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32 Best Christmas Party Games for Adults to Play Once the Kids Go to Bed
This list includes hilarious holiday-themed activities you can do at the office, in large-group settings and more.
After the kids have enjoyed a full day filled with holiday sweets and classic Christmas movies and are tucked in dreaming of sugar-plum fairies, that's your cue to shake up a round of festive cocktails and try out these super-fun Christmas party games for adults.
To be clear, when we say party games "for adults," we don't necessarily mean "inappropriate." There are plenty of funny Christmas party games on this list that are also great to play at work if you're hosting or helping plan an office holiday party. That said, there are also a handful of games here that seem particularly suited for close friends and competitive family members. Test your Christmas movie and Christmas song knowledge, quiz your friends on random (but fascinating!) trivia and more. Just don't forget to put out some delicious holiday bites to make the party even more fun. Just remember— if Santa sees you when you're sleeping and he knows when you're awake, then he'll definitely know if you don't play fair, so be good for goodness sake!
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Ornament Guess
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An easy and free game to play! When guests come through the door, have them guess how many ornaments are on your Christmas tree. At the end of the night, the person with the best guess wins a fun prize or gets to open the first present of the night.
A tried and true favorite. The premise is simple — whoever shows up in the ugliest Christmas sweater wins and receives a grand prize (maybe an extra-nice stocking stuffer?).
It's perhaps the easiest holiday game ever: Pick a Christmas movie and then identify certain phrases, words or actions that will signal to everyone that they have to drink. If you need inspiration, there are Hallmark holiday movie and Elf drinking games all set up and ready to go. To get everyone excited to take a sip, swap out throat-burning shots for glasses of eggnog, sparkling ginger sangria or any other fun fun Christmas cocktail.
Write up a stack of cards with characters from traditional Christmas movies and TV shows. Every guest must pick one (no peeking!) and attach it to an elastic headband. They then must spend the night asking other guests questions to try to figure out which character they currently have on their headband. First one to figure theirs out wins!
Once the kids are tucked in bed, it's time for the adults to have some fun. Make this classic game more holiday-themed by posing questions like, "Never have I ever regifted a gift" to see what things your friends and family are guilty of doing. You can play the traditional way by having anyone who has done the deed take a sip of their drink or simply use a point system and reward the winner with a gift.
The Caroling Challenge
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This is an easy, no-setup game that you can play everywhere, from a home get-together to an office party. While everyone sits in a circle, one person starts by singing a line from a holiday song, and the person to the right has to sing the next line of this song, and so on, says Kaitlin Moss of The Every Hostess. Pick from the classics like "Jingle Bells," or try a more modern holiday hit like Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You." You might know the first few lines of all these songs, but it gets challenging really quickly!
Set a timer for a minute, and see who can make the most "snowmen" by stacking mini marshmallows on top of each other. You need three to make a stack (but, no, they don't need faces or arms). Too easy? Try making everyone use chopsticks. Use the leftovers in some cocoa.
Here's a throwback: Remember playing the card game spoons, the one that sent everyone diving in the middle of the table to grab a spoon, and whoever was left without one was the loser? This is the same thing, only candy canes replace spoons. Bonus: You get to eat the candy canes when the game is over.
A "Favorite Things" gift exchange is essentially a positive spin on a white elephant gift exchange, says Tara Berger, founder of One Stylish Party. Instead of a silly gag gift, each guest brings three, low-cost items they absolutely love. The gifts are placed on a table and everyone takes turns picking out three items to keep. "It is a great way to introduce your friends to some of your must-have items and it doesn't require you to tailor the gift to a specific person."
Gift Wrap Physical Challenge
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Here's something that'll test family bonds: Divide into teams of two, and see who can wrap a gift — neatly! — the fastest. The twist? Each person has to have one arm behind their back. Teamwork!
