The Christmas Party Games That’ll Actually Get Your Guests Off Their Phones

Christmas Party Games That’ll Actually Get Your Guests Off Their Phones

Christmas party games for adults can make or break your holiday gathering, and I’ve hosted enough awkward parties to know the difference between a snooze-fest and a night people talk about until next December.

You know that sinking feeling when your guests arrive, grab their drinks, and immediately retreat to separate corners scrolling through their phones? I’ve been there. The cheese platter sits untouched, the playlist you spent three hours curating becomes background noise, and you’re left wondering why you didn’t just suggest meeting at a restaurant instead.

Here’s the thing: most adults secretly love party games, but we’re all terrified of looking ridiculous. My job is to give you the games that break through that awkwardness without making anyone want to fake a family emergency.

Why Your Last Christmas Party Fell Flat (And How Games Fix It)

I learned this the hard way during my 2019 Christmas party. Thirty adults standing around making small talk about traffic and weather while wearing uncomfortable sweaters.

The next year, I introduced just three simple games throughout the evening. People stayed for four hours. Four. Hours. At an adult party.

Games give people permission to be silly, create natural conversation starters, and most importantly, they give your wallflowers something to do besides inspecting your bookshelf.

The Party-Saving Classics That Never Get Old

Christmas Charades (But Make It Actually Fun)

Charades works because it requires zero equipment and maximum embarrassment in the best possible way.

Here’s how I run it: Write holiday phrases, movie titles, or song names on slips of paper beforehand. Make them specific enough to be challenging but not so obscure that people give up.

My go-to charades prompts:

• “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”
• “Untangling Christmas lights at 11 PM”
• “Pretending to like a terrible gift”
• “Drunk Uncle’s political rant”
• “Fighting over the last Christmas cookie”

The secret is mixing actual Christmas movies with relatable holiday scenarios. When someone acts out “assembling IKEA furniture on Christmas Eve,” trust me, everyone gets involved.

White Elephant (The Gift Exchange People Actually Enjoy)

I’m going to be honest: Secret Santa stresses everyone out. You get assigned someone you barely know, spend three weeks overthinking a $25 gift, and half the time they smile politely while clearly hating it.

White Elephant gift exchange fixes this beautifully.

The rules I use:

• Set a $20-25 budget
• Gifts should be funny, useful, or both
• Each person draws a number
• Number 1 picks and unwraps a gift
• Number 2 can steal Number 1’s gift or choose a new one
• If your gift gets stolen, you pick again
• Each gift can only be stolen three times total

The chaos is the point. Last year, a portable phone charger got stolen five times before I had to call it.

Gift ideas that always cause drama (in a good way):

• Anything with bacon on it
• Heated blankets
• Cocktail making kits
• Random kitchen gadgets nobody needs but everyone wants
• Gift cards (yes, they’re boring, yes, they get stolen constantly)

Christmas Movie Trivia (For Your Competitive Friends)

Every friend group has at least three people who’ve seen “Elf” 47 times and will fight you about whether “Die Hard” counts as a Christmas movie.

Use them.

I create a slideshow with questions ranging from stupidly easy to genuinely difficult. Divide people into teams. Offer a ridiculous prize like an ugly Christmas sweater or a bottle of cheap champagne wrapped in a bow.

Sample questions I’ve used:

• What’s the name of the Grinch’s dog? (Easy)
• What city does “The Polar Express” travel to? (Medium)
• In “Home Alone,” what topping does Kevin put on his pizza? (Hard: cheese)
• How many ghosts visit Scrooge? (Trick question: four, counting Marley)

The arguments about answers are half the entertainment.

Drinking Games That Won’t Destroy Your Party

I’m not suggesting you turn your gathering into a college frat party, but strategic drinking games add energy without anyone ending up face-down in the mashed potatoes.

Eggnog Pong (Beer Pong’s Festive Cousin)

Set up plastic cups in triangle formations on opposite ends of a table. Fill them with eggnog (spiked or not, depending on your crowd). Teams take turns trying to land ping pong balls in the opposing cups.

When you sink a ball, the other team drinks that cup.

Pro tip: Use less eggnog than you think. That stuff is thick and surprisingly filling. Quarter-full cups work better than half-full.

Christmas Would You Rather (Drink Edition)

This game reveals things about your friends you didn’t know and probably didn’t need to know.

I ask increasingly absurd “Would You Rather” questions with Christmas themes. Everyone who picks the less popular option takes a drink.

Questions that sparked the best debates:

• Would you rather fight one horse-sized elf or 100 duck-sized Santas?
• Would you rather only eat fruitcake for a month or never eat Christmas cookies again?
• Would you rather have permanent jingle bell sounds when you walk or leave glitter everywhere like a Christmas card exploded?