Office Christmas Party Games Coworkers Won't Dread
The office holiday party is on the calendar, and someone asked you to “plan a few games.” Now you need ideas that work for the quiet folks and the loud ones. They also have to fit in the break room and can’t take an hour to set up.
The games below are grouped by how you’ll use them: warm-ups while people arrive, team games for big groups, low-key games for small teams, quick games for a meeting, and contests that run all season. Each one tells you what you need, so you can pick a few and start gathering supplies.
Pick Games by Group Size and Time
Start with two questions: how many people will play, and how much time do you have? Most office parties work best with one mingling game, one main team game and one gift exchange or contest. That adds up to about 45 minutes of games and leaves plenty of time for food and talking.
Your Party
Games That Fit
Time
People arriving at different times
How Many Ornaments, Desk Personalities, Baby Photo Guess Who
Runs in the background
Large group (30 or more)
Office Reindeer Games, Paper Snowball Fight, Charades Tournament
20 to 40 min
Small team (under 15)
Holiday Two Truths and a Lie, Blindfold Tree Drawing, Hot Bow
10 to 20 min
Team meeting or video call
Holiday ABCs, Name That Christmas Tune, Emoji Movie Quiz
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Vicente Sanchez, Stephen F. Austin State University
Easy games for big teams, small teams and quick meetings, plus a simple plan to keep the fun on schedule.
Games to Play While People Arrive
People rarely show up at the same time. These games give early arrivals something to do and get people talking before the main event.
How Many Ornaments. Put a card and a pen next to the tree and have guests guess how many ornaments are on it. Count them ahead of time, announce the closest guess once everyone is there, and give the winner a small prize.
Desk Personalities. Ask each person to bring one item from their desk, like a mug, a stress ball or a favorite pen. Put a small number on each item and write the owner’s name on a hidden sticker underneath. Guests guess who owns what, and the most correct answers wins.
Baby Photo Guess Who. A week before the party, collect childhood holiday photos. Number them and hang them on a wall. Guests write down their guesses as they walk by. It’s one of the best games for helping new hires put names to faces.
What’s in the Stocking? Fill a stocking with 10 small holiday items, like a jingle bell, a candy cane, a bow and a mini pine cone. Tie it closed and pass it around. Players feel the stocking and write down everything they can name. The most correct answers wins.
Team Games for Large Groups
With a big group, the goal is to keep everyone playing at once instead of watching a few people play. Teams of six to eight work well.
Office Reindeer Games. Set up four or five stations around the room using the games below, plus a holiday trivia table. Teams spend five minutes at each station, then rotate when you ring a bell. A scorekeeper tracks points on a whiteboard. Because every team is busy at the same time, this works for 40 people or 100. Give the winning team a cheap trophy, like a reindeer spray-painted gold, and bring it back every year.
Paper Snowball Fight. Save scrap printer paper for a few weeks and crumple it into snowballs. Run a strip of painter’s tape down the middle of the room to make two sides. Each team has two minutes to throw as many snowballs as they can onto the other side without crossing the line. The side with the fewest snowballs when time runs out wins.
Candy Cane Relay. Give each player their own chopstick and put a bowl of unwrapped mini candy canes at one end of the room. Players hold the chopstick in their mouth, keep their hands behind their back and try to hook candy canes. Then they carry them to the team’s stocking. The team with the most candy canes after three minutes wins.
Toilet Paper Snowman. Pair people up and give each pair a roll of toilet paper. One person wraps their partner from head to toe. The first finished snowman wins, and a hat and scarf make it a great photo.
Wrap Race. Hand out same-size boxes, wrapping paper, tape and ribbon. The fastest wrapper wins, but take five seconds off for the neatest job so speed isn’t everything.
Christmas Charades Tournament. Write holiday movies, songs and traditions on slips of paper. Teams face off in quick two-minute rounds, and winners move up a bracket until one team is left.
Genius Tip
Running stations? Create one sign up with a slot for each station lead and each supply, like "2 rolls of painter's tape" or "1 bag of mini candy canes." Slot limits stop five people from bringing tape while nobody brings prizes, and automatic reminders go out the day before.
Smaller teams can play games that rely more on stories and laughs than on running around.
Holiday Two Truths and a Lie. Each person shares three “worst gift I ever got” stories. Two are true and one is made up. The group votes on the lie. You’ll learn more about your coworkers in 15 minutes than in a year of meetings.
Blindfold Christmas Tree Drawing. Give everyone a sturdy paper plate and a marker. Players hold the plate on top of their head and draw while the host calls out steps: draw a tree, add ornaments, put a star on top, add presents underneath. Then everyone takes the plate down to see what they drew.
Blind Paper Tree. Hand out green paper. Players hold it behind their back and tear it into a Christmas tree shape without looking. The group votes on the best tree.
Hot Bow. Play it like hot potato, using a big gift bow. Pass the bow while the music plays. Whoever is holding it when the music stops is out.
