Holiday party games

28 holiday party games, sorted by group size. Because what works for 6 flops at 60.

The best holiday party games are the ones people can join from where they're standing or sitting, take 10 to 20 minutes, and need nothing you don't already have. Below are 28 for small groups, bigger parties, the office and remote colleagues, with how long each takes and what it needs.

Make a free party wall

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Pick games by group size
Charades and Pictionary work for 6–16 people. Above about 20, switch to team games at tables or games everyone plays at once from their phone.
10–20 minutes a game
A rule of thumb: stop a game while people are still enjoying it. Two or three short games beat one that runs for an hour.
Nobody has to perform
At work especially, choose games people can play from their seat. Posting a caption or a photo from a phone lets quieter guests join in.

Holiday party games are short group games played at a Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year or end-of-year party, at home or at work. The classics are a gift exchange (white elephant or Secret Santa), holiday trivia, charades, Pictionary and minute-to-win-it challenges; at bigger parties, team games at tables and games everyone plays from their phone work better than games that need one person on stage.

The rule that matters most is group size. A game that is perfect for eight friends in a living room, like charades, stalls with 60 colleagues in a function room, where team trivia, a caption contest on the screen or a sweater vote keeps everyone involved at once.

28 holiday party games, by group size

Each game says how long it takes and what you need. Play two or three in an evening, not all of them.

Small groups (4–12 people)

  1. White elephant gift exchange

    Everyone brings one wrapped gift at a set budget ($20–30 is common). In turn, each person opens a new gift or steals one already opened; most groups freeze a gift after two or three steals. 30–45 minutes for 12 people.

  2. Christmas movie charades

    Write holiday film titles on slips (Elf, Home Alone, Die Hard, The Holiday) and play in two teams with a one-minute timer. About 20 minutes.

  3. Holiday Pictionary

    A big pad of paper, two markers and a list of holiday words. Two teams, 60 seconds a drawing. Works well with mixed ages.

  4. Who am I? (sticky notes)

    Stick a holiday character on each guest's forehead (Rudolph, the Grinch, Mariah Carey) and they ask yes/no questions to guess it. Plays itself while people mingle.

  5. Gingerbread house build-off

    Teams of two or three, one kit each, 30 minutes on the clock. Vote for the winner at the end; the losers eat theirs.

  6. Holiday song lyric finish

    Play the first line of a holiday song and stop it; the first person to sing the next line scores a point. Needs a speaker and a playlist.

  7. Two truths and a lie, holiday edition

    Each person tells three holiday memories, one of them made up. Good for a group that doesn't know each other well. About 2 minutes a person.

Bigger parties (12–30 people)

  1. Holiday trivia in teams

    Teams of four to six, three rounds of ten questions (films, songs, traditions around the world). Read from a phone or put the questions on the TV. 30–40 minutes.

  2. Minute to win it

    One-minute challenges with household items: stack cups into a tree, move candy canes with a straw, unwrap a gift wearing oven gloves. Run 5 or 6 rounds with a volunteer per team.

  3. Ugly sweater vote on the TV

    Guests post a photo of their sweater to a live wall on the TV by scanning a QR code. At judging time, play the entries one by one in Slideshow and let the room pick the winner by applause. Set three categories: ugliest, most handmade, best lights.

  4. Pass the parcel, adult edition

    A gift wrapped in 10–15 layers with a dare or a forfeit (or a small treat) under each. Stop the music at random.

  5. Name that holiday tune

    Play 5 seconds of a song; teams write down the title. 20 songs make a 15-minute round.

  6. Find the guest who…

    A bingo card of 'has been ice skating this year', 'can name all of Santa's reindeer'. Guests find a different person for each square. Great at the start of the night.

  7. Holiday Family Feud

    Survey the guests in advance ('name something you'd find in a stocking'), then play two teams against the top answers. Needs a host with a loud voice.

The office and large parties (30+)

  1. Caption contest on the screen

    Put a funny photo from the year on the wall and ask everyone to post a caption from their phone. The captions appear on the TV as they come in; the room laughs, and the best one wins a prize. Works with 30 or 300 people.

  2. Guess whose baby photo

    Collect baby or childhood photos in advance, show them on the screen one at a time, and teams write down whose they think each one is. About 15 minutes for 20 photos.

  3. Table quiz

    Every table is a team. One quizmaster, an answer sheet per table, and a round on the company's own year. Runs 40–60 minutes with breaks for food.

  4. Raffle with real prizes

    A ticket for everyone at the door and five to ten prizes drawn between courses. No skill needed, so everyone has a chance.

  5. Secret Santa reveal

    Gifts are bought weeks ahead at a set budget, and everyone guesses their Santa before the reveal. Leave it optional, and keep the budget low enough that nobody struggles.

  6. Holiday photo scavenger hunt

    Teams get a list of photos to take in 20 minutes (a selfie with the CEO, five people in one tinsel boa, a reindeer made of people) and post them to the shared wall.

  7. Desk or department decorating contest

    Before the party, each team decorates its area. Judges tour with a clipboard, or staff vote by photo.

