10 Christmas Games to Play with Family for a Holiday Full of Laughter
Looking for Christmas games to play with your family and make your holiday gathering even more memorable? Discover 10 simple and entertaining games that bring children, parents, and grandparents together for a festive time full of laughter. Whether you are gathered after Christmas dinner or spending the afternoon together, these ideas will help you create wonderful memories around the Christmas tree.
- The Christmas Quiz: Who Knows the Most About Christmas?
To kick off the festivities, nothing beats a Christmas quiz. It is easy to organize and gives everyone a chance to participate, from young children to grandparents.
Prepare a few questions about Christmas traditions, classic movies, songs, presents, and holiday food. You can also include questions about your own family to make the game more personal.
Here are a few examples:
Which country is often associated with the origins of the modern Christmas tree tradition?
In which movie is a young boy accidentally left home alone during the holidays?
Which traditional French Christmas dessert is shaped like a log?
Who in your family starts talking about Christmas the earliest?
Split into teams to mix different generations, and award one point for every correct answer. You could even prepare a small symbolic prize for the winning team, such as the right to choose the next Christmas movie.
- Christmas Charades: Act Out the Holiday Spirit
Charades is a timeless family favorite. The rules are simple: one person must get everyone else to guess a word or phrase using gestures only, without speaking or making any sounds.
To keep things festive, choose Christmas-themed words and situations:
Santa Claus coming down a chimney
A reindeer pulling a sleigh
Someone unwrapping a surprise present
A person decorating the Christmas tree
A child discovering presents on Christmas morning
A guest tasting Christmas cake
Write the ideas on small pieces of paper and put them in a bowl. Players take turns picking a piece of paper and acting out what is written on it. Everyone else must guess before the time runs out.
This game is especially fun when different generations play together. Adults making exaggerated gestures can be just as hilarious as children trying to act out their clues.
- The Mystery Gift Game: Guess What's Inside the Box
Have a few small objects around the house? Turn them into a guessing game! Place an object inside an opaque box or a fabric bag. Each player must try to identify it without looking.
To make the challenge more interesting, allow players to use only their sense of touch. A small decoration, a ribbon, an unbreakable Christmas bauble, or an everyday household object can be surprisingly difficult to recognize.
Here's how to organize a round:
Choose several objects with different shapes and textures.
Pass the box or bag around to each participant.
Give everyone a few seconds to feel the object.
Ask players to write down their guesses before revealing the answer.
Award one point for each correct guess.
This is an ideal activity for keeping children entertained while adults finish preparing dinner. It requires very little equipment and works just as well with five people as it does with fifteen.
- The Chameleon: Find the Impostor at the Table
What if one member of your family had to blend in with everyone else without knowing the secret word? That's the idea behind The Chameleon, a perfect game for adding a little mystery to your Christmas gathering.
In YEK IT!, players must discuss a topic while trying to identify the person who doesn't have the same information as everyone else. The Chameleon must improvise, listen carefully, and avoid giving themselves away.
Imagine playing a Christmas-themed round. The conversation revolves around decorations, presents, or holiday food. Everyone seems to know what they're talking about, but one person has to figure out the topic without revealing that they don't know it.
This game is especially entertaining with teenagers and adults, but families can adapt the topics for younger children too. It tests observation skills and bluffing abilities while creating plenty of unexpected conversations.
- The Worst Christmas Story Contest
Everyone has experienced a little holiday mishap: a terrible present, a burnt recipe, or a decoration that looks nothing like it did in the picture. Why not turn those moments into a game?
The idea is simple: everyone invents or tells an especially unbelievable Christmas story. You can choose to share a true story or imagine the most ridiculous situation possible.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Santa visits the wrong house and leaves all the presents with the neighbors.
Christmas dinner is saved by the family dog.
The Christmas tree falls over just as everyone poses for a family photo.
A mysterious present changes hands three times before anyone opens it.
At the end of each story, everyone votes for the funniest, most unbelievable, or best-told tale. You can even add a special category for the story that sounds completely true but is entirely made up.
This game requires no equipment and encourages everyone to use their imagination and creativity.
- The Ghost Word: Guess the Secret Word
Here's another idea for getting everyone involved without needing any props. The Ghost Word is based on a secret word that some players know and must help others guess without revealing it directly.
For a Christmas-themed version, choose words such as "garland," "chocolate," "sleigh," "fireplace," or "present." Players give clues while everyone else tries to work out the secret word.
The challenge is finding the right balance. A clue that's too obvious might reveal the answer immediately, while one that's too vague might leave everyone completely lost.
You can also organize a special round featuring words connected to family memories. This creates opportunities for inside jokes and funny references that only certain family members understand.
