The sleigh bells are ringing which can only mean one thing… it is Christmas time! When you’re stuffed from your Christmas dinner, and you’ve had a chance for a second post-dinner meal, then there is nothing like a Christmas party game to get you up and laughing. So put away the Monopoly this year and read on to find out what Christmas dinner party games you and your family should be playing this year!
Whether it leads to tears of laughter or family mayhem, a good Christmas party game is part and parcel of what makes the day so special; it is not every day that all of your loved ones can be together going head-to-head across a scrabble board. However, if you have played Monopoly, Cluedo or Pictionary for the last decade and are looking to switch it up this year, then check out our list of the ultimate Christmas party games. A disclaimer… we cannot be held responsible for any family squabbles that may ensue, but if you are brave, go forth and laugh the night away with some of the best Christmas party games we have seen this year!
This is what happens if take the classic Simon says party game and dress it up for Christmas. Split your group in half and have each half stand in a line, shoulder-to-shoulder, and standing directly opposite to the other half of the group doing the same, a parallel set of lines. Between the line of the players place a gift bag in between each pair of opposing players. Then, begin calling out random body parts like shoulder, elbow, knees etc, and each player must touch that part as they would in Simon says, but then you must randomly call out “present”! The players then race to grab the present in front of them before their opposing player. Whoever grabs it first remains in the game and the other player, who did not, is out. The remaining players place their gift bags back down and reshuffle to be in a set of parallel lines again, and the process continues. When there are only two players left, they battle it out to win the present!
This one is bound to get everyone laughing and running around the living room in a flurry of chaos, so put away your grandmother’s vase, because there is every likelihood of some unruly behaviour. Blow up a balloon for each player and tie it to their ankle with some string. Now, put some Christmas music on and have everyone try to pop everyone else's balloon whilst protecting their own. Whoever is the last balloon standing being the winner. You are bound to see everyone’s different personalities to come out in this one so look out for the person that goes crazy trying to pop everyone else’s balloon and the one that hides in the corner to protect theirs!
This one is definitely messy, but if you are up for it, is great fun! Again, split your group in two and have each team sit in a line, one behind the other. Each team member should have a bowl and a blindfold. The person at the front of the line will have a bowl full of cotton balls and must pass their bowl over their head and try to get as many in the bowl as the person behind them. Obviously, each person is blindfolded so trying to catch the cotton balls is especially tricky and will definitely lead to a mouth full of fluff! Each team member must continue to pass their bowl full, or not so full, of cotton balls over their head to the next player. Whichever team has the most cotton balls in the last player’s bowl, wins! This game is normally played with buckets full of water so count yourselves lucky that your Christmas best won’t be soaked!
This one is another source of embarrassing video opportunities that will have you laughing until the New Year! If you have some family members that are particularly tone deaf then this is the time to put them centre stage and give them a chance to redeem their reputation. Has the player on the hot seat put on a pair of headphones hooked up to a phone or laptop playing a random playlist so that they can’t hear themselves talk? Then, hand them cards with titles of Christmas songs on them and have them try to hum it when they can’t hear themselves over the other completely different song. Have their other team players try to guess the song that they are most likely doing a terrible job at humming. Whichever team gets the most correct answers is the winner. Alternatively, if you want an easier version, have the song playing through the headphones be the song you are asking them to hum! Happy carolling!
This one requires a bit more setup, but the outcome will definitely be worth it! Cue the calculated and strategic game players that you normally find counting their Monopoly money under the table. Set out a space on the floor or a table and use coloured tape to mark out sections at the end of the table or section on the floor. Assign each section a prize or forfeit and the object is to roll the wrapping paper and have it stop in the section you want. Push it too hard and land in a forfeit section that sees you washing up for the evening or get it just right and bag yourself a prize. A sneaky tip from us…. place the tape sections quite close together for a nail-biting game that will drive the strategic players mad!
Pass the parcel just got a Christmas make-over and is ready to get the family scrambled. Start with a roll of cling film and begin wrapping up little prizes, making sure you leave a good few layers of cling film between each prize, and even add in a few duds along the way to add to the fun. Roll up the prizes and layered cling film into a big ball and then hand it to one player. Set a Christmas soundtrack playing and give the player to the right of the ‘unwrapper’ two dice and let them roll until they get a double number. Whilst they are attempting to get a double, the other player unwraps the snowball gaining any prizes or duds that come out. When the dice roller gets a double number, the snowball must be passed onto them to begin unwrapping and the dice passed to their right so that they can unwrap the ball! Continue this until you reach them centre of the ball for the ultimate prize. Race the dice roller to uncover as many prices as possible! This will be frantic and probably a bit messy but a whole load of fun!
Scatter some marshmallows all over a table or flat surface and take turns wearing a blindfold and using the spatula to scoop as many marshmallows into a bowl as you can! The person with the most marshmallows in the bowl at the end wins. This will be a hilarious game to play with all members of the family, big and small, and is fairly simple to do with large numbers of people. We are sure that the competitive members of the family will drive themselves mad trying to get those marshmallows into the bowl and their lack of sight will offer the family some great video opportunities to laugh at for weeks to come. Even better, why not split the group into teams with one bowl each and have all members of the team trying to fill their bowl blindfolded, whilst one person will have to sit out to play referee, the chaos that follows will be great family fun!
If you want to plough your efforts into beating your friends and family and don’t want to worry about cooking the Christmas dinner, why not Nomad your night and have a Nomad chef come to prepare you and your loved ones the flavour-filled Christmas dinner that balances the homemade taste you crave with a perfect professional twist that will please your palate! With none of the hassle of cleaning, cooking, or washing up, you can make sure you are in top form when you start playing the Christmas party games. Your family won’t know what hit them, so head over to our website to enquire with a Nomad chef now!
