These Christmas games will create the most precious holiday memories.
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40 Fun Family Christmas Games Everyone Will Enjoy
Updated Jan. 25, 2024
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What would Christmas be like without your family? The day is all about spending time with your loved ones, practicing both new and old Christmas traditions, and creating precious memories that last forever. And those memories should definitely include some laughter and fun Christmas activities, which is why we rounded up the best Christmas games to play with the family this year. You may even be able to double-dip and use some of these as Christmas party games with your friends too! (P.S.—don’t forget to check out how to celebrate the holidays, based on your zodiac sign).
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Elf on the Shelf Hide and Seek Game
Christmas games plus Elf on the Shelf equals tons of fun! With more than 6.5 million elves sold, the Elf on the Shelf is one of the nation’s favorite Christmas traditions. This game picks up where the beloved book set leaves off, offering the same delightful play pattern as kids try to find the elf that Santa sent to visit. The game includes a large elf—but where is it? And where’s that music coming from? When they put the two together, kids have found the Elf! You can even try some of these Christmas riddles while you play that will guarantee a fun evening.
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Yahtzee: The Nightmare Before ChristmasÂ
Family Christmas games brought to an entirely new level with the Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Yahtzee game! The Nightmare Before Christmas movie is a must-watch for many around Christmas, so why not continue the fun with this collector’s edition of Yahtzee featuring images and themes from the movie? If you run out of things to watch after The Nightmare Before Christmas, start going through the list of the all-time best Christmas movies.
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Operation: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Collector’s Edition
Why can’t family Christmas games involve operating? Put on your scrubs and help Santa, Rudolph, and Hermey operate on BUMBLE THE ABOMINABLE SNOW MONSTER in this classic Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Operation game. It will take a steady hand to get rid of his “sweet tooth,” “Charlie Horse,” “cold shoulder” and more. Rudolph’s nose glows and Bumble roars every time the surgery backfires, so operate with care! Check out the best Christmas movies for kids for some family-friendly classics.
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‘Tis the Season Christmas Trivia Game
Hard up for family Christmas games to play? Check out the original ‘Tis the Season Christmas Trivia Game. This best-selling game is a smash at Christmas parties as players or teams answer questions in six categories including movies, songs, history, and more. Perfect entertainment for family gatherings! And this could even be a great stocking stuffer for kids that the whole family can enjoy.
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Christmas Dominoes
While cookies are being baked and Christmas cards addressed, the kids can play. Featuring beloved symbols of the season, they are the perfect way to gather all the generations together at holiday parties. And they make great stocking stuffers, too! These large dominoes are extra-thick, durable, and can be used for years to come. If your kiddos like to use their hands, you can also try some of these Christmas crafts for kids in addition to these Christmas games.
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Christmas Bingo
No list of Christmas games is complete without a little bingo. Complete your holiday shopping list and put a new twist on your ordinary bingo game with this Christmas-inspired bingo game set! Complete with 10 bingo cards, bingo chips, and bingo spinner! This colorful game adds lots of fun to Christmas parties and will have your guests shouting “Christmas Bingo!” in no time! You can even add it to your Christmas Eve traditions while you stay up waiting for Santa.
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The Christmas Carols & Songs Game
This simple, fun, and exciting game features the best Christmas songs and Christmas carols that will surely provide hours of entertainment with your family and friends! More than 300 questions that include Christmas songs for kids, Christmas carol figures, and Christmas carol movies! Fill in the missing words, and belt out those Christmas songs as you progress through the board game. The gameplay is designed to be progressive and quick so there is never a dull moment!
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Christmas Trivia Game
Five categories with a total of 1200 trivia questions test your knowledge of carols, movies, the North Pole, traditions, and stocking stuffers. Small enough take on the road, there are no complex rules or pieces.
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Christmas Charades Game
With cards including “Gingerbread Man” and “Star of Bethlehem” you and your family will be laughing in no time trying to act out every aspect of Christmas. Hours of fun. Keep the laughs going by reading our favorite Christmas jokes.
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The Santa Claus Game
The game where everyone gets to be Santa! The goal of this family Christmas game is giving gifts, not getting them. Each player chooses a sleigh filled with presents, teddy bears, dolls, and treats. They roll the die to land on spaces and give the presents to others. Along the way, they participate in various activities such as singing a favorite holiday song, twirling like a snowflake and belting out their best “Ho Ho Ho!”
