The holidays are a wonderful time for families to gather, laugh, and enjoy each other’s company. Finding activities that everyone can enjoy, can be challenging. With the following fun family Christmas games you will keep the whole family engaged and entertained.
Why It’s Great: Christmas Bingo is a classic for a reason! It’s easy for all ages to understand how to play this game
How to Play: You can download free printable Christmas Bingo cards here or anywhere online or create your own with simple drawings. Give each player a card and a pile of buttons, candies, or mini marshmallows to mark the spots.
The first person to mark off a row or column shouts “Bingo!” and wins a small prize.
Where to Find It: Printable cards are available online for free, or you can purchase a holiday-themed Bingo set from Amazon if you prefer a ready-made option.
Why It’s Great: Charades is perfect for getting everyone up and moving. Acting out holiday characters will get the family laughing.
How to Play: Write down a list of Christmas-related characters, actions, or items—like “wrapping a present” or “building a snowman”—and place them in a hat.
Players draw a slip of paper and act out the word or phrase while others guess. No speaking allowed! You can even give a time limit to make it extra exciting.
Where to Find It: Use index cards and a festive hat or stocking to draw from! Or go the ready-made option and purchase a Christmas Charades game from Amazon.
Why It’s Great: A scavenger hunt adds a sense of adventure, and it’s a hit with kids and adults alike.
How to Play: Write clues or a list of items for participants to find, like “a snowman,” “Santa hat,” or “blue ornament.” For a twist, have each clue lead to another location until the final prize is found.
For older children or teens the clues will need to be more challenging and you might want to set a time limit.
Where to Find It: You can find pre-made Christmas scavenger hunt sets at Amazon, or create your own list based on items you already have around the house.
Why It’s Great: This fun family christmas games not only enjoyable but also delicious! Plus, it lets each family member show off their creativity.
The best part? You get a tasty treat at the end.
How to Play: Set up a decorating station with plain sugar cookies, frosting, and plenty of toppings. Each person decorates their cookie however they like, and everyone votes on the best design. You can even have categories, like “Most Creative” or “Best Santa.”
Homemade Tip: Bake cookies at home together beforehand or buy a ready-made cookie decorating kit for easy setup.
Why It’s Great: Christmas Pictionary is a quick game that everyone can play. It’s great for breaking the ice and keeping kids entertained.
How to Play: Write holiday-themed words or phrases on pieces of paper (think “Christmas tree” or “snow angel”) and put them in a bowl. Players pick a word and have to draw it while the others guess. No words or gestures allowed—just drawing!
Homemade Tip: To get started you will need some smaller pieces of paper and pens to write down your holiday-themed words or phrases. Once that's done, you'll need large pieces of paper and marker to draw with.
Why It’s Great: This fun family christmas games a hilarious way to get everyone active—and it’s a bit of a challenge! Teams compete to “make” hot chocolate without spilling.
How to Play: Set up a relay with mugs of water, marshmallows, and one mug of “hot chocolate” for each team.
Each person must carry their cup of water without spilling as they walk from one end of the room to the other. When they get to the end, if they do not spill any of their water they can then add a marshmallow to their teams “hot chocolate.”
The first team to add all their marshmallows wins.
Homemade Tip: This game only needs a few simple supplies, and you can add prizes for the winning team for extra fun!
Why It’s Great: “Santa’s Beard” is simple, silly, and perfect for younger kids. It’s all about balance and creativity.
How to Play: Grab a jar of cotton balls and a jar of petroleum jelly.
Each player puts a little jelly on their face and then tries to stick as many cotton balls as possible to their face in a set time limit. Whoever has the “fullest beard” wins!
Homemade Tip: This game is easy to set up, and it’s a hit with little ones who love getting messy (and looking like Santa).
8. Family Christmas Trivia
Why It’s Great: Christmas trivia is a fun way to test everyone’s holiday knowledge, and you can easily tailor the questions to suit everyone’s age and interests.
How to Play: Prepare trivia questions about holiday movies, songs, traditions, or family memories. Divide into teams, or play individually. Ask questions and award points for each correct answer.
Where to Find It: You can find printable Christmas trivia cards here or anywhere online, make your own list of questions or christmas trivia games at amazon. For added excitement, have a small prize ready for the trivia champion.
Why It’s Great: The White Elephant Gift Exchange is all about laughter and the element of surprise. It’s great for family’s who want to exchange affordable gifts rather than serious ones.
How to Play: Each player brings a wrapped gift, usually something inexpensive or funny. Players draw numbers to determine the order.
The first person picks a gift and opens it. The next person can either “steal” an opened gift or pick a new one. The game continues until everyone has a gift.
Where to Find It: Gather small, inexpensive gifts or even re-gift items from around the house for a homemade touch.
Why It’s Great: This fun family christmas game has a holiday twist on the classic “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” is great for little ones and gets everyone laughing.
How to Play: Draw a big picture of Rudolph or print one out. Make a red nose from construction paper, add some tape, and blindfold players.
Each person takes turns trying to “pin” the nose on Rudolph. Closest nose wins!
Homemade Tip: Use materials you already have at home to create this simple game. Or buy a ready-made kit if you prefer a quick setup.
Why it’s great:
Everyone loves unwrapping gifts, and it’s a light-hearted game with a fun prize at the end.
How to play: Pass the present around a circle while holiday music plays. When the music stops, the person holding the present removes one layer of wrapping. The person to unwrap the final layer gets to keep the gift.
What you need: A small gift wrapped in several layers of paper.
These fun family Christmas games are the perfect way to make this holiday season memorable. The best part? Many of these games require minimal preparation and can be put together with items you already have around the house.
Ready to make your Christmas extra festive? Gather your loved ones, pick out a few games from the list, and let the holiday cheer fill your home!