Christmas party games for adults: 12 fun ideas (with questions)

Christmas is one of the few nights a year when three generations share a table, or the friend group that only talks in the group chat finally ends up in one room. After dinner, though, the energy often drops: phones come out, and the same movie as last year plays in the background.

That is what Christmas party games are for. We put together 12 ideas that need almost nothing: one phone, a few scraps of paper and a pen. Some are calm conversation games that work with grandparents, some are loud rounds for a friends Christmas, and a few are safe enough for the office party.

What makes good Christmas party games

Good Christmas games take one minute to explain, because nobody wants to read a rulebook with a mince pie in hand. Everyone can play, from an eight year old to grandma. And nobody gets laughed out of the game, because it is the holidays. That is why question games work best: they start conversations instead of competitions.

Christmas games for adults: 12 fun ideas

1. Christmas This or That

The best warm up while people are still arriving. Someone reads two options, everyone points left or right at the same time, and anyone left alone with their pick has to defend it. Ten rounds in, you know who the biggest Christmas fan in the room is.

1. Real tree or artificial tree?
2. Wrapping presents or unwrapping them?
3. Elf or The Grinch?
4. Home Alone or Love Actually?
5. Hot chocolate or eggnog?
6. Snowy Christmas or sunny Christmas?
7. Opening presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
8. Matching pajamas or ugly sweaters?
9. Gingerbread house or Christmas cookies?
10. Wish list or surprise gifts?
11. Decorate on November 1st or wait until December?
12. Christmas market or Christmas movie marathon?

2. Christmas Would You Rather questions

Perfect for the dinner table, when nobody is in a hurry. Christmas Would You Rather questions are harder than they look, and the reasons people give are the best part.

1. Would you rather have the same Christmas dinner every year or a completely new menu every year?
2. Would you rather get one gift you really want or ten small surprises?
3. Would you rather spend Christmas in a snowy cabin or on a beach?
4. Would you rather cook Christmas dinner or do all the dishes afterwards?
5. Would you rather be Santa for a day or one of his reindeer?
6. Would you rather hear Christmas music all of December or none at all?
7. Would you rather give up Christmas cookies or Christmas movies forever?
8. Would you rather have snow every Christmas or never queue for presents again?
9. Would you rather spend Christmas with the Grinch or with Buddy the Elf?
10. Would you rather have your Christmas lights up all year or only on Christmas Eve?

3. Christmas trivia questions (with answers)

Split into two teams and read the questions out loud. Every correct answer is a point, and the winning team picks first from the dessert tray. Answers are in brackets. Want a full round? Here are 50 Christmas trivia questions and answers.

1. How many reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh, including Rudolph? (Nine)
2. What is the name of the Grinch’s dog? (Max)
3. In Home Alone, where is the McCallister family flying to? (Paris)
4. What is Scrooge’s first name in A Christmas Carol? (Ebenezer)
5. Which country made the decorated Christmas tree popular? (Germany)
6. What do the four candles of an Advent wreath count down? (The four Sundays before Christmas)
7. Which reindeer comes first in the classic list of names? (Dasher)
8. In which city is Love Actually set? (London)
9. What does the word Noel come from? (The Latin word for birth)
10. In Elf, what are the four main food groups of elves? (Candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup)

4. Most Likely To: Christmas edition

Someone reads a statement, and on three everyone points at the person it fits best. The person with the most fingers on them gets to defend themselves. With family it is extra funny, because grandpa has to defend himself too.

1. Who is most likely to wrap all their presents on Christmas Eve afternoon?
2. Who is most likely to shake the presents under the tree when nobody is looking?
3. Who is most likely to fall asleep during the Christmas movie?
4. Who is most likely to give the same gift every year?
5. Who is most likely to sing the loudest at a carol?
6. Who is most likely to buy a gift for themselves while shopping for others?
7. Who is most likely to start their New Year diet and quit by January 3rd?
8. Who is most likely to leave the tree up until February?

5. White elephant gift swap

The classic for a friends or office Christmas party. Everyone brings one wrapped, inexpensive gift. Draw numbers: on your turn you either open a new gift from the pile or steal one somebody already opened. Whoever got robbed picks again. A gift can only be stolen twice, after that it stays put.

6. Never Have I Ever: Christmas edition

Anyone who has done what the sentence says puts a finger down. Best played once the kids are in bed.

1. Never have I ever regifted a present.
2. Never have I ever secretly opened a gift before Christmas.
3. Never have I ever pretended to love a gift I did not like.
4. Never have I ever bought my last gift on Christmas Eve.
5. Never have I ever fallen asleep at the Christmas dinner table.
6. Never have I ever eaten Christmas cookies for breakfast.
7. Never have I ever forgotten someone on my gift list.
8. Never have I ever taken the tree down in February.

7. Guess the Christmas movie

Everyone writes a Christmas movie on a slip of paper and drops it into a Santa hat. The next player acts it out without a word, and their team has one minute to guess. Charades, but the stakes are Home Alone, The Grinch and Die Hard (yes, it counts).

8. Who am I? Christmas characters

Everyone gets a sticky note on their forehead with a Christmas character: Rudolph, the Grinch, Kevin McCallister, Scrooge, Frosty, Santa. Ask yes or no questions to figure out who you are. Works with kids and is a good game for slowing down after dinner.

9. Christmas Truth or Dare

The classic, with festive truths and dares. Save it for a friends Christmas or the second half of the office party.

1. Dare: sing the first verse of Silent Night like an opera singer.
2. Dare: gift wrap the arm of the person next to you in one minute, ribbon included.
3. Dare: give a heartfelt toast to the Christmas tree.
4. Dare: do your best Grinch reaction to the decorations.
5. Truth: what is the worst gift you have ever received?
6. Truth: whose gift did you buy last this year?
7. Truth: which family Christmas tradition would you secretly cancel?
8. Truth: what was your most awkward office Christmas party moment?

10. Christmas story chain

Someone starts a Christmas story with one sentence, the next person adds one, and so on around the room. The rule: every sentence needs a Christmas word. Grandparents are surprisingly good at it, and the story always ends up completely absurd.

11. Gingerbread decorating contest

You need a plate of plain gingerbread cookies and a few tubes of icing. Everyone gets ten minutes to decorate one based on a theme pulled from a hat: a portrait of the host, a Christmas movie, an animal. A secret vote decides the winner. Kids and adults can play together.

12. Moment of the year

The best way to end the night. Everyone shares one moment from this year they want to remember and one thing they would do differently next year. It does not have to be long, but on Christmas night it is often the round people remember most.

Family Christmas games that work with kids

• Christmas This or That: short, fast and no reading needed.
• Who am I? with Christmas characters: little ones can use drawings instead of names.
• Gingerbread decorating contest: everyone wins something, and you get to eat it.
• Christmas story chain: the kids always come up with the funniest sentences.

How to plan the night

1. Before dinner: Christmas This or That while everyone arrives.
2. During dinner: Christmas Would You Rather questions.
3. After presents: Christmas trivia in two teams.
4. With dessert: Most Likely To and Who am I?
5. Late, adults only: Never Have I Ever or Truth or Dare.
6. To finish: Moment of the year.

The takeaway

The best Christmas nights are not remembered for the perfect menu, they are remembered for the moment everyone was laughing in the living room. If you do not want to write questions yourself, download Party Games by Guessy for free: This or That and Most Likely To start in seconds, the premium Holidays category includes Christmas questions, and everything works offline. Planning the next party already? Here are our New Year’s Eve games.