Christmas is just around the corner, and it’s time to start planning your office Christmas party. But let’s be real, a standard buffet and some awkward small talk ain’t gonna cut it. You need something that’ll get your colleagues laughing, bonding, and maybe even a little competitive! Here are some festive ideas to make your office party the talk of the town (or at least the office).
Christmas party games for gift exchange
Gift exchange is undoubtedly one of the most fun aspects of Christmas parties, especially during gatherings with your colleagues — after all, this is the only time you can snatch a gift meant for your boss and get away with it!
1. Left/Right Gift Exchange Game
The left/right gift exchange game is simple yet it’ll sure make for some chaotic fun! All you have to do is gather your colleagues in a circle while the narrator narrates a story — it can be any story, as long as it contains tons of directional cues. Pass the gifts whenever the cues ‘left’ and ‘right’ are read until the story ends. You’ll also get to keep the gift you’re holding at the end. That’s right, now all that’s left for you is to enjoy your present!
2. Never Have I Ever Swapping Game
Never Have I Ever is a popular party game and a pretty good Christmas party gift exchange game too, especially for large groups! For the uninitiated, the game is simple: the host reads a list of random Never Have I Ever statements and those who have done it will have to swap gifts with each other. It’s a great way to get to know your colleagues outside of work, especially if some wine is involved!
3. Random Facts Game
The random facts game is another suitable Christmas game for large parties. Each guest will write a random fact about themselves on their gift. During the game, each fact will be read out and the rest of the partygoers will have to guess who it identifies. The first person to guess correctly will get to keep the gift and will be out of the game. This game may sound simple but just wait ‘til everyone gets competitive — there’s just something about guessing random facts about your colleagues that gets everyone all fired up.
4. White Elephant Gift Exchange
Of course, we couldn’t leave the quintessential Christmas swapping — or should we say, stealing — game out of this list! In this game, everyone will be given a random number after placing their gift in a pile. The first player starts off by unwrapping a gift and holding it out for everyone to see. The next player gets to choose another gift to open from the pile or steal player one’s gift. The game then continues, with each player having the choice to open or steal an unwrapped gift and ends when everyone has a gift in their hands. For more fun, play the game with gag gifts. Can’t decide what gift to get? Check out our ultimate Christmas gift guide here!
5. Hot Potato
Hot Potato is a great #TB to your childhood and is also a surprisingly fun Christmas gift exchange game for parties! Watching your workmates’ anxious scramble to the timer can be super hilarious. Just like the normal version of the game, players have to pass the gift around while the host starts a timer. Unlike the normal iteration, however, there are no losers here – the person holding the gift when the timer runs out gets to keep it! For added chaos, pass a few gifts around the circle simultaneously!
6. Santa’s Elf Gift Exchange
Think you know your colleagues well? Put your knowledge of your teammates to the test! For a fun twist to your typical Christmas party game, give everyone another colleague to pick a present for. Instead of fighting for a gift for yourself, you’d have to try to get a gift for your designated colleague during the games. You’d be surprised at how much (or how little) you know each other!
7. Secret Santa, but make it festive
Secret Santa can get boring over time and end up having generic gift cards. You can spice it up this year! Set a budget, like maybe $20-$30 per gift, and make it a themed gift exchange. Imagine everyone showing up in ugly Christmas sweaters and exchanging hilarious, themed gifts. It’ll be a hoot!
Ideas for Christmas party games
8. Gift Wrapping Race
Teamwork makes the dream work and there’s no better instance of this in the workplace. Split the partygoers into smaller groups and provide each group with a present as well as other wrapping materials to wrap it with. Seems easy? Here’s the catch – they have to wrap their gifts with one hand! The fastest team wins and gets to keep their present. Bonus points if they’ve added some aesthetics into their wrapping!
9. Human Christmas Tree
Put your artistic ability to the test with this party game! Divide the partygoers in smaller groups of three or four and assign one person in each group to become the designated ‘tree’. The other members will then have to decorate the ‘tree’ with Christmas ornaments, just like they would any other tree! It’s hilarious, engaging and best of all, provides funny photo ops of your colleagues!
10. Stocking Race
Another game that’s bound to ignite competitiveness is Stocking Race! The aim of this game is to fill a stocking with as many candy canes within the time limit. For an added challenge, include rules like hopping toward the stocking or only holding the candy in their mouths. Increase the stakes by making the losing team do a forfeit — this is one game that you wouldn’t want to lose!
11. Santa Limbo
Here’s a game that will stretch you beyond your limits — literally. You might have played limbo before, but you’ve certainly never played it dressed as Santa! Donning the famous red suit (and fake belly!) sure does put a fun and festive twist to the game — after all, there’s no better way to get into the spirit of Christmas than dressing up like Father Christmas himself.
