Christmas party games that people actually enjoy

We spend every December at Christmas parties, and we've seen a lot of games. Some get a whole room roaring. Others die a slow death while one brave person reads the rules off their phone. The difference is almost always the same: the good ones are quick to explain, need hardly any kit and let people join in as much or as little as they like.

So here's our list of Christmas party games that work, split into games for work parties, games for families and a few that suit both. For each one we've said what you need and roughly how to run it. Pick two or three, not ten. Nobody wants a party that feels like a school sports day.

Before you start: a few rules for games that work

Keep the explanation under a minute. If it needs a printed rulebook, skip it.

Play in short bursts. Ten to fifteen minutes is plenty for most games, then let people get back to their drinks and conversations. Two short rounds through the night beats one marathon.

Make joining in optional. At a work party especially, some people would rather watch, and that's fine. The best games are just as fun for spectators.

And have a prize. It doesn't need to be much. A tin of chocolates, a bottle of something or a terrible trophy from the pound shop gets people far more competitive than you'd expect.

Christmas party games for work

Who am I? Write the names of famous Christmas characters on sticky notes: Scrooge, the Grinch, Buddy the Elf, Mariah Carey, Rudolph and so on. Stick one on each person's forehead as they arrive. They have to work out who they are by asking other guests yes or no questions. It's a brilliant icebreaker because it forces people to talk to colleagues they don't usually chat to, and it needs no organising once it's under way.

Guess the baby photo. Ask everyone to send you a baby or childhood photo a week before the party, ideally a Christmassy one. Number them, print them or put them on a screen, and get teams to match the photos to colleagues. The reveals always get a big laugh, and it's lovely for new starters to see the senior team in a paper crown aged four.

Christmas quiz. A quiz is the classic for a reason. Keep it to four or five short rounds: Christmas films, Christmas number ones, a picture round of festive adverts, and one round about your own company. That last round is the one people talk about afterwards. Teams of four to six work best, and mixing departments on each team makes it more sociable.

Christmas song lyrics. Read out a line from a well-known Christmas song with the last few words missing, and teams write down what comes next. Simple, quick, and surprisingly hard after the first verse of most songs. Good as a round in your quiz or as a standalone game between courses.

Two truths and a lie, festive edition. Each person shares three facts about their Christmases: two true, one made up. Maybe they once spent Christmas Day on a ferry, or they've never eaten a sprout. The table guesses the lie. It works best in small groups at the table, and you'll learn more about your colleagues in twenty minutes than in a year of meetings.

Office bingo. Make bingo cards with things likely to happen at the party: someone mentions the photocopier, the boss does a speech longer than five minutes, someone loses their cracker hat, someone says 'we should do this more often'. First to a full line shouts. It runs in the background all night with no effort.

Team games with a bit of action

Wrap it up. Teams of two, one roll of wrapping paper and a box each. The catch is that each person can only use one hand, so they have to work together as one pair of hands. Fastest neat parcel wins. Add oven gloves for the final if you're feeling cruel.

Candy cane hook. Each player holds a candy cane in their mouth by the straight end and tries to pick up other candy canes from a table using only the hook. No hands. Most collected in a minute wins. It looks ridiculous, which is the point, and it's cheap.

Build the tallest Christmas tree. Give each team a pile of plastic cups and two minutes to build the tallest freestanding tree. Or swap cups for paper, sticky tape and a single sheet of card. It's a team game that gets quieter people involved, because someone always turns out to be a secret engineer.

Snowball fight. Everyone writes an anonymous festive fact or confession on a sheet of paper, screws it up and on the count of three the room throws them. Each person picks one up, reads it out and the room guesses who wrote it. Keep it clean and work-safe, obviously.

Quieter games for the dinner table

Cracker joke-off. Everyone reads out their cracker joke. The table votes for the worst, not the best. Simple, and it gets people laughing straight away.

Christmas film in three words. Each person describes a Christmas film in exactly three words and the table guesses. 'Boy alone, burglars' is easy. 'Ghosts, miser, Muppets' is fun. 'Accountant gets lucky' is harder than it sounds.

Table trivia cards. Put a small stack of Christmas trivia questions on each table between courses. Tables keep their own scores and hand them in before dessert. It's a gentle way to fill the gaps while the kitchen catches up.

The name game. Each person writes three Christmas names (real or fictional) on scraps of paper and puts them in a bowl. In round one you describe the name without saying it. Round two, one word only. Round three, acting only. Same names each time, so it gets funnier as the rounds go on.

Christmas party games for families

The chocolate game. You need a bar of chocolate, a dice, a hat, a scarf, gloves and a knife and fork. Everyone sits in a circle taking turns to roll. Roll a six and you put on the hat, scarf and gloves and try to eat the chocolate with the knife and fork, until someone else rolls a six and takes over. Works for ages from about five to ninety-five.

Pass the parcel with forfeits. The classic, with a twist for older players. Between each layer of paper put a small forfeit or Christmas question. Sing a line from a carol. Name three of Santa's reindeer. Do your best Father Christmas laugh. Keep the forfeits gentle and everyone joins in.

Pin the nose on Rudolph. Draw a big reindeer on card, give each person a red paper nose with some Blu Tack, blindfold them and spin them round. Little ones love it and grandparents tend to be surprisingly competitive.

Christmas charades. Write Christmas films, songs and books on folded slips and act them out in teams. If you've got a mix of ages, let younger children draw instead of act. Or pair each child with an adult.

Reindeer ring toss. A pair of headband antlers and some rope or plastic rings. One person wears the antlers, the other throws. Points for every ring that lands. Keep the throwing distance short for small children.

Christmas scavenger hunt. Hide small wrapped chocolates or clues around the house or garden and give each child or team a list of things to find, such as something red, something that jingles and something with a star on it. It's great for burning off energy after lunch while the adults finish their coffee.

Games that work for any crowd

Secret Santa swap. Everyone brings a wrapped gift to a set budget. People take turns to either open a new gift from the pile or steal one that's already been opened. The person who's had their gift stolen picks again. It turns the usual Secret Santa into a game, and there's always one gift that gets stolen three times.

Name that Christmas tune. Play the first few seconds of a Christmas song and see who gets it first. Use a playlist on your phone and a Bluetooth speaker. You'll be amazed how quickly the room splits into Wham! people and Slade people.

Heads or tails. The fastest game of all. Everyone stands up. Each person picks heads (hands on head) or tails (hands on bum). Flip a coin. Anyone who guessed wrong sits down. Repeat until one person's left. It takes two minutes, needs one coin and is perfect for deciding who wins a raffle prize.

When games aren't quite the thing

Some crowds just don't want games, and that's OK. A formal company dinner or a black tie ball rarely suits a candy cane relay. If your guests would rather chat and eat, you still want something that breaks the ice and gets people mixing.

That's where a close-up magician comes in. They go to the guests rather than asking guests to come to them, and there's no rulebook. People who'd never play a party game will happily watch a card vanish from their own hand. Have a look at our Christmas party magicians or read our guide to Christmas party entertainment ideas for more inspiration.