Christmas Party Games

"˜Twas The Night Before Christmas Game

This game requires that every person invited bring a small wrapped gift (most families usually limit the gift to five dollars). Everybody sits in a circle holding their gift while somebody reads out the classic Christmas tale "Twas the Night Before Christmas." Each time the person who is reading the tale says the word "the," everyone passes their gift to the person on their left (clockwise). Once the tale is completely read, guests can open the gift they are holding.

Stocking Game

Before the party, make small "stockings" out of red and white felt that people can wear on their clothes. Hand one of these stockings to each person as they arrive. Once all the guests have arrived, let them know that when anybody hears somebody else say the word, "Christmas," they can "steal" the stocking from that person. The one who wears the most stockings at the end of the night wins a prize.

All I Got For Christmas Was... Game

Have everybody once again sit in a circle. Decide who goes first. That person will say, "All I got for Christmas was..." They must fill in the blank with an "A" word like "apple" or "Altoids." The person sitting to their right must say, "All I got for Christmas was..." They must repeat the gift the person before them said (and whoever else spoke before them) and include a gift that starts with the next letter. For example, if we were on letter "E," I would say, "All I got for Christmas was an apple, a bookmark, a cat, a dollop of butter and an elephant." Whoever forgets what those before him/her said, is out. Keep playing until there is only one person left.

Unwrap The Gift Game

Before the party, wrap a nice Christmas prize gift (maybe a pound of coffee or some chocolates) in several layers of Christmas wrap. Have everybody sit in a circle and designate somebody as the music person (probably yourself). Have the guests pass the gift around in a circle until the music stops (you are not facing the crowd and turn the music off when you feel like it). Whoever is holding the gift has to unwrap one layer of the wrapping paper. The person that finally unwraps that last layer of wrapping paper wins the prize.

Christmas Trivia Game

Gathering questions on the internet or from your own wealth of Christmas knowledge, come up with a Christmas trivia quiz (with about fifteen to twenty questions) to hand out to each guest. Ask trivia questions about movies like "It's A Wonderful Life" or "A Christmas Story" and Christmas songs like "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." An example of a good trivia question would be "In the movie, "˜It's A Wonderful Life,' what actor played the character George Bailey?" The answer, of course, is Jimmy Stewart. Whoever gets the most answers right, wins. If there is a tie, have a tie-breaker question like "Name all of Santa's reindeer."