1. How Office Christmas Party Games Can Boost the Festive Spirit?
Work Christmas party activities for adults improve interactions between your staff across various departments. People who usually have limited or brief interactions can use this opportunity to network and build connections while improving communication skills.
Christmas parties are also a great way to recognize staff for their hard work over the year. Holiday team celebrations not only boost employee retention and engagement but also reinforce positive company culture.
2. Best Office Christmas Party Games to Play with Your Colleagues
2.1. Christmas Trivia
When it comes to office Christmas party games, a game of holiday trivia is a perennial crowd-pleaser. This fun and interactive game offers a fantastic opportunity for your team to celebrate while testing your knowledge of all things Christmas. The game will challenge you across various festive categories, including Christmas traditions, holiday movies, festive food, Christmas music, and more.
You can either choose to prepare your own list of holiday trivia questions or hire a team building company to host the event for you. Add a host to the game to guide participants and keep the energy high while monitoring scores. In 60 minutes, you’ll play four to five engaging rounds, getting deeper into the holiday festivities with each one.
P.S- If you have a remote or hybrid team and want to make the game more inclusive, consider Virtual Christmas Trivia by Hooray Teams.
2.2. Gingerbread House Decorating Contest
A gingerbread house decorating contest is one of the best Christmas party games for small groups, as it’s a perfect way to encourage creativity and collaboration. Teams can enjoy a fun, hands-on activity and get competitive at the same time.
Provide kits to participants with everything you need to build your gingerbread house. Include an assortment of gingerbread slabs, vibrant colored icing, and a variety of edible decorations—think candy canes, gumdrops, sprinkles, and more. Bring an expert onboard to guide your team in creating the most whimsical creations that Hansel and Gretel would be tempted to move into. After everyone’s unique creations are built, hold a group voting for the most creative gingerbread house.
P.S. – To ensure remote teams don’t miss out on the fun, consider Hooray Teams’ hosted Christmas Gingerbread House Decorating event.
2.3. Holiday Taboo
If you’re looking for simple hosted office Christmas party games, then try out a game of Taboo. Players will be divided into groups, with one player in each group tasked with describing a word to their teammates—without using any of the Taboo words or phrases listed on the card. It’s all about creativity, quick thinking, and a dash of holiday spirit.
For example, if the word is “Santa,” you might be allowed to say “jolly,” “reindeer,” or “North Pole,” but you definitely can’t say “Christmas,” “Claus,” or “red suit.” The challenge is to get your team to guess the word before the timer runs out, all while avoiding those sneaky Taboo words that could lead to the buzzer being pressed.
P.S. For easier gameplay, try Hooray Teams’ hosted Online Taboo, which can be customized to suit all team sizes and preferences.
2.4. Christmas Carol Charades
There’s never a dull moment with Christmas carol charades, which easily tops the list of funny office Christmas party games. Compile a list of popular Christmas songs, such as “We Three Kings of Orient Are,” “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer”, or “In the Bleak Midwinter.” Next, write it on individual slips of paper, fold it, and place it in a Santa hat.
During the party, everybody is divided into two or more teams, depending on how many people are present. Each participant takes turns pulling a slip of paper out of the hat. They then must use only silent gestures to act out the carol – strictly no speaking allowed. Everybody else guesses what carol is being depicted, with the person who first guesses correctly scoring a point for their team.
P.S. Make sure your remote team doesn’t miss out by having them participate through a video conference call.
2.5. Christmas Scavenger Hunt
If you are looking for fun and engaging Christmas games, a Christmas scavenger hunt will keep your team on their toes. It’s a great choice if you’re seeking Christmas office party games for large groups. There are two main types of scavenger hunts you can try. The first involves creating a checklist of tasks for each team to complete, such as “Take a photo with someone wearing a Christmas sweater” or “Find something red.” You can either give all teams the same list or offer slightly different ones, with the winning team being the first to finish their hunt.
The second variation uses a series of cryptic clues, like: “Run, run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me, I’m the ___.” Each clue leads teams to the next one, guiding them from location to location until they complete the game. The games encourage teamwork, communication, and friendly competition while adding a dose of holiday spirit to the experience.
P.S. Consider Hooray Teams’ Virtual Scavenger Hunt event so remote teams can bring holiday cheer to your remote team.
2.6. Hosted Christmas Party
Make your holiday celebrations unforgettable by organizing a hosted Christmas party with dedicated event planners. Enlist a professional team-building company to host your company’s Christmas party from end-to-end. They will handle all the planning, organizing, and coordination so you can relax and enjoy your party stress-free.
They will also organize office Christmas party games to add to the festivities. The games can range from fast-paced options like “Minute-to-Win-it” challenges to more laid-back ones like a relaxing game of Bingo. You can also request them to customize the event as you like, taking your team’s interests into consideration.
P.S. Remote teams can embrace the festive spirit and have an awesome holiday celebration with Hooray Teams’ Virtual Hosted Christmas event.
2.7. Snow Globe Shake-off
If you are looking for fun and fast-paced games for an office Christmas party, try a Snow Globe Shake-Off challenge. In this holiday game, your team will race to keep the snow swirling inside a snow globe.
