20 Christmas Party Games for Adults, Families and Work

Christmas versions of party games

These are classic party games with a holiday theme. All of them work on paper, and you can play several of them on one phone with the Duoo app.

1. Christmas Imposter

Players: 3–8. Everyone gets the same Christmas word except the imposter, who only sees a vague hint. Each player says one word about the secret word, then everyone votes on who’s bluffing. Use the free game at the top of this page or try these words (hint for the imposter in brackets):

Word	Imposter hint	Word	Imposter hint
Santa	Chimney	Mistletoe	Kiss
Gingerbread	House	Advent calendar	Door
Reindeer	Nose	Ugly sweater	Knit
Eggnog	Cinnamon	Snowball	Throw
Christmas tree	Lights	Stocking	Fireplace
Elf	Workshop	Hot chocolate	Marshmallow
Sleigh	Bells	Candy cane	Stripes

More word ideas are in our imposter game words list, and the full rules are on the Imposter game page.

2. Christmas Would You Rather

Players: 2 or more. Read a holiday dilemma, everyone picks a side, and the minority defends their choice. Examples:

• Would you rather get only socks for Christmas forever or only fruitcake?
• Would you rather spend Christmas on a snowy mountain or a sunny beach?
• Would you rather wrap every gift for your whole family or cook the entire Christmas dinner?
• Would you rather have Christmas music playing nonstop all year or never hear a carol again?
• Would you rather be one of Santa’s elves or one of his reindeer?

Make up more or play the regular version free on the Would You Rather page.

3. Christmas Taboo

Players: 4 or more, in teams. Describe a holiday word without using the forbidden words. Write cards like these before the party:

• Santa: beard, red, presents, chimney, Claus
• Snowman: carrot, cold, build, white, Frosty
• Mistletoe: kiss, hang, plant, doorway
• Gingerbread: cookie, house, man, bake
• Stocking: sock, hang, fireplace, fill

Or skip the writing and play the regular game on the Taboo page.

4. Christmas Never Have I Ever

Players: 3 or more. Holiday edition prompts like “Never have I ever regifted a present,” “…opened a gift early and rewrapped it” or “…pretended to like a gift.” Great for adults and family alike. See our Never Have I Ever questions for more.

5. Christmas Who’s Most Likely To

Players: 4 or more. “Who’s most likely to start decorating in October?” “…burn the Christmas cookies?” “…cry during a Christmas movie?” Point on three. The Who’s Most Likely To page has the regular version.

6. Christmas Who Am I

Players: 2 or more. Write Christmas characters on sticky notes (Rudolph, the Grinch, Scrooge, Buddy the Elf, Mrs. Claus) and stick one on each player’s forehead. Players ask yes-or-no questions to figure out who they are. The phone version is on the Who Am I page.

7. Christmas Charades

Players: 4 or more, in teams. Act out Christmas movies, songs and activities without talking: “Home Alone,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “building a snowman,” “untangling the lights.” Works for every age group.

8. Christmas Pictionary

Players: 4 or more, in teams. One player draws a holiday word on paper while their team guesses against a one-minute timer. Ornaments, nutcrackers and the North Pole are fun to draw badly.

9. Name That Carol

Players: 3 or more. One person hums a Christmas song (no words allowed) and everyone else races to name it. Hard mode: hum it as slowly as possible.

10. Finish the Lyric

Players: 3 or more. Sing the first line of a Christmas song and stop; the first person to sing the next line correctly gets a point. Easy to run, and it gets the whole room singing.

Secret Santa and gift games

Drawing names for Secret Santa? Our free Secret Santa generator needs no emails or sign-up, keeps couples from drawing each other and sends everyone a private link by WhatsApp or text. Stuck on what to play next? Let the Christmas wheel pick.

11. White Elephant (Yankee Swap)

Players: 6 or more. Everyone brings one wrapped gift. In turn, players either open a new gift from the pile or steal one already opened. Agree on a limit, such as a gift can be stolen only twice, to keep it moving. The funnier the gifts, the better.

12. Secret Santa Guess Who

Players: 4 or more. Run Secret Santa as usual, but don’t reveal who gave what. Each person opens their gift and gets one guess at who their Secret Santa was. Givers can leave a cryptic clue on the tag.