With YEK IT!, you can find The Ghost Word among the app's games and enjoy a round without having to prepare all the cards yourself.
- The Christmas Song Challenge: Guess the Tune First
Music is an essential part of the holiday atmosphere. Take advantage of it by organizing a Christmas music quiz that brings the whole family together.
The idea is to play a few seconds of a song. The first person to identify the title or artist wins a point. You can choose traditional carols, international Christmas classics, or songs from holiday movies.
To keep things interesting:
Ask players to identify a song from its opening notes.
Hum a song without singing the lyrics.
Ask players to complete a familiar line.
Mix older and newer songs so every generation has a chance to shine.
Make sure you choose songs suited to the ages of your participants. Grandparents may know the traditional classics, while children might recognize songs from recent animated movies.
- The Suitcase: Pack Santa's Bag
The Suitcase is an ideal memory game for a family Christmas gathering. The traditional idea is to build a growing list of objects that each player must remember and repeat in the correct order.
For a Christmas version, imagine you're packing Santa's suitcase before his big journey. The first player names an item to pack. The next player repeats that item and adds another. The third player must remember the entire list before adding something new.
For example:
A red hat
A box of chocolates
A stuffed reindeer
A string of fairy lights
A pair of socks
A wrapped present
As the list grows, remembering everything becomes increasingly difficult. Mistakes often lead to laughter, especially when someone accidentally invents an item that was never mentioned.
It's a particularly convenient activity when you want to play without screens, cards, or any preparation.
- Christmas Would You Rather?: Pick Your Side
Would you rather receive one incredible present or ten small surprise gifts? Spend Christmas in a snowy mountain cabin or somewhere sunny? Eat only desserts during Christmas dinner or never eat chocolate again?
Would You Rather? is a perfect game for discovering your loved ones' tastes and habits. Each player must choose between two options, sometimes funny and sometimes surprisingly difficult.
For a Christmas-themed round, try questions such as:
Would you rather decorate the Christmas tree or prepare the holiday meal?
Would you rather open all your presents on Christmas Eve or wait until Christmas morning?
Would you rather live in a snowy cabin or in a house filled with glowing Christmas decorations?
Would you rather sing in front of the whole family or dance alone in the middle of the living room?
The fun doesn't stop at choosing an answer. Ask everyone to explain their choice. Unexpected justifications are often the funniest part of the game.
With YEK IT!, the Would You Rather? game makes it easy to introduce new dilemmas and get the whole family involved without having to come up with every question yourself.
- The Trap: Watch Out for the Other Players!
To finish this selection, it's time for bluffing and suspicion with The Trap. This party game is ideal for families who enjoy challenges, unexpected twists, and a little strategy.
The idea is to pay close attention to the other players and avoid falling into the traps that appear during the game. As the round unfolds, you'll need to observe, think carefully, and try to outsmart your opponents.
To keep things in the Christmas spirit, you can add some fun, friendly challenges to your evening: tell an embarrassing story, imitate a reindeer, or sing a few notes of a Christmas carol. The important thing is to make sure everyone has fun without making anyone feel uncomfortable.
The Trap brings a different kind of energy to quieter games and lets you finish the evening with a little suspense.
How to Make Your Family Christmas Games a Success
To make sure everyone enjoys the activities, the most important thing is to choose games that suit the people taking part. A family with young children won't necessarily play the same way as a group made up entirely of adults.
A few simple tips can make all the difference:
Alternate between calm games and more energetic activities.
Choose games with rules that are easy to explain in a few sentences.
Create teams that mix different ages.
Never force anyone to participate in a game that makes them uncomfortable.
Keep rounds short so everyone gets a chance to try different activities.
Leave room for improvisation: the best memories aren't always planned.
Finally, don't try to fill every minute of the evening. Leave time for conversations, photos, and spontaneous moments too. Games are there to bring generations closer together, not to turn Christmas into a constant competition.
Find Your Christmas Party Games with YEK IT!
Don't feel like preparing cards, printing questions, or looking for props before your guests arrive? YEK IT! brings together a collection of party games you can launch directly on your iPhone, with everyone playing together using just one phone.
You'll find games including DIVERSION, Polis Land, The Guardian, The Trap, The Chameleon, The Ghost Word, The Accomplice, Would You Rather?, Yes or No, The Tick, Mime It, The Suitcase, Soulmate, and I Know Everything. There's plenty of variety to match different moods and find an activity that suits your family.
For your next Christmas gathering, put individual screens aside and bring everyone together around a single phone. Try YEK IT! for free on iPhone and make your Christmas a time filled with laughter, surprises, and memories to share.