The best Christmas party games for large groups are simple to explain, need few supplies and let many people play at once: think team trivia, Name That Christmas Tune, Christmas Bingo, a scavenger hunt and a rock-paper-scissors tournament. Games that need one prop per person get complicated fast with 50 or 100 guests, and quiet games stall when half the room can’t hear the rules. The good news: plenty of classic party games scale up well once you use teams, a host and simple supplies.
Below are 17 games, sorted by type: mixers to get people talking, whole-room games that need no teams at all, team games with a scoreboard, and active relays for groups that like to move. Most need little more than paper and pens, and all of them work for office parties, church groups, classrooms and big family gatherings. You’ll also find tips for gift exchanges, prizes and guests joining by video. If your crowd is smaller, our family Christmas games are a better fit.
Christmas party games for large groups at a glance
| Game | Best group size | You need | Time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Find-Someone-Who Bingo | 15–100+ | Printed bingo sheets, pens | 10–15 min | Mixing guests who don’t know each other |
| Guess Who on Your Back | 10–80 | Sticky notes or name tags | 10–15 min | Office parties, mixed ages |
| Paper Snowball Icebreaker | 15–100+ | Paper, pens | 10 min | Breaking the ice fast |
| Christmas This or That | 20–200 | Open floor space | 5–10 min | Starting the party with energy |
| Santa Says | 10–100+ | Nothing | 5–10 min | Kids and adults together |
| Reindeer Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament | 20–200 | Nothing | 5–10 min | Huge crowds, very loud rooms |
| Christmas Bingo | 10–200 | Bingo cards, markers | 20–30 min | Seated groups, all ages |
| Stand Up If (Christmas Edition) | 20–200 | A list of prompts | 5–10 min | Quick laughs between activities |
| Christmas Trivia Teams | 12–150 | Answer sheets, question list | 30–45 min | Table seating, office parties |
| Christmas Survey Says | 10–60 | A short survey, scoreboard | 20–30 min | Competitive teams |
| Name That Christmas Tune | 10–150 | A playlist and speaker | 15–20 min | Every crowd, any age |
| Christmas Emoji Quiz | 10–150 | Printed or projected puzzles | 15–20 min | Quiet rooms, mixed ages |
| Draw-and-Pass Christmas Telephone | 8–80 | Paper, pens | 15–20 min | Big laughs, no skill needed |
| Christmas Scavenger Hunt | 12–100 | Clue list, phones for photos | 20–40 min | Venues with space to roam |
| Two-Person Gift Wrap Race | 10–60 | Boxes, paper, tape, bows | 10 min | Office and family parties |
| Candy Cane Relay | 12–60 | Candy canes | 10 min | Active groups |
| Decorate a Human Christmas Tree | 12–80 | Garland, tinsel, ornaments | 10 min | Photos and big reactions |
How do you run Christmas games for a big crowd?
A few habits make almost any game work with a large group:
- Make teams of 6–10. Table seating works well: each table becomes a team with a festive name.
- Use a host with a microphone for rooms of more than about 30 people, and play one short example round.
- Keep a visible scoreboard. A whiteboard, an easel pad or a projected slide keeps teams invested from game to game.
- Mix quiet and loud games so the energy stays up without wearing people out.
- Keep each game short. Plan 10–20 minutes per game and three to five games for a two- to three-hour party.
- Spread out the prizes. Many small prizes (candy, ornaments, bragging-rights certificates) work better than one big one.
- Keep everything optional. Some guests would rather cheer than play, and that is fine, especially at work events.
Christmas mixers and icebreakers
Start with one of these while guests arrive.
1. Find-Someone-Who Christmas Bingo
You need: A bingo-style grid of 16 or 25 squares for each guest, plus pens.
How to play: Each square describes a person, such as “has watched a Christmas movie this week,” “has a real tree,” “can name all of Santa’s reindeer,” “was born in December” or “has traveled for the holidays.” Guests mingle and find someone who matches each square, then write that person’s name in it. Each person’s name can be used only once per card, so players have to talk to lots of different people. The first to fill a row (or the whole card, for a longer game) shouts “Merry Christmas!” and wins.
2. Guess Who on Your Back
You need: Sticky notes or name tags with Christmas characters written on them.
How to play: Stick a character on each guest’s back without letting them see it: Santa, Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch, an elf, a nutcracker, Ebenezer Scrooge and so on. Guests walk around asking other players yes-or-no questions (“Am I a movie character?” “Do I live at the North Pole?”). When a player guesses correctly, they move their sticky note to the front and keep helping others.
