10 Holiday Games to Entertain Friends and Family

Everyone has their holiday traditions but do yours include party games?  From family game night to a holiday party for kids, these holiday games will create lots of laughter and funny memories. Play a few or all of these holiday games at your next gathering. They might just become one of your new favorite holiday traditions.

 

1. Heads Up Holiday Characters

What you’ll need:

A timer and a sticky note pad with the name of a holiday or Christmas character, like Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, or the Grinch written on each note.

How to play:

Divide everyone into teams of two — a player and an actor. The actor chooses a sticky note and pastes it to their partner’s forehead without letting the player see it. Set a timer for 10 seconds and see if the player can guess the name on their forehead by acting out the name of the character or stating single words to describe them. Have the partners switch roles for the next round.

 

2. Candy Cane or Chocolate Gelt Hunt

What you’ll need:

Lots of wrapped candy canes or chocolate gelt, and a Christmas or Hanukkah stocking for each player.

How to play:

For this seasonal twist on an Easter Egg Hunt, hide candy canes or gelt around the house and the yard ahead of time. Give each player a stocking to hold their candy, and then set them free to find their treats.

 

3. Ring the Reindeer Antlers

What you’ll need:

This fun inflatable set of antlers and rings.

How to play:

One group wears the antlers and the other tosses their rings and tries to get them around the antlers.

 

4. Name That Holiday Tune

What you’ll need:

A piano, keyboard, or any musical instrument and a book of Christmas sheet music.

How to play:

See how many holiday tunes you can guess based on the first few notes.

 

5. White Elephant Swap

What you’ll need:

A wrapped gift from each guest (the value and any theme are determined ahead of time), a container to draw numbers from — one number per guest.

How to play:

This is a fun twist on Secret Santa for a group gathering. Place the gifts on a table where everyone can see them. Have each person draw a number to determine what order they’ll get to select a gift.  The first player selects a gift, opens it, and lets everyone in the group see it. The next player chooses a gift from the table OR steals one that’s been previously opened by another player.

 

6. Smells Like the Holidays 

What you’ll need:

A blindfold, six or more mason jars with lids, and one scented item to go in each jar. Examples can include pine needles, cinnamon sticks, molasses-ginger cookies, peppermint candies (or a few drops of peppermint extract or essential oil on a cotton ball), or anything that smells like the holidays.

How to play:

Place one item in each jar. Blindfold the player and have them guess the scent in each jar. Mix them up or swap out the jars for different players. No peeking! To make things harder, use different spices, baking extracts, or essential oils.

 

7. What’s in Santa’s Hat?

What you’ll need:

A Santa hat, a few holiday-themed objects, or small toys to put in the hat.

How to play:

Each person takes a turn trying to guess what the object is by touching it but not looking at it.

 

8. Holiday Scavenger Hunt – Make sure one person on each team has a phone to snap photos.

What you’ll need:

A set of written clues for each team. Examples include find something red, spot a snowman, or locate something that keeps you warm when it’s cold out. To keep things easier you can also use this Christmas Scavenger Hunt game.

How to play:

Divide your guests into teams with 2-3 players on each team. Have each team draw 10 cards or clues. Send them off to find each clue or object and snap a photo of it. The first team to locate all their items and return home wins. You can play this outside as well as indoors.

 

9. Jingle Bell or Dreidel Toss – This game will entertain young ones for hours!

What you’ll need:

A hot glue gun, 12 small plastic cups, a large piece of foam board, and 10 small jingle bells or mini dreidels for each player. Follow this easy tutorial to make a corn-hole-like game board.

How to play:

Give each player a set of 10 jingle bells or dreidels (one color per player works well). Have them line up and toss their bells or dreidels at the cups. The player who gets the most bells or dreidels in the cups wins.

 

10. Mad Libs

What you’ll need:

A Mad Libs fill-in-the-blank story for each person or team. Amazon has them for every holiday and theme. Or download these free holiday-themed printables.

How to play:

Each player or team gets a story, and fills in the blanks as directed with adverbs, adjectives, nouns, and verbs. After everyone is finished, get ready to laugh as each person or team reads their stories out loud.

 

 

Need an idea for stocking stuffers or prizes for the lucky game winners?  Make sure you stock up on Rubio’s gift cards. Let the holiday fun and games begin!