Christmas games for work are short, rule-light activities that coworkers play at the office Christmas party or during a December break, from trivia and bingo to gift exchange rounds and relay races. Where each one sits in the night decides how many people join: a warm-up at arrival, a main team round after the meal and a high-energy block before the close.
| Type | Ideas on this list | Best group size | Setup | Works for remote players |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icebreakers | This or That, roll and share, guess the jar, people bingo | Any size | None or low | Yes, except the jar |
| Trivia and guessing | Christmas trivia, movie emoji quiz, name that carol, charades | 10 to 100 | Low | Yes |
| Hosted game shows | Christmas Family Feud, holiday Let's Make a Deal | 20 and up | Low, with a host | Yes, with a host |
| Gift exchanges | White elephant with heads or tails, left right story | 6 to 30 | Medium | Partly |
| Active challenges | 60-second circuit, snowball and ring toss, gift-wrapping relay | 30 and up | Medium to high | No |
| Creative contests | Ugly sweater contest, cookie decorating, photo challenge, scavenger hunt, escape room | Any size | Medium | Partly |
How do you choose Christmas games for work?
Choosing Christmas games for work starts with the headcount and the length of the program. A team of 12 in a meeting room needs familiar formats with tiny rule sets, while a company holiday party for 200 needs a bigger setup: several play areas and someone on a microphone.
Pick anything you can explain in under a minute. A guest who arrives late should be able to join after watching one round, and every activity should offer a role to people who would rather keep score or judge than compete.
Then place each activity in a run of show:
- Arrival: one icebreaker people can join with a drink in hand, such as This or That or guess the jar.
- After the meal: the main team round, with a scoreboard everyone can see. Trivia and hosted game shows work best here.
- Before the close: a high-energy block with music and active challenges. eBombo runs this 45 to 60 minute block as the Hora Loca at its year-end parties in Lima and Mexico City, and the same timing fits any office Christmas party.
Mix departments on every team so new hires and veterans both have answers to give. Keep rounds short and move on while people still want more.
Christmas icebreakers for arrival
Icebreakers are the activities that run while guests arrive, with no teams and little setup. They give coworkers something to talk about before the program starts.
1. Christmas This or That
Christmas This or That is a quick vote between two options: people move to one side of the room or raise a hand. Try real tree or fake tree, eggnog or hot chocolate, gift wrap or gift bag, Elf or The Grinch. It is a fun opener that takes five minutes and no materials, and one person per round can defend their pick in a sentence.
2. Roll and share
Print a grid of festive and office questions numbered by dice rolls. Each player rolls two dice and answers the question on that square, such as "favorite Christmas movie" or "the project you're proudest of this year." The dice choose the question, so nobody feels put on the spot.
3. Guess the jar
Fill a jar with Christmas candy canes, mini ornaments or wrapped chocolates and place it near the entrance with a pen and slips. Guests write a guess as they arrive, and the emcee reveals the number before the main round. It needs almost no setup and runs on its own.
4. People bingo
Hand out bingo cards with light prompts: wore a Christmas sweater, traveled this year, learned a new skill, bakes the best Christmas cookies. Guests walk around collecting a name for each square, which starts cross-team conversations. Leave out anything about religion, family plans or money.
Christmas trivia and guessing games
Trivia and guessing games are the core of most office Christmas party programs, because teams can play at tables, on a call or both. They fit the slot right after the meal, when everyone is seated.
5. Christmas trivia with company rounds
Christmas trivia works best when it mixes holiday movie, music and tradition questions with rounds about the company: the year of the first office, the original product name, the busiest month of the year. Use teams of five to eight, a visible scoreboard and short rounds of ten questions.
6. Christmas movie emoji quiz
Show emoji strings on a screen and have teams write down the Christmas movie or holiday song, such as a house and a boy as the emoji clue for Home Alone or a snowflake and a train for The Polar Express. The quiz is fast and plays the same on a projector or a shared screen.
7. Name that carol
Play three to five seconds of a Christmas song and let tables race to name it. Keep it guess-only, with a Christmas karaoke bonus round for volunteers. A DJ can play the clips in unexpected styles to make the guessing harder.
8. Christmas charades or Pictionary
Give each team a stack of holiday prompts, such as building a snowman, wrapping presents or Santa stuck in a chimney. In charades the player acts the prompt out, and in Pictionary they draw it on a whiteboard, so let each person choose. Keep rounds under 60 seconds.
Hosted Christmas game shows
Game show formats turn the whole room into contestants, with someone at the front running the round. They fit the main slot of the party, when every team is seated and the scoreboard is on screen.
9. Christmas Family Feud
Survey your coworkers before the Christmas party, then run a Christmas Family Feud round where teams guess the top survey answers to questions like "name something people bring back from the break room." A live host with buzzers and scoring keeps the pace up. eBombo runs its Family Feud team building experience with professional hosts in person, virtual or hybrid, and the questions can carry a holiday theme.
10. Holiday Let's Make a Deal
In a holiday Let's Make a Deal round, players hold a wrapped prize and choose between keeping it or trading it for a mystery box. Add a Price Is Right round where guests guess the price of festive items placed around the venue.
Christmas gift exchange games
Gift exchange games add a twist to swapping presents, with a coin, a story or a steal deciding who ends up with what. They work best with 6 to 30 people and a spend cap announced ahead of time.