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Santa’s Sleigh Ride
Race other Santas in a fast-paced globe-trotting mission to deliver presents and fly back to the North Pole. Your kids will be having too much fun testing their luck along the Candy Cane Path to realize they’re getting an education in geography and basic math skills.
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Christmas Paper Plate Game
From Happy Home Fairy, all you need are sturdy paper plates and pens. The person running the game asks everyone to put the paper plate on the top of their heads and draw the following with the plate on your head:
1. Draw a line for a floor.
2. Draw a Christmas Tree. Add decorations if you feel so inclined.
3. Draw a star on top of your tree.
4. Draw a fireplace with a mantel next to the tree.
5. Draw a stocking hanging from the mantel of your fireplace.
6. Draw a present below the tree.
Then have players count how many points they received by following this rubric:
1. 2 points if the tree touches the floor.
2. 2 points if your stocking is touching your mantel.
3. 1 point if your star touches your tree.
4. 1 point if your star is above your tree.
5. 1 point for every Christmas ornament ball that is ON your tree, etc.
6. 1 point if your fireplace doesn’t touch the tree (it’s a fire hazard!).
7. 1 point if you actually drew something decorative on your stocking (or something cute, like a tiny kitten peeking out).
8. 2 points if your present is under your tree.
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Reindeer Antler Ring Toss
This is one of those Christmas games that requires someone to have very good aim—or risk those rings being tossed all over! The whole family will have fun taking turns tossing rings to whoever is wearing the antlers.
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Spot It! Holidays
A Christmas game that tests your visual perception, the kids will enjoy trying to figure out which symbol matches between any two cards. Don’t miss these Christmas cartoons perfect for yuletide laughs.
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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas Journey Board Game
Without a doubt one of the most fun Christmas games based on a true Christmas classic, everyone will have fun helping Rudolph, Hermey the Elf, and Yukon Cornelius find the lost Misfit toys.
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Sing Me an Emoji: Holiday Edition
Can you try to guess popular Christmas song titles using just emojis? Find out the history behind your favorite Christmas traditions.
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Pin the Nose on the Snowman
This is one of those Christmas games that the younger set will definitely enjoy. Blindfold your kiddos, spin them around, and see who can pin the carrot nose on the snowman.
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Christmas Tree Toss Game
Get the family outside to see who has the best aim in this bag toss game. Can you get the bags through each of the holes on this giant Christmas tree?
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Letters to Santa Boxed Edition Card Game
Everyone wants to be able to have their Christmas wish granted by Santa—and the way to do that is to write him a letter. In this game, you’ll have to make sure your letter gets to Santa. The closer you get your letter to Santa, the more likely it is you’ll win the game!
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Christmas Guess Who Game
This memory game can be fun and challenging for the whole family. Create some cards with holiday-themed questions such as “Who has met Santa?” or “Who has eaten 18 Christmas cookies in one sitting?” Each guest will pick a card and have to guess who the person is who matches the card. You can even hang the card up with the person’s photo for a cherished holiday memory.
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Elf Monopoly
Who wouldn’t want to play Monopoly with the theme of one of the funniest Christmas movies out there? Make sure you’re snacking on the four main food groups while you play: candy, candy corn, candy canes, and syrup.
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Santa Cookie Elf Candy Snowman
A holiday spin on the classic game “Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza” that will have the whole family laughing. The game lasts about 15 minutes and is pretty easy to learn if you don’t know how to play. It’s fun for both children and adults!
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Christmas Would You Rather
This game is always a fun one so why not make it holiday-themed? Here are a few sample ideas:
- Would you rather only watch Elf or The Polar Express for the rest of your life?
- Would you rather eat a candy cane with ketchup or mustard?
- Would you rather celebrate the holidays in the snow or on the beach?
Get as creative as you can with the questions and feel free to gear them specifically towards your audience. You can either come up with questions on the spot or write them down beforehand and have everyone pick out of a hat.
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Christmas Mad Libs
Mad Libs can be fun for all ages, but this will definitely keep the kids busy for hours if you’re looking to get some Christmas cooking or decorating done. They’ll be giggling all night over the hilarious stories they made up.
