20 Fun Christmas Games For Adults

Christmas-themed games are just the thing to put a smile on everyone’s face before dinner and presents! Need some Christmas games for adults that are simple yet fun? Check out 20 of our favorite ideas from Peerspace, the nation’s leading online marketplace for event venue rentals and party ideas! 

1. Play “name that scent” with holiday candles

Holiday candles can fill the air with scents sweet, spicy, floral, and fragrant. But just how sharp is your nose? Impress your friends with your bloodhound talents by playing “name that scent” together! All you need is a blindfold and some scented candles. Be sure to grab some rare and mixed scents for added challenge!

2. Watch a Christmas movie and play a drinking game

This Christmas game for adults adds a few shots to the mix, which is always fun! Put on a holiday movie and take a drink each time a Christmas theme comes up, like “it snows on Christmas” or “someone is wearing an ugly sweater.”

All you need is a venue with enough space and a large enough screen for a movie party, something Peerspace happens to have. Have you seen our movie party venues like this intimate theater in Central LA, CA? It seats up to 50 people and includes theater-style seating and a projector for a true cinema experience!

3. Play Christmas movie bingo

Snow…Reindeer…Songs…Santa. All things you can expect to see during a Christmas movie. So how about racking up some points with Christmas bingo? All you need are custom bingo cards, which you can get right here from Country Living!

4. Set up a candy cane relay race

Relay races are a lot of fun if you have a large enough group for a few teams! You’ll need enough candy canes for everyone plus one extra. The idea is that each person along the relay has a candy cane. The first person to start the race has a candy cane they are holding with the hook of another candy cane. Without dropping the candy cane, you have to get it to the next person in the relay, passing it along using only your candy canes. See these instructions from Play Party Plan for more details.

5 Set up multiple board games

Everyone doesn’t have to play the same game. It’s okay to split the group and let people play whatever games they like! Choose a few card and board games for people to pick through. Peerspace can help with our in-person game ideas to try for a Christmas party.

Get some festive menu inspiration for your party using our tasty Christmas Eve food ideas!

6. Guess that Christmas movie from emojis

Emojis are basically the same as text, right? See how good your emoji-reading skills are with a Christmas-themed quiz! Print out these free Christmas emoji games and give them out to guests.

7. Bake and decorate Christmas cookies

Do you and your friends love spending time in the kitchen making tasty treats? Have a cookie decorating party! Once your sugar or gingerbread cookies have cooled down, give everyone a plate at a table filled with edible glitter, frosting, candy melts, and other decorations. See who can make the best-looking Christmas cookies before eating them!

8. Play “Never Have I Ever” using Christmas-themed declarations

“Never have I ever” is fun, no matter the time of year! But you can really spice things up by using Christmas-themed declarations like “never have I ever done something embarrassing while drunk at a Christmas party”. Those who have done the thing have to take a drink.

9. Drink every time…

This Christmas game for adults is simple enough to do and can be part of a holiday dinner or even just between a few people. You decide in advance that everyone playing must take a drink every time something happens. You might say everyone has to take a drink every time someone wishes someone else “Merry Christmas,” for example!

10. Build gingerbread houses together

Gingerbread houses are both tasty and beautiful! And each one will likely turn out a bit different if you let everyone design the house of their dreams. So set out some gingerbread walls and rooftops and let everyone use gummy drops, frosting, edible glitter, and other touches for a fun time with friends.

The only thing better than a gingerbread house is an actual house for a holiday party, which is something you can easily find on the Peerspace website! Imagine hosting a Christmas party in a cozy 2-story 1906 home in Chicago, IL.

11. Play a Christmas alphabet game

The alphabet game is simple to play but gets challenging, especially after you’ve had a few drinks! One person starts with the letter “A” and has to come up with a Christmas-themed word or phrase that starts with “A” (at the North Pole). The next person chooses “B,” and then you keep going. Anyone who chokes up has to take a drink.

12. Have an outdoor sled or snow tubing race 

If you have a white Christmas then how about taking the party outdoors for some sledding? Dress warmly and bring your sleds to the top of a big hill. Give everyone a running start and see who makes it to the bottom first! 

13. Sing your worst with holiday how do you do

How much do you all love to sing? This funny Christmas game for adults has everyone trying to guess your song as you sing the tune using only the word “do.” “Do-do-do-do-doooooo!” If you need some ideas, use this list of Christmas songs from Play Party Plan as inspiration.

14. Showcase your skills with a jingle bell toss

Jingle bell toss is an easy game you can modify in a few ways. At its core, you’ll be setting up a board with red drinking cups set up like bowling pins. The idea is to see who can get a bell in each cup. You can also add timers or even make it a relay race using these ideas from Playground Parkbench!

15. Play Christmas-themed “Would you rather?”

“Would you rather” is a light-hearted game that’s fun for all ages. All you need to do is come up with Christmas-themed ridiculous questions like “Would you rather take a sleigh ride with Santa or the Grinch?”

Planning your office’s annual holiday party? We have games specifically for that in our creative office Christmas party games post!

16. Guess what’s in the stocking

“Guess what’s in the stocking” is exactly what it sounds like! You have several stockings with random items inside. Players have to guess by feeling what’s inside and write their answers down. The person with the most correct answers wins the game.

17. Use scarves and candy cane poles for Christmas limbo

Christmas limbo is like regular limbo except you’ll be using a holiday scarf or candy cane pole as the limbo pole. Want to add an extra challenge to the game? Give out balloon “Santa bellies” for folks to wear under their sweaters!

18. Unwrap a Christmas saran wrap ball

Here is a Christmas game for adults that includes prizes along with the fun. You’ll need to make a saran wrap ball in advance with small prizes inside of it, like cash or candy. Yet it should also have “coal challenge cards” that make whoever is holding it take extra actions, like having to name Santa’s reindeer before continuing to unwrap it. Check out the full instructions right here on how to make and play with a Christmas saran wrap ball!

19. Have fun with Elf on a Shelf

Elf on a Shelf is as fun for adults as it is for kids! Let the grownups play pretend during and after the party with their elf placement. Be sure to take photos after the elf turns up and see who can come up with the funniest pose.

20. Conquer a Jell-o shot Christmas tree

This Christmas game for adults is a simple enough concept. Make these Jell-o shots disappear before the end of the night! They’re tasty and help make the other Christmas games you play that much more fun.

Christmas games for adults: conclusion

We hope you’ve found Peerspace to be super useful as you plan your upcoming Christmas party. These Christmas party games for adults involve skill, secrets, drinking, and plain old fun. If you like what we’ve come up with, think about checking out our other resources as well. Namely, Christmas party venues near you that can be booked months in advance of the holiday season! 

Find unique party venues for your Christmas fete on Peerspace