started with personalized holiday party invitations to send to your guest list. Along with your party planning, don’t forget to get a head start on your custom Christmas cards and unleash good moments into the mailboxes of your neighbors and friends.
Choosing a Christmas Party Game
Finding the best Christmas party game for your event is easier than you think. Once you assess how many guests you expect to attend and the age groups, you can plan out your entertainment from there. Ask yourself these questions when choosing the perfect game for your party crowd:
- How many guests are attending? Before choosing a game, think about how many guests are expected to come to your Christmas party. The larger the party, the more inclusive the game will need to be. You should opt for playing games where you can divide guests into large teams if you’ll have more than 20 participants. Check out our selection of playing cards for your upcoming party!
- Will there be kids at the party? Make sure to set aside activities for kid attendees and assign a responsible chaperone to the kids’ table. This way, adults will be able to enjoy themselves during their respective games. Explore our kids puzzles, card games and memory games for the little ones at your Christmas celebration.
- Do most of the guests know each other? Your answer to this question is key as you’ll need to include icebreaker games if most of your guests don’t know each other. Icebreaker games are fun and can lighten the mood so everyone feels comfortable at the start of your party.
1. White Elephant
This is a classic gift exchange game that small to large groups love to play during the holidays. In order to play this game, you should instruct each player ahead of time to bring a wrapped gift to contribute to a general gift table. Each player then chooses a gift from the table one by one but has the alternate option to steal another player’s gift. The game finally ends when there aren’t any gifts left on the table.
2. Christmas Charades
Organize a festive game of Christmas charades for your guests and act out some of your favorite holiday activities (without saying a word). Popular items on your list of charades include decorating a tree, having snowball fights, ice skating, and more. You can find different Christmas charade printables on the internet to use as a reference for some of your favorite holiday scenarios.
3. Christmas Carol Pictionary Relay
Transform the classic drawing game of Pictionary into a festive relay all about Christmas carols. In order to play this game, players must get the name of the song from the game organizer and draw out their song. Teams do their best to guess which song is the answer based on their representative’s drawing. The team representative then races back to the organizer to grab another carol until they complete three rounds of Pictionary. The team that is able to correctly guess their three songs first is the winner.
4. Christmas Carol Bingo
Play a game of bingo with loved ones and swap the numbers for a 4×4 card of popular Christmas symbols! You can download a Christmas bingo printable to keep things simple.
5. Stocking Guessing Game
Surprise your guests with Christmas stockings full of odd objects and have them guess what is in the stocking. Players can feel the stocking but can’t look inside. After the game is over, let the winner with the most correct guesses keep the stocking and surprise all your party partygoers with a personalized Christmas stocking made just for them in honor of the holiday season.
6. Name that Christmas Song
Break the ice at your Christmas party by dividing your guests into 2 to 3 teams for the perfect holiday guessing game. This competition challenges teams to write down the name of a Christmas tune after you say one line of the song out loud. Remember to keep your answers handy as you’ll want to verify which team accumulated the most answers with the correct song.
7. Christmas Movie Trivia
Test your holiday attendees with a fun game about their Christmas movie knowledge! You can ask questions like “What was the name of Rudolph’s Dad” or “Why did the Grinch hate Christmas” to refresh everyone’s memory.
8. Christmas Mad Libs
Play a simple game of Christmas mad libs by providing printables to participants. This is a classic storytelling activity so remember to reward the individual or team with the most interesting story a prize. Keep a holiday tradition by writing down these fun holiday mad libs within a customized holiday notebook, that way each year you can reflect on the amazing Christmas mad libs created.
9. Gift Wrap Relay
This game is all about speed and gifts. Host a gift wrap relay this holiday season by dividing your guests into two teams. You can then set aside two tables at opposite ends of the room with unwrapped gifts and wrapping paper supplies. Guests will then race one by one to their respective tables and wrap a gift as fast as possible. This game ends when the winning team finishes wrapping all of their gifts.