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Gingerbread Man Game
Tilt your head back and place a gingerbread cookie on your forehead (or any Christmas cookies you may bake.) The first person who can get the cookie in their mouth without it dropping to the floor is the winner. Fun and delicious!
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Christmas movie trivia
Here’s a classic game of trivia about all your favorite Christmas movies. You can even use our Christmas movie trivia with answers to play. Either split into teams and tally how many questions each team gets right, or have everyone fend for themselves. Either way, it’ll get everyone in the mood to watch Christmas movies.
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Gingerbread house competition
If you’re already building gingerbread houses this year, why not make it a contest? See who can create the best and most unique gingerbread house design. Plus, you’ll get to eat all the treats after.
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Christmas Freeze Dance
Turn up your Christmas playlist and get moving to all the best holiday songs. When the music stops, everyone has to freeze. Whoever moves is out!
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Candy Cane Hunt
Similar to an Easter Egg Hunt, hide a bunch of candy canes around your house or yard and see who can find the most. The winner will get to keep (and eat) all the candy canes.
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Cookie decorating contest
Similar to the gingerbread house competition, see who can decorate the Christmas cookies best. Start by baking a bunch of cookies with all kinds of shapes. Buy some frosting, food coloring, and other candies to decorate the cookies with. You can even have categories besides the best design such as the messiest design, the most colorful, and the most creative. You can even use cookie decorating as one of your Christmas party themes this year for a sweet night.
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Christmas Pictionary
Add a holiday twist to one of the best games. Come up with a list beforehand of some festive ideas. You can even try having different levels. For example, snowman would be easy, A Christmas Carol would be medium, and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” would be hard.
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Create a holiday story
Have one person start with a sentence and then go around the room having each person create the next sentence. Everyone will be giggling at the wacky and hilarious ideas people come up with.
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White Elephant
You may have played this at an office party in the past, but this game can actually be a lot of fun. Everyone brings a gift already wrapped and places it in a pile under the tree. Numbers are drawn to decide who picks first. Each person who goes has the option to steal a gift from someone else or choose a new one. Either unwrap the gifts as you go along so keep them wrapped until the end to make it interesting. To make this even more fun, try doing only gag gifts.
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A Charlie Brown Christmas board game
What would Christmas be without Charlie Brown? In this board game, the first player to make it back to the patch to light the star on top of the Christmas tree is the winner. The game comes with instructions, a game board, Peanuts cards, character pieces, and a spinner.
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Christmas Ring Toss
Inflate the Christmas trees and the rings for a fun ring toss game. Each tree is labeled with different points so you can tally your score as you go. Either play in teams or have everyone play for themselves.
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Pin the Nose on the Reindeer
Place the mask over your kids’ eyes, spin them around, and see who can pin the nose on the reindeer. Whoever gets the closest is the winner. This will definitely give them the giggles.
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Christmas Spoon Relay Race
Everyone will have a spoon with the end in their mouth. The concept of the game is to try to pass the Christmas-themed bouncy balls from one spoon to the next without dropping them. Make it even more challenging by either sitting on your hands or tying them behind your back.
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The Nightmare Before Christmas Clue
Clue, but Tim Burton themed. The object of the game is to find out what happened to Sandy Claws. Who kidnapped him? What weapon was used? In what room is he hidden? The game features locations from the movie like Tree House, Halloween Town Hall, Oogie’s lair, Jack’s house, Toy Workshop, and Santa’s house.
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Dr. Seuss: Merry Grinchmas!
All of the Whos’ down in Who-ville love Christmas, but the Grinch does not. This game will have the whole family working together deliver presents to all of the Whos’ in order to make their Christmas dreams come true—before the Grinch gets in the way.
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Christmas Scavenger Hunt Game
Who doesn’t love a good scavenger hunt? This Christmas-themed hunt will allow the whole family to go on an adventure. The game comes with 220 cards that list typical objects around the house around Christmastime. You can either partner up or work in teams. Maybe one family against another? Now that you have all the best ideas for Christmas games, add to the fun by watching some of the best kids’ Christmas movies on Netflix. Looking for more ideas? Try these scavenger hunt riddles to double the fun.
Originally Published: October 15, 2021
