18 Christmas Party Games Just for the Adults

Ornament Guess

Start your Christmas party with a simple guessing game. When a guest walks in, hand them a slip of paper and ask them to guess how many ornaments are on your Christmas tree. Whoever gets closest to the actual number wins a prize. If there are two or more people who guess the number correctly, put the entries in a bowl and pick one at random.

Christmas Carol Pictionary Relay

The classic drawing games gets a holiday twist in this activity. Guests form teams and then race to draw popular Christmas carols. Once their teammates know which Christmas carol is being depicted, they'll have to start singing it to get the points.

Candy Canes

If you're a fan of the card game Spoons, then you'll love this holiday-themed variation. It's played the same way as the classic card game, but instead of grabbing spoons, participants slyly take a candy cane. This is best for small groups, as the game works well with up to six people.

Christmas Find Out Who

How fast can your guests get to know each other? Print out a list of questions, such as "Who has never had a white Christmas?" and "Who went Christmas caroling last year?" Give each guest a piece of paper and a pen—they'll have to ask people if they fit any of the questions, which breaks the ice and encourages mingling. The first person to get all of the questions answered wins a small prize.

Christmas Movie Trivia

Test your guests' knowledge of favorite holiday films. Print Christmas movie trivia sheets and either hand them over to your guests to fill out on their own or host a live trivia game. Everyone thinks they know their favorite Christmas movies, so this will really get some people excited.

Christmas Movie Drinking Game

Choose your favorite movie, whether A Christmas Story, Elf, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, or How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and put it on the TV. Write out a list of rules that follow the movie—when one of those rules occurs in the movie, everyone takes a drink.

Christmas Charades

Charades can be a great ice-breaker and, because all of the clues are Christmas-themed, you keep your guests in the holiday spirit. When you come up with your Christmas charade list, consider using holiday phrases or titles of Christmas movies or songs. Good options include:

• "Jingle Bells"
• Snow angels
• The Nutcracker
• Decorating a Christmas tree
• "Silent Night"

Two Truths and a Lie

Add a Christmas twist to this popular ice breaker by setting the theme of "Worst Christmas Gift Ever Received" and have each guest come up with two that are true and one that is a lie. Can your guests spot which one is real and which one isn't?

Blind Christmas Tree Ripping

Give your guests green craft paper and see who can rip and construct the best-looking Christmas tree while blindfolded. To make the game harder, give them other colors of paper and tell them to rip out and place ornaments for their tree, too.

Christmas Gift Exchange Game

If your party includes a gift exchange, play this hilarious Christmas gift exchange game before you open the presents. It uses fun poems that will get everyone laughing while they're exchanging gifts by passing them from left to right.

Merry Christmas Paper Plate Game

For this Christmas game that is suitable for adults or kids, you'll need paper plates and markers. The party-goers draw a Christmas scene on a paper plate—but they do it while holding the plate over their head. The best scene wins a prize.

Snowball Throw

If you want to engage in a game that's a little more physical, bring out the marshmallows and let the "snowball" fight begin. Just be sure to get your guests on board to clean up after the fight!

Party Preparedness Pop Quiz

Do your guests like to go all out in what they wear for your Christmas party? This game will truly reward those who embrace the ugly Christmas sweater. The winner of this game is the person who is wearing the most holiday-themed items.

Two Spoons Ornament Relay

This Christmas party game is a spin on your traditional relay race. Instead of a spoon and ​an egg, your guests will have to carefully race with a spoon and ornament. If they drop the ornament, that person is out. The team that does it the fastest without dropping too many ornaments wins.

Christmas Party Scavenger Hunt Game

You worked hard to decorate for your Christmas party, and it's time your guests realized it with this fun little game. Print out a scavenger list that will have guests rushing around the room to find as many Christmas objects and icons that they can.

Christmas Sing-a-long Surprise

If you have outgoing guests who love music, they're going to adore this Christmas party game that requires them to sing. See how well your guests can keep up as the classic carol "The 12 Days of Christmas" is sung as quickly as possible.

Christmas Card Couples

Cut Christmas cards in half, and when a guest arrives, hand them half a card. Their goal is to mingle with the other guests to find their other half. Take it to the next level by assigning the duo to be game partners for the event.

What's On Your Phone?

The Christmas version of "What's On Your Phone?" will have your guests scrambling to find Christmas-related songs, photos, texts, and more all on their phones. Download a free printable for this game that will steer the guests in the right direction. The person or team with the most points at the end is the winner.