Holiday Taste Test. Set out small cups of seasonal treats, like eggnog, peppermint bark and gingerbread. Players taste each one and guess what it is. Post the ingredients nearby so anyone with a food allergy can skip what they need to.
Quick Christmas Games for Work Meetings
Not every team gets a party. These games fit into the first or last 10 minutes of a December meeting and work on video calls too.
Holiday ABCs. Teams write the alphabet down a page and fill in a holiday word for each letter. The first team to finish all 26 letters wins. On a video call, use breakout rooms and a shared doc.
Name That Christmas Tune. Play the first three seconds of a holiday song from your phone. The first person to name it gets a point.
Emoji Movie Quiz. Make a slide of Christmas movie titles spelled out in emojis. For example, a house, a boy and an airplane is “Home Alone.” Players write their answers in the chat.
Holiday Would You Rather. Ask questions like “Would you rather wrap every gift or cook the whole holiday meal?” It’s a quick way to get people talking. Find more prompts in our would you rather questions.
Holiday Contests That Run All Season
Contests spread the fun over a few weeks, and you can announce the winners at the party.
Most Festive Workspace. Give people two weeks to decorate their desk or office door. On party day, a few judges walk around and pick winners. Remote workers can join with a decorated video background.
Ugly Sweater Contest. Mention it in the invite so people have time to plan. Use more than one award, like Ugliest Overall, Best DIY and Best Use of Lights, so more people win.
Cookie or Dessert Contest. Have bakers bring a dozen cookies or one dessert, and give each guest a ballot. Ask bakers to put a card next to their dish that lists common allergens.
Fun Employee Awards. Hand out light awards like “Best Snack Drawer,” “Most Likely to Reply All” or “Coffee Pot Hero.” Keep them kind. The goal is to make everyone feel seen, not to embarrass anyone.
Genius Tip
If coworkers are chipping in a few dollars for a prize pool or the cookie contest trophy, add Payments to your party sign up. People pay when they sign up, and you can see who has paid without chasing anyone down at the coffee maker.
A gift exchange is often the part of the party people remember most. Set a spending limit, usually $15 to $25, and make it optional.
Secret Santa. Everyone who wants to play draws a name and buys a gift for that person. Have each player fill out a quick likes and dislikes card so gifts land well. Our Secret Santa gift ideas for coworkers can help.
Ornament Exchange. Each person brings one wrapped ornament. Put them all in a pile and let people pick one on the way out. It’s simple, low cost and easy for any group size.
Giving a Gift to the Boss?
Group Gifts lets everyone add what they want to a shared gift for a manager or a coworker who's leaving. You get one total, and nobody has to track cash.
Games go smoothly when a few people share the work and the plan is set before the party. Start about three weeks out.
Keep every game optional. Some people would rather watch, so give them a job like judge, scorekeeper or DJ. Skip games that need lots of physical contact, and choose ones that work without alcohol so everyone can join in.
Three Weeks Before
Two Weeks Before
Party Day
Make Party Planning the Easy Part
Gather volunteers, supplies and RSVPs for your office holiday party in one free sign up.
What are the best Christmas party games for a large office group?
Choose games where everyone plays at once. Office Reindeer Games, with teams rotating between stations, works for 40 to 100 people. A paper snowball fight and a charades tournament are also good choices because whole teams compete together.
I only have 20 minutes for games at our work party. Which ones should I pick?
Pick one quick team game and one game that runs in the background. Holiday ABCs or Name That Christmas Tune takes about 10 minutes, and How Many Ornaments can run while people eat. Save the gift exchange for the end so you finish on a high note.
How do I make office Christmas games inclusive for people who don’t celebrate Christmas?
Call it a holiday or winter party and choose games built around the season, like the paper snowball fight, a wrap race or winter trivia. Keep every game optional, and give people other ways to join in, like judging or keeping score.
What are some quick Christmas games to play in a work meeting?
Holiday ABCs, Name That Christmas Tune, an emoji movie quiz and a five-question trivia round each take 5 to 10 minutes. They all work on video calls, so remote teammates can play too.
Can teachers use these games for a school staff holiday party?
Yes. The arrival games, Holiday Two Truths and a Lie and the cookie contest all fit well in a teachers’ lounge. Many schools use a sign up so staff can claim snacks and supplies without a long reply-all email.
What prizes work well for office Christmas games?
Small prizes work best, usually $5 to $15. Think gift cards for coffee, holiday candy or a funny trophy that passes to a new winner each year. If coworkers want to chip in for a bigger prize, you can collect the money with SignUpGenius Payments.
How do I organize supplies and helpers for office party games?
Make a list of every station and supply, then turn it into a sign up with one slot per item. People can claim what they’ll bring, slot limits prevent doubles, and automatic reminders make sure everything shows up on party day.
Test Your Christmas Knowledge with These Trivia Questions