10. Candy Cane Relay
This is a festive Christmas game that involves only candy canes! Players are given one minute to use a candy cane to pick up as many candy canes from an individual bowl as possible. However, the catch is that they must use their mouth to hold the main candy cane. The player who collects the most candy canes before time is up wins.
11. Christmas Card Swap
Ask all of your guests to bring 2 to 3 different photo Christmas cards of themselves from when they were a child for this fun icebreaker game. When guests arrive at the party, they’ll drop one of their cards into a basket. Once all of the guests have arrived and contributed Christmas cards, each guest will choose a card from the basket and try and match the card with a guest at the party. The first person to match their selected card with the guest who’s in the photo wins. Alternatively, you can ask guests to bring a photo of themselves as a child in general if they’re unable to find an old photo Christmas card. Since guests will be bringing 2 to 3 cards/photos, you can play this game more than once at your party.
12. Christmas Cookie Decorating
Grab your family and friends for a cookie decorating table with plenty of icing, sprinkles, and edible Christmas toppings. This is a fun and creative way to keep attendees busy and entertained, especially for family-oriented Christmas parties. You can stock up on a variety of toppings and festive icings to offer attendees a wide selection of decorating options and Christmas cookie ideas.
13. Gingerbread House Decorating
Prepare a few gingerbread houses and let your guests get carried away with gingerbread house decorating! You can let families or couples decorate houses together or let everyone choose a partner to decorate. Provide plenty of icing, different colored gumdrops, and any other creative toppings you can think of. You can turn this into a competition by awarding prizes to the team with the most elaborate gingerbread house. After creating these gingerbread houses, display them on a festive serving platter that can feature any holiday print that matches the rest of your party decor.
14. Christmas Arts & Crafts
You can never go wrong with an hour or two of holiday arts and crafts. Collect an array of Christmas-oriented materials, patterned paper, and supplies so guests can make their own personalized Christmas ornaments, cards, stockings or mini-trees. Consider having a volunteer supervise the table if kids will be making arts and crafts. You can also use free Christmas coloring pages to keep kids and guests busy.
15. Tree Decorating
Gather your loved ones for a tree decorating session before food and drinks. You can have each guest make an ornament at your party or bring their own photo ornament to make this activity special. Don’t forget to keep the Christmas music flowing for this cherished activity.
16. Christmas Card Crafts
Have guests bring new or old Christmas cards to create a fun Christmas card project! Whether it’s a collage or making ornaments out of Christmas cards, this is a fun way to add Christmas family photos to the mix and make use of extra holiday cards.
17. Christmas Carols
End your party with a Christmas caroling trip around the neighborhood with your loved ones or set aside time to sing popular carols at your party. This is a traditional holiday activity that never gets old.
18. Christmas Karaoke
Host a Christmas karaoke hour for your loved ones who wait all year for their favorite holiday tunes. Do your best to find karaoke versions of popular Christmas songs and set aside two mics just in case a duet is in store.
19. Christmas Photo Booth
Gather all of the funny and entertaining Christmas props you can and build your own Christmas photo booth. You can use elf ears, Santa hats, candy canes, and anything else that can add laughter to these photos. If your theme is a Winter Wonderland party or a Santa themed party, you can use Christmas photo props that align with your specific theme. Make sure that these pictures print out or have digital copies for your guest so they can utilize these festive holiday photo booth pictures within their Christmas cards and holiday cards for the year.
Resources Related to Christmas Party Activities
A few games and activities spread throughout your holiday celebration can enhance all of your Christmas party ideas. Organizing holiday-oriented entertainment always creates a warm and festive environment that spreads the season’s cheer. And don’t forget, f you want guests to bring something, mention this on your Holiday party invitations so everyone is on the same page. Lastly, don’t forget to have a friend or family member help you day-of so you can enjoy your Christmas party too.