3. Paper Snowball Icebreaker
You need: A sheet of white paper and a pen for every guest.
How to play: Each person writes three facts about themselves or a favorite Christmas memory on their sheet, without their name. Everyone crumples the paper into a “snowball.” On the host’s count, the whole room has a 30-second snowball fight. When time is up, each person picks up one snowball, reads it, and tries to find the person who wrote it.
4. Christmas This or That
You need: An open floor and a list of choices.
How to play: The host calls out two options and points to each side of the room: “Hot cocoa or eggnog?” “Real tree or artificial?” “Open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?” Guests walk to the side that matches their answer. There are no winners; it simply gets people moving and chatting.
Whole-room games (no teams needed)
These need no setup and work for any number of players.
5. Santa Says
You need: Nothing.
How to play: It’s Simon Says with a holiday twist. The host gives commands like “Santa says pretend to wrap a present” or “Santa says do your best reindeer prance.” Players only follow commands that start with “Santa says.” Anyone who moves on a command without it sits down. The last player standing wins.
6. Reindeer Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament
You need: Nothing but energy.
How to play: Everyone pairs up and plays one round of rock-paper-scissors. The loser becomes the winner’s “reindeer,” standing behind them and cheering their name. The winner then finds another winner and plays again. Each time a player loses, they and their whole cheering line join behind the new winner. In just a few minutes, the room is split into two giant cheering lines for the final round.
7. Christmas Bingo
You need: Christmas bingo cards with holiday pictures or words, plus markers (candies, chips or a pen).
How to play: The host calls out holiday words or shows pictures one at a time while players mark matching squares. The first player to complete a row, column or diagonal calls “Bingo!” and checks their card with the host. Play a few rounds with different patterns (four corners, an X, a full card).
8. Stand Up If (Christmas Edition)
You need: A list of 15–20 prompts.
How to play: The host reads prompts and anyone who matches stands up: “Stand up if you’ve already finished your Christmas shopping.” “Stand up if you’ve ever re-gifted something.” “Stand up if you’ve eaten cookies meant for Santa.” Keep prompts friendly and light so no one feels singled out.
Team games for big groups
Split the room into teams of 6–10 and keep a running score. Team games are the backbone of most large Christmas parties because everyone plays at the same time.
9. Christmas Trivia Teams
You need: A question list, an answer sheet and a pen for each team.
How to play: Run four or five rounds of five questions each, such as Christmas movies, holiday songs, Christmas around the world, and winter food. Teams talk quietly and write one answer per question. After each round, the host reads the answers and teams swap sheets to mark each other’s. Add a bonus “picture round” or a final wager question to keep the scores close.
10. Christmas Survey Says
You need: A short survey, run ahead of time with guests or coworkers, and a scoreboard.
How to play: Before the party, ask a group of people a few questions, like “Name something you hang on a Christmas tree” or “Name a food served at Christmas dinner.” Tally the most common answers. At the party, two teams send one player each to the front. The host reads a question, and the first to buzz in (or raise a hand) gives an answer. If it’s on the list, their team keeps guessing for points based on how many people gave each answer. Three wrong answers and the other team can steal.
11. Name That Christmas Tune
You need: A playlist of Christmas songs, a speaker, and an answer sheet for each team.
How to play: Play the first five to ten seconds of a song. Teams write down the title, with a bonus point for the artist. Mix well-known classics with a few less familiar tracks so no single team runs away with the score. For a louder version, let one player from each team race to the front to call out answers instead of writing them down.
12. Christmas Emoji Quiz
You need: Emoji puzzles printed on sheets or shown on a screen.
How to play: Each puzzle uses emojis to stand for a Christmas movie, song or character. For example, a snowman plus a sun could hint at Frosty melting, and a green face plus a heart could hint at the Grinch. Teams write down their guesses. The team with the most correct answers when time runs out wins.
13. Draw-and-Pass Christmas Telephone
You need: A few sheets of paper stapled into a small booklet for each player, and pens.
How to play: Seat players in circles of 8–10. Everyone writes a Christmas phrase on the first page, like “Santa stuck in the chimney,” and passes the booklet left. The next player draws that phrase. The next player looks only at the drawing and writes what they think it shows. Keep alternating writing and drawing until each booklet returns to its owner. Then everyone shares how their phrase changed along the way.
14. Christmas Scavenger Hunt
You need: A clue list for each team and at least one phone per team for photos.
How to play: Give teams a list of things to find or photos to take within a set time: a team photo with a candy cane, something red and green, a picture of someone wearing a Santa hat, a team member doing their best elf pose. Give harder items more points. When time is up, teams show their photos and the host tallies the points.
