The weather is cooling and Christmas is coming… you’re hosting the party this year. **gulp!** It’s ok, you can make a fun, memorable Christmas for children and adults alike by featuring some of these awesome Christmas party activities for large groups!
Why You Need Christmas Party Activities
Sure, it’s great to just have family and friends over for the holidays, but for many of us, Christmas is the family get together of the year! Everyone makes it a point to get together for Christmas.
Plus it’s just a really magical time of year for kids. The lights, the glow, the sparkle and shine and the magic that surrounds the holiday. Both from Santa bringing presents and the amazing present God gave us that we’re celebrating too!
So whether you are hosting a large party or a small one, I’m sure you want to make it the most special and fun that you can (without absolutely losing your mind over it.)
Tips for Hosting a Large Christmas Party
Sometimes Christmas parties can get huge. Imagine both side of the family in attendance, plus family friends, maybe even some lonely neighbors… the guest list can add up fast.
So how can you make hosting a bigger party a bit more simple and comfortable?
- Start with an awesome Christmas playlist in the background. Having music playing can help everyone feel more comfortable and relaxed, which is important at a big party.
- Have lots of appetizers. Try these Christmas appetizer recipes… then you can try these super fun apps that LOOK like the holiday too!
- Actually, just have LOTS of food planned… more food than you think you need.
- Think about hosting a gift exchange to lighten the present load. A white elephant gift exchange is fun but so is a Secret Santa gift exchange too.
50 Christmas Party Activities for Large Groups
There are so many fun different types of Christmas activities that you can have planned for your party!
I’m trying to split these activities into categories to help you sort through this giant list a little bit better. First, I’ll do adult and big kid Christmas games (little kids can totally get in on these too, it just might be a bit tougher)… then Christmas games and activities for littler kids… and lastly a few more fun ideas of Christmas party activities that work great for big groups too!
Fun Christmas Party Activities for Adults
Printable Christmas Scattergories Game for Adults
Looking for last-minute printable Christmas games for adults to play this holiday? Try this fun Christmas Scattergories game at your Christmas party or after Christmas dinner! Scattergories is a Hasbro game that has teams trying to think up the best words in certain categories. With over 60 Christmas categories, try this holiday game for a good time!
Who Said That Christmas Game
This is a fun game that is going to make you think back on all of your favorite Christmas movies. Print out your free “Who Said That” with a Christmas twist cards and have fun with this perfect game.
Fun Christmas Party Games for Kids
Christmas Water Bottle Bowling
This Christmas water bottle bowling is an easy game that anyone can play. You can make as many Christmas bowling pins as you want and set different lines to bowl from for different ages to make it more fair. I love games that get the kids moving together like this one for the holiday.
Disney Right Left Christmas Game Printable
Looking for a fun and engaging way to celebrate Christmas with your family? This Disney Right Left Christmas Game Printable is a fun and unique gift exchange game. This easy-to-play game is perfect for adding a touch of magic to your holiday party.
Don’t Eat Pete: Christmas Version
Play this game with a fun small treat like M&Ms for a sweet game that is simple but fun. In Don’t Eat Pete you will try to eat all your treats without eating Pete!
Rudolph Races
Rudolph Races is a creative STEM game that will have kids giggling and cheering on their reindeer in no time. Nothing better than fun holiday games with a STEM twist!
Christmas Scavenger Hunt Printable in Spanish & English
Looking for a fun way to entertain kids of any age for a while this Christmas? Try this Christmas scavenger hunt in English or Spanish! You could even challenge the big kids with doing the Spanish version if it’s not your native language for some extra fun and learning too.
Pin the Nose on the Snowman
Give this classic party game a winter twist with pin the nose on the snowman! It’s fun for all ages. Just spin the bigger kids around more times before they get a chance to “pin” to make it more of a challenge for them. Or you could separate the game into different age groups for a giant party.
Kids Christmas Quiz: Free Printable with 20 Holiday Questions
These can be fun questions for kids at the party to try to have answered by their family members because a lot of them are pretty tricky! Do you know when candy canes were invented? I don’t! Try playing the Christmas quiz now!
Christmas Would You Rather Questions for Kids
We have got a fantastic list of Christmas Would You Rather questions for kids. These questions are a great way to start conversations and bring laughter to everyone within earshot. You can also download the free printable at the end of the post to print it off!
(I’ve only included games with FREE printable versions here, at least at the time of creating this post they are all free.)
Christmas Eye Spy
Looking for fun printable games that will entertain the kids so the adults can get some visiting time, cooking time, etc. in? Well then give this free printable Christmas scavenger hunt a try today.
Christmas Bingo Free Printable
These festive Free Printable Christmas Bingo Cards are a fun holiday activity that your family can do together this Christmas season. The first person to get bingo can win a little prize like a puzzle or candy. It’s a great way to keep the kids entertained before present opening time.