11. White elephant with heads or tails
In this version, everyone brings one wrapped gift within the budget. On each turn the player flips a coin: heads means opening a new present from the table, tails means stealing one that is already unwrapped. Cap steals at two per present so the round ends on time.
12. Left right story
Guests sit in a circle holding wrapped presents while the emcee reads a holiday story. Every time the story says "left" or "right," the presents move in that direction, and each guest keeps whatever they hold at the end. If your team prefers a name draw, see these Secret Santa ideas for work.
Active Christmas challenges and stations
Active challenges are short physical contests played in rounds or at stations, and they belong in the high-energy block near the end of the night. Each one needs a seated or tabletop version so everyone can take part.
13. Christmas minute-to-win-it circuit
A minute-to-win-it circuit is a set of 60-second Christmas challenges at three to five stations: balance an ornament on a spoon, move marshmallows between bowls with a straw, stack cups into a Christmas tree. Rotate teams every 10 to 15 minutes so nobody waits in line.
14. Snowball toss and reindeer ring toss
In a snowball toss, players throw white ping-pong balls into cups at different distances. The reindeer ring toss swaps the cups for a teammate wearing inflatable Christmas antlers. Assign points per cup and keep a table-height target for anyone who prefers to play seated.
15. Gift-wrapping relay
Each team wraps a Christmas gift box against the clock, passing it along the line. Judge on neatness and creativity as well as speed, and use branded Christmas paper so the finished boxes look good in photos.
Creative Christmas contests
Creative contests give quieter employees a way to play side by side without performing in front of everyone. Most run in the background of the party while other rounds happen.
16. Ugly sweater contest
This contest works for adults of every style when the categories are inclusive: most creative, best handmade detail, best thrifted look, best team match. Set up an accessory table with tinsel and clip-on ornaments so nobody has to buy anything to take part.
17. Cookie or gingerbread decorating
Give each team plain Christmas cookies or a gingerbread kit, decorating supplies and a 10-minute limit. Label allergens clearly, and let everyone take their creation home after the vote.
18. Photo booth challenge
Set categories like best team pose or best recreation of a company milestone, and give each team a prop box. A photo booth with a 360 camera or magic mirror turns the challenge into a corner people visit on their own all night.
19. Scavenger hunt or candy cane hunt
Hide candy canes or Christmas clues around the office and send teams out for 20 to 30 minutes, with photo proof for each find. Make a few candy canes worth bonus points.
20. Christmas escape room
Turn a conference room into a Christmas puzzle: clues inside stockings, a lock code hidden in a Christmas carol, a final riddle about the company year. Groups of six to eight work best, with a 30 to 45 minute limit.
Christmas party games for large groups and small teams
Group size changes how a Christmas round runs. The same Christmas trivia that works with 15 people at one table needs teams and a screen with 150.
Office Christmas games for large groups
A big crowd needs structure. Run several stations with the same timing, signage and a simple scorecard, and mix energy levels: a trivia table, a bingo wall and an active corner. A host with a microphone and a visible scoreboard keeps 200 people on one program, and a DJ fills the gaps between rounds.
Christmas games for small teams
Small teams of 5 to 30 people feel awkwardness fast, because there is no crowd to hide in. Choose familiar formats with one-sentence rules, such as This or That or a gift swap, and give each person a role so nobody becomes the main event.
Remote and hybrid options
Remote and hybrid rounds let people on a video call play on equal terms with the people in the office. The rule is one scoreboard, with answers taken by chat or polling so remote players are not fighting the venue's audio.
Christmas trivia, bingo and Family Feud all convert well to a virtual format. If an activity uses food or craft supplies, send the same kit to remote players and confirm delivery two weeks before the virtual holiday party. For a fully hosted round, a classic trivia session runs online with team scoring across categories.
Keep cameras optional and give remote players a job, such as judging holiday costumes from the screen.
Which Christmas party games should you skip?
The ones to skip at work depend on embarrassment, alcohol or private information. HR teams flag Never Have I Ever, dares, drinking games and roast-style awards, since each needs someone to feel exposed to be fun.
Watch for hidden costs too: costumes people must buy, gift budgets above what everyone can afford and physical challenges with no seated option. Part of the team may not celebrate Christmas, so keep the framing light and open some trivia rounds to winter traditions from other cultures.
Prizes for office Christmas party games
Prizes work best when every round has a small one. Decide the prize flow before the party, from participation draws to round winners and a team award.
Branded items make good prizes because they last past the holiday season. A custom catalog of corporate merchandising, such as tumblers, hoodies or desk items, lets you match each prize to the party theme and order it with the rest of the event.
Gift cards and holiday snack boxes also work for remote winners, since they ship or arrive by email.
Plan the games with the rest of the holiday party
The fun runs smoothly when the games are part of the event plan from the start, with the emcee and the schedule decided together. For a December holiday party, book production at least eight weeks ahead, since venues and hosts fill up early. For activities that run outside the party, see these Christmas team building activities.
eBombo designs and produces the full corporate Christmas party, including the games, hosts, photo station and prizes, for groups of 20 to 5,000 people. Message us on WhatsApp or fill out the form, and you will get a proposal in under 48 hours.
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