12. Christmas Trivia Night
Who doesn’t love a good trivia night? You can make it Christmas-themed and include questions about Christmas movies, songs, and traditions. Divide your group into at least 2 teams and have them go through easy, medium, and difficult rounds where they can score multiple points per question. To add a fun twist to it, each team must have their own buzzer sound or action they must do before answering!
Here are some trivia theme ideas you can include:
- Classic Christmas Movies: Focus on iconic films like “Home Alone,” “Elf,” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
- Christmas Music: Test your colleague’s knowledge of Christmas carols, pop Christmas songs, and holiday soundtracks.
- Christmas Around the World: Explore Christmas traditions, foods, and customs from different countries.
13. Christmas Charades
Charades is always a crowd-pleaser. You could do Christmas-themed charades and act out classic Christmas movie scenes or Christmas songs. Watching your colleagues act out prompts like ‘reindeer’, ‘gingerbread man’ or even Christmas movies is definitely something you wouldn’t want to forget. The more musically-inclined can also play the song variant of the game, where you guess the Christmas carols. Fair warning, though — you might just be tempted to start carolling!
Bonus: Reverse Charades
For a fun twist, try reverse charades. Instead of acting out a word or phrase, one player gives verbal instructions to their partner, who must then act it out. For example, if the word is “reindeer,” the first player might say, “Put your hands on your head with palms out facing front. Now, stomp your feet and gallop.” The second player must then try to guess the word based on the instructions.
14. Christmas Pictionary
Pictionary is another classic game that’s perfect for a Christmas party. You could draw Christmas-themed words or phrases, like “snow” or “hot cocoa.” It’ll be a fun way to test your artistic skills and your ability to communicate without words.
For a more dynamic twist on Pictionary, try a relay race. Divide your guests into two teams. Each team member will have a pen and paper taped to their back. The first person on each team will receive a word or phrase. Instead of drawing on a board, they must draw the word or phrase on the back of the person behind them. This person will then try to interpret the drawing by the feel on their back and draw it on the back of the next person. The process continues until the last person in line who must guess the word. The first team to correctly guess the word wins.
15. Pass the Parcel
Wrap a gift in multiple layers of colourful paper, with a small surprise or candy inside each layer. As the music plays, guests pass the parcel around in a circle. When the music stops, the person holding the parcel unwraps a layer. The fun continues until the final layer is unwrapped, revealing the grand prize. To add excitement, consider including silly forfeits or challenges for those who unwrap certain layers.
Christmas team bonding party games
16. Christmas Karaoke
If you own a home karaoke studio then you’ve got to include some friendly Christmas karaoke competition into the party game lineup. Everybody loves karaoking and Christmas carolling — put them together and it’s bound to make for a wonderfully merry Christmas party game. Kickstart the party by putting on some classic Christmas tunes and let the festive cheer spread. After all, you know what they say — music is the strongest form of (Christmas) magic!
If your bunch is more on the timid and shy side, you can host a Christmas cookie decorating contest or exchange! You can get these DIY cookie sets and add a bunch of different coloured icing, sprinkles, and candy canes. Push your creativity off the charts! You can for the classic Christmas colours, or have a more modern and funky look. At the end, you can have a cookie exchange and do taste tests! You can also opt for DIY cupcakes and macarons.
18. Christmas gingerbread house-making
This year, your team could try out gingerbread house-making. Divide into teams and have a gingerbread house decorating competition. You can grab some gingerbread house sets and have each team decorate it on their own, then see who can decorate the best one!
19. Christmas ornament decorating
You can also do a Christmas ornament decorating workshop. Have everyone start with a bunch of plain wood ornaments or acrylic ones and a ton of different decorations like glitter, sequins, and ribbons. Everyone could paint them, glue stuff on them, or go with whatever they prefer. See everyone’s unique style and unleash your coworkers’ creative sides. You can have a little competition to see who could create the most festive ornament. To make it more sentimental, you can hang all the ornaments on the office Christmas tree.
Christmas party games that will make everyone go Ho, ho, ho!
We know, not everyone is thrilled by the idea of office parties. But give them another chance — Christmas office parties are a fun way to spread the festive cheer!
Looking for more Christmas party games? Check out this list of Switch party games or the best kid-friendly party games for your littlest guests! Meanwhile, if you’re hunting for an unconventional Christmas gift idea, you might just find one in this list of unique Christmas gift ideas!
This article was updated on 18 November 2024. Additional research done by Jaia Corral.
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