Fun Christmas Party Activities for the Whole Family
Christmas Dare Game
This is one of the funniest Christmas party games on this list! The Christmas Dare Game is a great game to get shy people out of their shells and get some big belly laughs going. Print these cards… if you dare!
Christmas Trivia Game
This Christmas trivia game will really get everyone into the Christmas spirit because it covers all topics from Christmas movies, to the Bible story, to the history of Christmas traditions throughout the world.
Candy Cane Olympics (11 Games with Candy Canes)
Ready to get moving with some fun Christmas games all revolving around candy canes? Well get started with the ultimate candy cane Olympics today! These are great games to get the entire family moving and laughing at your next party.
Christmas Tin Can Bowling
I cannot get over how cute these cans are for Christmas tin can bowling. You can play individually, set up the game just for the kids, or split a large group into team members to play this simple but classic party game.
Grinch Grab Christmas Punch Game
The Grinch Grab Christmas Punch Game is going to be a huge hit for people of all ages at your next holiday party. It’s even a great one to use at your next office party. Who doesn’t like to punch something on the holidays? (I mean the holidays ARE wonderful and fun, but pretty stressful too right?)
Christmas Songs Game
How well do you know your Christmas songs? Use this Christmas songs game to test out your memory! We’ve all heard the same Christmas carols year after year for our entire lives. Whether it be in church, while walking around the mall, on the radio, or actually playing them ourselves. See how many of the lyrics stuck with this fun family game.
Christmas Song Emoji Game
Gather your friends and family and use the emoji icons to guess the Christmas Song title. This Christmas Song Emoji game is so fun for kids of all ages and adults! Print this off for your next Christmas party and see who can guess the most song titles.
How to Play the Plastic Saran Wrap Ball Game
This game is popular for all sorts of gatherings but Christmas is the biggest gift-giving day of the year so it’s the perfect time to play the Saran Wrap Ball Game. You use two dice and when someone rolls doubles the next person in the circle gets a chance at unwrapping the ball full of various prizes until doubles is rolled again. This game is super cool, check this one out!
Christmas Minute to Win It Games
Are you familiar with Minute to Win it? If not, they are quick challenges where you have only one minute to accomplish a certain task. Like, tossing as many marshmallows across a table into a plastic cup for example.
This Minute to win it Christmas version is one of the best Christmas games for lots of laughs and the creation of treasured memories.
80 Christmas Movie Trivia Questions and Answers
You’ll love this Christmas movie trivia game to play at any get-together around Christmas time. This game is perfect for adults and younger children alike because it is split into three categories: kids trivia, adult trivia, and classic Christmas movie trivia too!
How Many Words Can You Find in Merry Christmas Game
For this super easy and fun way to bring all the family members together, all you will need is the free printables in this post and a pencil. Fun party games don’t have to be complex for everyone to have a good time with each other.
White Elephant Game with a Twist
Remember me mentioning Christmas gift exchange ideas for your large group-style party? Well, how about this perfect White Elephant Game with a Twist? Everyone brings three gifts: something new, something old, and something made by you. Find out the rest of the fun rules too!
Free Printable Christmas Dice Game for Gift Exchanges
Are you planning a gift exchange for your party guests this year? Add some fun to your holiday gatherings with this free printable Christmas dice game sheet that is perfect for your holiday gift exchanges.
19 More Christmas Party Games
Want a whole bundle of Christmas party games all in one? Download these free 19 fun and easy party games for your next Christmas party.
A couple of the games are duplicates from this list like the Saran Wrap Game and the Dice Game Gift Swap, but there are a lot of new games like the Ornament Spoon Relay and Do You Hear What I Hear?
Plus it’s kind of nice to download them all at once too. With hosting a large Christmas party this year, I bet you want to simplify things any way you can!
25 Super Fun Christmas Games
If you are most interested in active party games that get your guests moving and laughing together this is the Christmas Party Game Bundle for you! These games are sure to bring a lot of laughs and smiles to your party guests’ faces.
40 Christmas Game Bundle Download
This is the biggest bundle of free Christmas games I could find for you! This collection features a Christmas scavenger hunt, would you rather, Pictionary, dinner table questions, Defend your favorite: this or that, and so so so many more!
Ideas for MORE Christmas Party Activities for Large Groups
(As if you NEED more ideas after those 115 games and activities!)
- Silly Name Tags. Invite everyone to make themselves a holiday-themed name and wear it and refer to each other as such for the first hour of the party… it can be a fun and silly way to break the ice!
- Play Name That Tune. Sit everyone together and start Christmas songs and see who can name the tune fastest!
- Ugly Sweater Contest. Let your guests know beforehand that there will be an ugly sweater contest. Then complete voting and prizes!
- Holiday Edition Lip Synce Battle (or Karaoke). Invite bold guests (or anyone who’s had quite a few Christmas cocktails) up to battle it out on a stage!
- Have a Christmas Craft Station. If you can keep the kids occupied with crafts, the adults can relax and mingle a lot better! Consider having a crafting station with winter coloring pages, lots of random crafting supplies, and some ornaments to decorate.