To play the game, provide each participant with a snow globe. Players must shake or spin their globe to keep the snow swirling for as long as possible. Set a timer for 30 seconds to a minute, and on “Go!” everyone starts shaking their globes, aiming to keep the snow floating. When the timer ends, the player whose globe still has the most snow floating in the liquid wins.
P.S. Remote teams can use their own snow globes or a similar item, like a clear jar with glitter, to participate in the game and share progress via Zoom.
2.8. Guess the Christmas Movie/Song
If you are looking for simple yet fun office Christmas party games, consider Guess the Christmas Movie/Song. Divide your staff into small teams for maximum participation and engagement. Then, kick things off by playing a mix of beloved holiday songs, such as “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and “Santa Baby.” The goal is for each team to guess the song title or artist as quickly as possible, so the more festive the playlist, the better!
Next, switch gears and focus on the movie portion of the activity. You can either show printed stills from classic Christmas films like “Home Alone” or play a scene on a TV. Teams must guess which movie the still is from, with extra points for naming the specific scene or character. This adds a little extra challenge and fun to the activity. Finally, the points will be tallied to determine which team is the ultimate holiday movie and music expert.
P.S. Group your remote staff into these teams and have them participate via video conference platform.
2.9. Bobbing for Candy Canes
We’ve all probably bobbed for apples during Halloween, but why not switch your Christmas holiday party games up and bob for candy canes instead? If you’re looking for funny Christmas party games for adults, this is bound to get a few hoots of laughter. Players use candy canes to “fish” for other candy canes, attempting to hook as many as they can within a minute.
You can make it more exciting by having multiple players compete head-to-head or track scores throughout the night and crown the top scorer. Either way, this silly and engaging game will add a healthy dose of humor to your holiday party games.
P.S. Keep your hybrid and remote staff connected through a conference call and have them bob for candy canes remotely.
2.10. Christmas Jeopardy
Get ready for a holiday twist on America’s favorite quiz show with a game of Jeopardy. In this festive version, you’ll put your holiday knowledge to the test by answering clues in the classic Jeopardy! format. For example, if the clue is, “This red-nosed reindeer leads Santa’s sleigh,” your response would be, “Who is Rudolph?”
The gameplay involves a game board with categories and point values. Teams take turns choosing a category and answering questions. Bring an enthusiastic host who will keep a tally of the scores and determine a winner.
P.S. If you’re playing with a hybrid or all-remote team and want a virtual option for easier gameplay, join Hooray Teams’ Christmas Jeopardy.
2.11. Holiday Costume Contest
Who says the holiday cheer should stay within the confines of office decorations and festive treats? Take your Christmas office party games to the next level with a one-of-a-kind holiday costume contest. Give your employees the chance to get creative with their outfits. From Santa and his reindeer, mischievous elves, and frosty snowmen to the Grinch himself, the sky’s the limit when it comes to holiday costumes.
To make the contest extra exciting, create a few fun categories, like “Most Creative,” “Funniest Costume,” or “Best Holiday Duo” (for those who want to team up.) Everyone will get a chance to shine—whether they’re rocking a DIY reindeer onesie or showing up as a glittering Christmas tree. Don’t forget to capture the magic in a photo booth with fun props and backdrops, where employees can snap pictures to cherish the day.
P.S. Consider hosting an ugly sweater party and invite your remote teams to join in from wherever they are, dressed in their festive attire.
2.12. Work Space Decor Contest
Get into the holiday spirit days before your Christmas office party with a festive game of workspace decorating. Whether it’s a winter wonderland, a traditional Christmas setting, or a more unconventional holiday style, let teams flaunt their creativity.
Set a deadline for when decorations should be completed so that the judging can take place ahead of the party. Consider having a few colleagues volunteer as judges or even let everyone vote for their favorite setups. You can create different categories for the awards—such as Most Festive, Most Creative, or Best Use of Holiday Lights—to make the contest more engaging. Before you start off your list of games to play at Christmas, gather everyone together to announce the winners and showcase their decorated spaces.
P.S. Encourage your remote teams to decorate their home office space and keep them connected throughout the event.
3. FAQs
3.1. What games to play for the Christmas party?
We’ve already listed a dozen Christmas games ideas for adults above, but there are loads more you can try. If you’re looking for more games to play in office Christmas party, consider Holiday Pictionary, Taboo, or Guess the Christmas Song and movie.
3.2. How can you enjoy virtual Christmas party games for remote teams?
If you want a seamless virtual Christmas party experience, companies like Hooray Teams provide a raft of games and workshops that are all professionally hosted so that all of your team can relax and enjoy. Options range from trivia contests and scavenger hunts to Christmas cookie decorating, wreath designing, and Christmas Mixology.
3.3. What are some fun Christmas party games?
If you’re looking for some funny office Christmas party games, try out Mad Libs, Charades or Pictionary. Taboo is also a great choice for those who are looking to share a lot of laughs and joy.
3.4. What office holiday party games should I host for teams of different sizes?
If you’re looking for office Christmas party games for large groups, try out pictionary, trivia, costume contest or squid game challenge. For office Christmas party games for small groups, you can try snow globe shake-off, scavenger hunts, gingerbread decorating or Jeopardy.