First, create a giant plastic wrap ball, layering in little presents like mini liquor bottles, gift cards, candy, cash and more, says Berger. How you play: One person starts unwrapping the ball while another rolls a pair of dice, trying to roll doubles. Once doubles are rolled, the ball passes to the next player and the sequence begins again. The person with the ball can't stop unwrapping until the person to their right rolls doubles, so it creates urgency to keep rolling as fast as possible so the ball can pass to you. You get to keep the items items you unwrap during your turn, so everyone is bound to go home with something fun!
The oven mitt game works on the same basic engine as the plastic-wrap ball game — one person unwraps until the player next to them rolls doubles. Only instead of unrolling a ball of plastic wrap, players have to unwrap a Christmas present — while wearing bulky oven mitts. The more bows, ribbons and boxes-within-boxes there are, the longer the game lasts, until someone finally gets to the prize inside.
White Elephant Gift Exchange
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The gist: Everyone brings a wrapped gift, an order is established and revelers take turns either choosing to open a wrapped gift or "stealing" one that's already been opened. Every family has its own rules about how to set the order, how many "steals" are allowed, and what happens once a present gets stolen.
Everyone is probably familiar with this classic icebreaker game: You make three statements, and everyone else tries to guess which are true and which is false. This season, give it a holiday twist by making all the stories related to Christmas, suggests Seri Kertzner, chief party officer at event-planning company Little Miss Party Planner. You can talk about funny holiday mishaps or name the three strangest gifts you've ever received. The player with the most correct guesses at the end takes home a prize.
Spoon-and-Ornament Race
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You've heard of spoon-and-egg races for Easter games, but the winter version is even more festive: Racers have to balance an ornament on a spoon and race to the finish line without it falling off. To make it more challenging, find a snowy field to tromp through, make the racers hold the spoon with two hands or have the competitors hold the spoon in their teeth.
Costume Contest
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Instead of going the ugly-sweater route, incorporate a costume theme into your Christmas party, suggests Marcy Blum, celebrity event planner and HomeGoods style expert. You can go with classic options like Santa and his elves, or get creative by dressing up as a citizen of Whoville, a ghost from the A Christmas Carol or one of the Home Alone bandits. (The possibilities are truly endless.) For the best dressed guests, coordinate holiday-themed prizes like festive ceramic mugs or peppermint bark.
Memory Game
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Gather an assortment of 30 or so fun Christmas items (try different types of ornaments, wrapping supplies, holiday candy or any other fun trinkets from the Dollar Store) then give players one minute to memorize everything on the tray, says Kertzner. The player with the most correct items written down gets to keep an item or two from the tray.
This classic game is truly fun no matter how old you are. Create a holiday-specific version by choosing popular holiday phrases, songs and movies to act out. Plus, when you're playing with just adults, you can make the prompts as difficult and obscure as you want!
Christmas Cook-Off
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Since whipping up delicious treats is already a beloved holiday pastime, consider turning it into a Top Chef-style competition, says Blum. You can choose to bake cookies, fry up Hanukkah latkes or ask everyone to cook something off the cuff based on a surprise holiday ingredient. (Think peppermint, turkey, cranberries ... or, dare we suggest, fruitcake?) Anyone who doesn't want to put on an apron can be part of the judging panel.
Gingerbread House Competition
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That's right, decorating gingerbread houses isn't a just-for-kids activity, says Berger. Pair guests up to form teams and start with pre-built houses to minimize hassle and mess. The decorating portion of the party should have a time limit, followed by an anonymous vote to pick the winners by the end of the party. To give it a grown-up twist, serve spiked hot cocoa!
Dramatic Reading
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You may not consider reading a natural group activity, but it can be just as fun as watching beloved Christmas movies with your friends. Host a reading of A Christmas Carol or another holiday literary classic and assign different parts to your guests, suggests Blum. It's a unique and untraditional way to get everyone in the spirit.
Dress the Snowman
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Split your friends into teams, and have each team wrap one member in rolls of toilet paper to transform them into a snowman, says Moss. Then each team can jazz up their "snowman" with accessories and any other fun props they find hanging around. The most ridiculous one wins!
