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40 Christmas Games For Kids To Get Your Little Ones Into The Holiday Spirit
Nothing seems to have the magical power to release excitement in the air quite like Christmas. It’s impossible not to feel like a kid again, and this feeling is amplified when you’re surrounded by family, friends, and delicious food that reminds you of childhood.
Speaking of childhood, have you already thought of some Christmas games for the kids? With everything you need to prepare for your Christmas party — the presents, the menu, the decorations, the playlist, oh my god, cleaning the house! — it’s easy to forget we should find a way to keep the kids entertained. You know too well what happens when kids get bored, right? They get in trouble, start fighting, or even get all over you whining about their boredom. No, no, no. Not on Christmas day. Not during your party.
Time to prevent that! With all the hustle and bustle of the season, we thought of helping you and your little guests get into the holiday mood with a list of festive Christmas games that are sure to delight.
’Tis the season to be jolly, and what better way to get children into the holiday spirit than with some fun activities for kids? From classic Christmas party games like musical chairs and “pin the nose on Rudolph” to more creative holiday activities like DIY snow paint or snowman bowling, we found dozens of Christmas game ideas for every age and interest. So gather your little elves, put on some holiday tunes, and let the merriment begin with these fun Christmas games!
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Snow Art
This game is perfect for snowy days. Smooth out a sizable snowy area before the kids get started. Make sure they are dressed warmly enough because this is gonna last a while. Fill some dollar-store spray bottles with water. Encourage the kids to combine colors to create messages, pictures, and abstract designs for their snow art. Use gel food coloring for more vivid colors.
Gingerbread Man Piñata
For a sweet treat after dinner, stuff an adorable gingerbread man piñata with your family’s preferred Christmas candies.
Stocking Guessing Game
Stuff a stocking with little toys and holiday ornaments. Allow the kids to feel the stocking and try to determine what is inside. The child who makes the most accurate guesses wins.
Stack the Gifts
This game only requires a few wrapped goods in different sizes. Try stacking them yourself to ensure that the challenge is difficult enough yet possible. If you like, you can play this game in teams. The goal is to see how many presents the children can stack before the pile collapses. The game is won by the highest stack with the most gifts.
Christmas Character “Guess Who?”
Each kid has one minute to ask a series of quick “yes” or “no” questions to identify which traditional Christmas icon they are.
Christmas Tree Bowling Game
Use ten green plastic bottles decorated like Christmas trees to create a triangle. Make a bowling lane using tape, then invite the kids over for some Christmas bowling!
Christmas Charades
Divide the kids into two teams and let them guess what one person is silently acting out.
Candy Cane Hunt
Hide candy canes and ask the kids to find them. Include some toys for more entertainment. Let the kids decorate brown sandwich bags with markers and Christmas stickers before the hunt. These bags can be used to bring their party favors home.
Christmas Musical Chairs Games
There are three versions of this game:
1. Musical chairs, the classic. Play the game with one chair missing while playing Christmas music. When the music stops, the child left without a seat leaves the game.
2. Please pass the gift. A wrapped gift is passed around the group as Christmas music is playing. Whoever is still holding the package when the song stops is out.
3. Musical chairs with Christmas ornaments. Cut out ornament shapes from construction paper in vibrant colors. While the music is playing, have the kids stroll; when the music stops, they all need to stand on an ornament cutout. Anyone who can’t find one to stand on is out.
Snowball Relay Race
The goal of the race is to move snowballs (cotton balls) with a plastic spoon from one side of the room to the other. Separate the children into two teams. Cotton balls are moved from a full bucket on one side of the room to an empty bucket on the other side by the first member of each team using a plastic spoon. They must quickly return to their team’s line and pass the spoon to the next team member. If a cotton ball falls on the floor, it must be left there. Count the cotton balls in the buckets after the game. The winning team is the one with the most snowballs in their bucket.
Christmas Balloon Tennis
Blow up some green and red balloons. Attach tongue depressors to Christmas paper plates. The children can now try to get to the finish line by hitting the blown-up balloons. For the finish line, you can use masking tape stuck to the floor.
“Don’t Ring the Bells” Obstacle Course
You will need small bells, a rope, a hula hoop, and string. Use the string to attach the bells or decorations to the hula hoop and secure it to a ceiling beam with the rope. Ask each child to go through the hoop without ringing the bells.
Jingle Bell Tossing
Glue ten plastic cups into a triangle shape to resemble a bowling pin formation on a thick piece of cardboard. Give the children inexpensive dollar-store jingle bells to toss into the cups. Let the older kids play in groups or pairs. Whoever fills their cup with the most jingle bells wins.
That Present Is Mine!
Each child should bring a wrapped, used toy for Christmas. After the kids have gathered in a circle, pick one randomly to begin the game. The kid unwraps the gift, and the next child can take the gift already opened or choose one from the other wrapped presents. In the end, everyone has a new toy.