Active games and relays
Clear some floor space and save these for when the room needs a boost.
15. Two-Person Gift Wrap Race
You need: An empty box, wrapping paper, tape and a bow for each pair.
How to play: Partners stand side by side, and each may use only their outside hand: the left hand for the partner on the left and the right hand for the partner on the right. They have to work together like one person. On “go,” pairs race to wrap their box neatly and add a bow. The first neat finish wins.
16. Candy Cane Relay
You need: Plenty of candy canes, still in their wrappers.
How to play: Line up teams of equal size. The first player in each line holds a candy cane in their mouth by the straight end and hooks a second candy cane on the curve. They pass the hooked candy cane onto the next teammate’s candy cane without using their hands. If it falls, the team starts again from the front. The first team to get the candy cane to the end of its line wins.
17. Decorate a Human Christmas Tree
You need: For each team, a pile of garland, tinsel, unbreakable ornaments, bows and a paper star.
How to play: Each team picks one volunteer to be the “tree.” On “go,” teams have three minutes to decorate their tree from head to toe. When time is up, the host or a panel of judges picks the most creative tree.
Gift exchange games for large groups
Gift swaps get slow with a big crowd, so add a little structure:
- White Elephant (Yankee Swap): Set a gift price limit, hand out numbers for turn order, and cap steals at a set number per gift (three is a common house rule) so the game doesn’t drag. With more than about 30 people, run separate swaps at each table.
- Secret Santa: Drawing names from a hat gets unwieldy past 15–20 people, so many groups use a free online name generator that also collects wish lists.
- Left-Right Christmas Story: Everyone holds a wrapped gift and passes it left or right whenever those words come up in a read-aloud story. It works with any number of people sitting in a circle. Our family Christmas games guide explains how to play it.
What if some guests join by video?
Choose games that work on a screen. Trivia, Name That Christmas Tune, the Emoji Quiz and Christmas Bingo all work over video calls when the host shares questions on screen. A photo scavenger hunt also works for remote players if the list uses items found at home.
Tips for office and work Christmas parties
Choose games that are easy to join and easy to sit out. Mixers like Find-Someone-Who Bingo help departments meet, and team trivia lets quieter guests contribute without the spotlight. Keep prompts workplace-friendly and inclusive of coworkers who don’t celebrate Christmas (calling it a holiday party can help), skip drinking games, and list allergens for any food used in games. Keep games short so guests still have time to eat and talk. For crowd games that work any time of year, see our party games for large groups.
Tips for big family gatherings
Put kids and adults on mixed teams. Seated games like Christmas Bingo suit older relatives, while the Candy Cane Relay and Santa Says let kids burn off energy. A simple card game like Spoons works well at the kids’ table, too. Hosting Thanksgiving as well? Many of these ideas also fit our Thanksgiving games for family.
Christmas party games for large groups: FAQ
What are good Christmas party games for large groups of adults?
Team trivia, Name That Christmas Tune, Christmas Survey Says, Draw-and-Pass Telephone and the Reindeer Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament are all great for large groups of adults. They need few supplies and work with dozens of players.
What Christmas games can you play with a big group indoors?
Almost every game on this list works indoors. For a crowded room with little floor space, choose seated games like Stand Up If, Christmas Bingo, the Emoji Quiz and trivia. If you have some open space, add This or That, Santa Says or the Candy Cane Relay.
How do you split a large group into teams quickly?
Use table seating as teams, or hand out colored cards or ornament tags at the door and group people by color. Teams of 6–10 give everyone a turn.
What are easy Christmas party games with no supplies?
Stand Up If, Santa Says, the Reindeer Rock-Paper-Scissors Tournament and Christmas This or That need nothing but a host. Paper Snowball Icebreaker and Draw-and-Pass Telephone need only paper and pens.
How do you keep 100 or more people engaged?
Use games that everyone plays at once, such as table-team trivia, bingo or the rock-paper-scissors tournament, instead of games where one person performs while the rest watch. A host with a microphone, a visible scoreboard and games of 10–20 minutes each keep the energy up.
How many games should you plan for a Christmas party?
For a two- to three-hour party, plan three to five games: one mixer while guests arrive, one or two team games as the main event, and one quick active game to finish.
What Christmas games work for kids and adults together?
Christmas Bingo, Santa Says, the Human Christmas Tree and the Scavenger Hunt work well for mixed ages. Mixed-age teams let older players help younger ones with reading.
You can find more seasonal ideas in our Holiday Games section.
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