13. Themed Secret Santa

Players: 4 or more. Add a twist to the classic exchange: everything must be red, handmade, bought secondhand, edible, or start with the same letter as the recipient’s name. It makes shopping more fun and the reveals more memorable.

14. The Left-Right Game

Players: 6 or more. Everyone sits in a circle holding a wrapped gift. The host reads a short Christmas story full of the words “left” and “right,” and every time one is said, gifts pass in that direction. When the story ends, you keep what you’re holding. Need a story? We wrote three left right Christmas stories you can read straight from your phone.

15. Gift Wrap Race

Players: 4 or more. Pairs race to wrap a box, but each person may use only one hand. Hilarious to watch, and it’s a good way to get presents wrapped.

Christmas games for the office

16. Holiday Trivia

Players: Any number, in teams. Prepare questions about Christmas movies, songs and traditions around the world. Teams write answers on paper and swap for scoring. Keep it light; general knowledge beats obscure facts. Our 60 Christmas trivia questions and answers are ready to use, or host it with the free Christmas trivia game. For a quieter option, hand out printable Christmas bingo cards.

17. Two Truths and a Holiday Lie

Players: 4 or more. Everyone shares three facts about their holiday traditions or memories, one invented. Coworkers guess the lie. It’s a gentle way to learn about each other without anything too personal.

18. Ugly Sweater Contest

Players: Any number. Everyone wears their tackiest holiday sweater, and the group votes for categories like “most festive,” “most handmade” and “most likely to light up.” Easy, inclusive and great for photos.

Quick fillers

19. Christmas Categories

Players: 3 or more. Pick a holiday category, such as Christmas movies, things on a tree or Santa’s reindeer, and go around naming one each. Pause or repeat and you’re out.

20. Christmas Blank

Players: 2–8. Read a holiday sentence with a gap (“The best part of Christmas morning is (blank)”) and everyone writes an answer secretly. Matching answers score points. Duoo’s Blank game works the same way, and it’s in the games collection.

Sample plan for a two-hour Christmas party

If you’re hosting and want a ready-made running order, this flow keeps energy up without anyone feeling put on the spot:

1. Arrival (first 20 minutes): Ugly Sweater Contest voting runs in the background while people grab drinks. Have Christmas Would You Rather questions ready for small talk.
2. Warm-up (20 minutes): Name That Carol or Finish the Lyric. Everyone can join from wherever they’re standing.
3. Main game (30 minutes): Christmas Imposter or Christmas Taboo. For bigger groups, split into teams for Charades or Pictionary.
4. Wind-down (20 minutes): Christmas Never Have I Ever or Who’s Most Likely To for adults; Christmas Categories for families.
5. Finale (30 minutes): White Elephant, Secret Santa Guess Who or the Left-Right Game.

More Christmas prompts to steal

Christmas Never Have I Ever (adults):

• Never have I ever forgotten to buy a gift and grabbed something at a gas station.
• Never have I ever eaten the cookies meant for Santa.
• Never have I ever hidden from carolers.
• Never have I ever fallen asleep during Christmas dinner.

Christmas Who’s Most Likely To:

• Who’s most likely to wrap presents with newspaper?
• Who’s most likely to start a snowball fight with strangers?
• Who’s most likely to watch the same Christmas movie five times in December?
• Who’s most likely to put the tree up before Thanksgiving?

Christmas Would You Rather (family-friendly):

• Would you rather ride in Santa’s sleigh or visit his workshop?
• Would you rather build the biggest snowman in town or win a snowball fight?
• Would you rather have a Christmas tree made of candy or a house made of gingerbread?

Tips for hosting Christmas games

1. Know your crowd. Family with kids: Charades, Name That Carol, Christmas Imposter with easy words. Adults only: Never Have I Ever and Who’s Most Likely To. Office: trivia, Taboo and Secret Santa games.
2. Prep in five minutes. Write a handful of Taboo cards and Imposter words before guests arrive, or use a phone app so you don’t need any cards.
3. Keep drinking optional. If your group adds drinking rules, use small sips and offer alcohol-free options.
4. End with a gift game. White Elephant or the Left-Right Game makes a great finale because everyone goes home with something.

Want more? Our party games for adults list works year-round.