Decorate Christmas Cookies
Decorating Christmas cookies to eat or share with others — and, of course, enjoying a few yourself — is a fantastic Christmas holiday activity. Give each child at least four to five cookies. Give out some sugar sprinkles and other decorations for Christmas cookie decorating. Santa could have a beard made of coconut and eyes made of chocolate dots. Be careful to make cookies in advance so they are cool enough to decorate.
Reindeer Antler Ring Toss
One player wears the antlers on their head while another throws rings at them. Players can also stand face-to-face and toss their rings to each other’s antlers while both wearing a pair.
Snowman Slam Game
The goal is to throw “snowballs” to bring the snowmen down. The game is both easy to make and entertaining to play.
Christmas Scent Game
Ask a kid to pick up and sniff each jar while wearing a blindfold. The kid will have to try to guess all the scents.
“Minute to Win It” Candy Cane Hook ’Em Game
Ask the kids to take a candy cane and put it in their mouth with the curled side facing out. They then use that candy cane to hook another one from the pile and drop it in a bowl. The prize goes to the person who catches the most candy canes.
Snowman Drawing Game
Give each participant a white paper plate and a pencil. Each participant should hold the paper plate over their head and be prepared to draw!
Christmas Bingo
Everyone brings a gift. Play Bingo and the player who calls out the first bingo wins a prize. They open it up for everyone to view before resuming the game and letting the kids try again.
Pin the Nose on Rudolph
Prepare a red cotton ball or paper circle. Blindfold each player and give each one a thumbtack. Have them turn around and put their thumbtack on Rudolph’s nose. The person who successfully pins it on the nose wins.
Reindeer Games
Give each kid a pencil and a piece of paper with the word “reindeer” written across the top. Players are challenged to come up with as many words as they can using the letters that make up the word “reindeer” in three minutes. The one with the most words at the end wins.
DIY Snow Paint
Mix white school glue and shaving foam to make “snow paint.” A mixture of three-quarters of a cup of shaving foam and half a cup of glue works wonderfully.
Christmas Tree Ball Sort Game
Put balls from a ball pit in a container adjacent to the tree. Let your child spend some time putting the balls through the tree’s holes.
Snow Blower Game
All you need is a colorful straw and a few cotton balls for each child. On a big sheet of paper, mark the finish line or tape one to the table. The goal is to be the first to move a cotton ball past the finish line by blowing through the straw. It also works as a team game. The group that scores the most wins.
Christmas Maze
String yarn around the room, passing it under, over, around, and through the furniture. Attach one end of the yarn to a pencil. Make sure the yarn crosses the first yarn numerous times before cutting the string and starting over with another pencil. Continue doing this until you have a strand for every child. Give the kids a pencil when they come, and tell them to follow it while winding the yarn up.
“Lump of Coal” Saran Wrap Game
Children will enjoy removing the layers of this enormous ball to reveal what is stored inside.
Marshmallow Munch
Eat an entire bowl of mini marshmallows and down a cup of hot cocoa in a minute (or race to finish first).
Dear Santa
Place some crayons and blank Christmas letters on a table. The children will start working on persuading Santa of their good behavior that year.
“Santa Hats” Cup Stacking Game
Take turns to stack a red cup, a pom-pom, a red cup, and a pom-pom up until the tower topples. Let the next person take a turn. The winner is the one who piled the most cups and pom-poms.
Silver Bells Memory Game
Scribble letters on some stickers. Stick each letter to the bottom of a Hershey’s Kiss (or any wrapped candy you like). Arrange them on a table and let the kid start their round of memory game.
Pin the Nose on the Snowman
Create the shape of a snowman using white paper. Give your snowman a mouth, eyes, and a black top hat. Cut orange “carrot” noses for the kids to put on the snowman’s face. Each nose should be taped with double-sided tape.
Ringing Bells Memory Game
Use Hershey’s Kisses for a creative twist on the memory game. Attach dot stickers to the bottom of them, then use a Sharpie or pen to write the corresponding number pairs on the stickers. Children turn over the candies to create matching pairings and try to recall their locations. Adapt the number of candies based on the children’s age.
Santa Says
An adult can play Santa for the first round to demonstrate how to play the game, a variation of Simon Says. Give instructions like:
Santa says… touch your toes.
Santa says… jump on one leg.
Santa says… run in place.
Give a command after that without saying “Santa says” beforehand. The next player to be Santa is the one who obeys the command. Continue doing this until every child has had a turn.
Christmas Mad Libs
A Christmas variation of the popular word game. One of the players prompts the others for a list of words to substitute for blanks in a story before reading it aloud.
Poke-A-Tree Game
You can play high-low cards where the player with the highest card gets to poke a paper cup and keep whatever prize is inside, or you can number the game and allow each player to choose a number.
Snowman Tissue Box Bowling
Ask your children to paint some tissue boxes white. Once they’re dry, stack them, and have the kids add a carrot-shaped nose made of orange cardstock, a black cardstock hat, and any buttons as decorations. Time to “melt” these snowmen by throwing a ball at them!