Remote and hybrid teams

  1. Show-and-tell of a holiday tradition

    Each person shows one object from a tradition on camera, in 60 seconds. Works across cultures and religions.

  2. Online holiday quiz

    A free quiz tool or a shared screen with the questions; people answer from their phone. Keep it to 20 minutes for remote attention spans.

  3. Festive background contest

    Everyone sets a holiday video background; vote on the best one. Takes 5 minutes.

  4. Cocoa or cookie decorating along

    Send a kit a week ahead and decorate together on camera for 30 minutes.

Any size

  1. Holiday would-you-rather

    'Would you rather only eat stuffing or only eat pie for a year?' Read them out and people move to one side of the room. No setup.

  2. Left-right gift story

    Everyone sits in a circle holding a gift; a story is read and every time someone hears 'left' or 'right', gifts pass that way. Whatever you're holding at the end is yours. About 10 minutes.

  3. The toast round

    Before dessert, anyone who wants to says one sentence about the year. Optional, short, and often the best part of the night.

How to choose holiday party games

Start with the number of people and the room. Up to about 12, one game the whole group plays together works: charades, Pictionary, a white elephant. From 12 to 30, split into teams of four to six. Above 30, nobody can see or hear a single player, so choose games everyone plays at once: a table quiz, a raffle, or a game on a screen people join from their phones.

Then think about who's in the room. At a work party, keep every game optional, skip anything that singles people out or relies on drinking, and include remote colleagues. At a family party, choose games that work for an 8-year-old and an 80-year-old at the same table. Plan for 10 to 20 minutes per game, and stop while people are still enjoying it.

Run the caption contest or sweater vote on your TV

Two of the 28 games use a live wall. Setup takes about a minute.

  1. STEP 1

    Create a wall and open it on the TV

    Create a free wall at qrwall.live and open its display link on the TV, projector or meeting-room screen. The QR code shows on the screen.

  2. STEP 2

    Guests scan and post

    They point their phone camera at the code and post a photo or a caption. No app and no account; it lands on the screen in about a second. Remote colleagues use the link.

  3. STEP 3

    Judge it on the screen

    Switch to Slideshow so each entry gets the full screen, and judge by applause. Guests can send emoji reactions that float across the wall while you do. Keep every photo afterwards on a paid plan.

The same wall, in Grid

Every sweater, caption and photo on screen at once.

Grid fills the TV with every recent post, which suits the posting part: people find their own and rally their friends. Slideshow gives each entry its moment for the judging. Switch from your phone.

Classic look · Included with every plan

Games that need nothing vs games on a screen

Most good holiday parties mix both.

Paper and voice games Phone games on a live wall Quiz apps
Best group size 4–16 10–500 10–200
Includes remote guests No Yes, by link Yes
Quiet people can join Sometimes Yes, from their seat Yes
Setup Slips of paper, a timer About a minute; the QR code is on the screen Write the questions in the app
What you keep Memories Every photo and caption (ZIP download, paid) Scores
Cost Free Free to start; $10.99/mo for Premium Free tiers, then paid

For the office party

On a work screen, someone will want to check what goes up before the CEO sees it. Professional ($19.99/month, $11.99 the first month) adds AI moderation with five levels and an approval queue that holds every post until someone taps approve. On Premium ($10.99/month) posts go straight up and you can remove any one with a tap.

The free plan shows five posts at a time and keeps the wall's first 30, which is enough for a small family party and a fair way to test it on your TV before the night.

Holiday party game questions

What hosts ask when planning the games.

What are the best holiday party games for adults?
Popular holiday party games for adults include white elephant, holiday trivia in teams, Christmas movie charades, minute-to-win-it challenges, name that holiday tune, a caption contest on the screen, an ugly-sweater vote and guess whose baby photo. Choose by group size: charades and Pictionary for up to about 16 people, team or phone games for more.
What games work for a large office holiday party?
Games everyone plays at once: a table quiz with each table as a team, a raffle, guess whose baby photo on the screen, a caption contest or sweater vote that people join from their phones, and a photo scavenger hunt in teams. Avoid games that need one person on stage in front of 50 colleagues.
How many games should you play at a holiday party?
Two or three, at 10 to 20 minutes each. A gift exchange plus one team game and one quick game at the start (like a bingo icebreaker) fills a party without taking it over.
What are white elephant rules?
Everyone brings one wrapped gift at an agreed budget. Players draw numbers; in turn, each person either opens a new gift or steals an opened one. Someone whose gift is stolen opens or steals again. A common rule is that a gift can only be stolen two or three times, after which it's frozen.
What holiday party games include remote employees?
Games played on a phone or on camera: an online quiz, a festive background contest, show-and-tell of a holiday tradition, a decorating kit sent ahead, and a live wall that remote staff post photos and captions to from home while the office sees the same screen.
How do you run a caption contest at a party?
Show a funny photo on the TV, ask guests to post a caption from their phone (on QR Wall they scan the code on the screen; no app), and let the captions appear on the screen as they arrive. Pick the winner by applause, or let a judge choose.

Put the sweater vote on the TV.

Set up a free wall in a minute. Guests scan the code on the screen; no app.

Make a free party wall

Free to start. No card, no commitment.

Last updated: November 2026