christmas games & activities
Check out these Christmas ideas. Not all games linked to will be suitable for all groups, or even any youth group. Always check the game and complete a risk assessment. Do use these to springboard to different ideas. And if you've got ideas for games or know of other resources, please let me know.
candy cane challenges
Play team challenges using candy canes:
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Eat Brussels sprouts using candy canes as chopsticks
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Move marshmallows (even mini ones!) from one plate to another using two candy canes.
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Stand the team in a line, each holding onto a long string. Team needs to slide a candy cane from one end of the string to the other by raising and lowering it.
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Play pool with table tennis balls using candy canes as cues.
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You will break lots of candy canes so have plenty.
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Find more team challenges here.
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rewriting a christmas classic:
a christmas carol
Ask each team to write a new verse to a well-known Christmas carol. Have them pick a card to decide which carol. You may need to have existing words ready, and maybe even give them access to a recording of it. Don't assume they'll all know them.
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When they are finished (give them five minutes), they have to sing their new verse.
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Give points for words, humour and performance.
the 12 days of christmas
Give the team a bit longer (8-10 minutes) and ask them to rewrite the 12 Days of Christmas for the 21st century.
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Again points for words, humour, performance, but add in actions.
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Look forward to "12 Iphones ringing."
santa sounds Quiz
Depending on the size of your leadership team (hey, you could add in other church staff/key volunteers if your youth would know them), ask your leaders to record themselves putting on a Santa voice to record a different Christmas message:
'Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas" is a good start, but they could go for Ho! Ho! Ho! then a Christmas movie quote. You can download some ideas below.
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In teams, your young people need to guess the Santa.
guess the gift
Wrap interestingly-shaped presents. Players have to guess what it is, first by looking, then by touch.
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You can play in teams together, or as a relay.
putting it all together
If you're organising a Christmas party, why not play some individual minute-to-win-it games (like Pin the tail on the reindeer) round different areas in between playing team games or doing quizzes in teams? Put in variety: some cerebral games/quizzes, some movement games, some relays, etc. Don't make all the quiz rounds about Christmas movies or all about Christmas music. Mix them up.
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Teams win points on each round/game and the winning team gets prizes at the end.​​
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Try to make the setting as pretty as you can. That's not really my strength, so I draft in other people to help. Don't lose sleep over this. Whatever you can manage, by the grace of God, the love of your community and its leaders, and your team's creativity and energy will make it a special time.
Find other ways to raise the bar in my youth ministry book here.
Heads, shoulders, knees & gift
Classic youth group game (it's normally shoe instead of gift). Everyone stands in two rows facing another player. Put a present between them. Shout a different part of the body e.g. head, shoulders, knees, elbows, ears. Each player must put both hands on that part of their own body.
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When you shout 'gift', they both need to grab the present. First to grab it wins that round. You can play knock out until you only have one winner.
Read more in my book about using games in ministry here.
act a christmas movie
Place group in teams. Give each team a Christmas movie to act out without words. Examples include Home Alone, It's a Wonderful Life, Elf, Polar Express, etc. Teams have five minutes to prepare, then 30 seconds to act it out.
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Next team then gets to guess what the movie was, gaining points if they get it. Otherwise, the next team has a guess.
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We gave points for charisma, humour, accuracy and participation. Funniest thing at our party was having someone who hadn't watched any of the movies on 'Accuracy'...!
Christmas karaoke 1
Place group in teams. Say a word on a Christmas theme e.g. snow, winter, Christmas, reindeer, tree, holly, Bethlehem, angels, kings, Mary, Jesus, star, Santa, shepherd, etc. First team to sing a Christmas song with the word in wins a point. Add in an inflatable mic that they have to grab to start singing.
Christmas karaoke 2
One player from each team stand round an inflatable mic. Start playing a Christmas song or carol and when it's underway stop the music. The first person to grab the mic and continue singing wins a point for their team. Move on to next players.
paper plate christmas scene
Give each young person a paper plate. They put that on top of their head and use felt tips to draw a Christmas scene/ snowman/ Christmas trees/ whatever you like. Anything recognisable wins a prize!
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Idea from
christmas charades
Loads of different ways to play charades, but you can play in teams, with each team having a number of clues as a relay, which makes it really fast-moving. First person acts out first clue, second runs up to get second, then continue until they've gone through all the clues. First team to finish wins.
hungry reindeer
Scatter large marshmallows in the middle of a large table and place a paper plate in front of each player sitting round the table.
Have them slide large plastic cups onto both hands. When the whistle blows, they need to gather up as many marshmallows onto their plate as possible, but with plastic cups on their hands..?! Play until all the marshmallows are collected.
nativity in one minute
Ask young people in teams to act out the Nativity story. You can give points for Biblical accuracy, humour, whatever you want. Rules are that the whole story needs to be told in one minute and everyone needs to be involved. You could give each team a couple of quotes from Christmas movies or carol lyrics to slip in (other teams could try and spot them to win bonus points). Add any more rules you want. Give them five to ten minutes to prepare.
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Idea from Anya Bowker, Youth Minister at St. James Muswell Hill, London
the after eight game
After Eight game. Put an After Eight (other square, flat chocolates are available) in the middle of your forehead. Try and get it into your mouth without touching it.
Play against each other to see who can do it fastest.
Hilarious.
cookie or gingerbread house decorating
Simple!
sprout and spoon race
You can work that one out! If you want to spice it up, make it more difficult by hopping or crawling. And if they drop it, they have to go back to the start. Hop till you drop!
sprout bowls
Use a table tennis ball for a jack, or a Malteser (but not with underfloor heating!), then see who can get their sprout closest to the jack. Just in case you're wondering, sprouts don't roll straight! Alternatively use a target to aim for.
candy cane jousting
Each player loops a candy cane over the edge of their hand (but they can't hold on to it). Let the young people loose to try and knock the candy cane off their opponents while still holding on to their cane. If it falls, or if they grab hold of it, they're out, until you have a victor, or you stop the game before it gets dangerous.
blindfold gingerbread decoration
Clue's in the title - in pairs, one partner is blindfolded and must follow partner's instructions. Best house wins.
snowball fight
You can go expensive and use pretend snowballs, or just wad paper snowballs. One youth pastor uses socks, which they keep from year to year for this moment! Put masking tape down the middle of the room. Put an even number of snowballs on each side of the line with each team. Teams throw snowballs at the other team.
When the whistle goes for the finish, the team with the higher number of snowballs on their side loses.
gargle that tune
Team member is shown a card with a Christmas song on it. They need to gargle it to the rest of the team.
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You can play it in a relay or play each team member against another team member. First one to guess it wins.
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You'll need water, glasses and probably a tarpaulin!
Read a chapter on The Law, Health and Safety in my book here.
toilet paper snowperson
Give each team leader a roll of toilet paper or kitchen roll (preferably the same number of sheets!). When the whistle goes, they need to spin round to wrap themselves in toilet paper while another team member holds the roll.
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When they're finished wrapping, a hat, scarf, carrot in the leader's mouth, whatever you can manage, would finish off the look perfectly.
reindeer hunt
If you can get hold of a small reindeer (preferably not a live one, but that would be memorable), hide it somewhere in the building, where leaders know where it is. Have leaders sing Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer loudly as people get closer to it, more quietly as they go further away.
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You can play multiple rounds.
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Snowman, Santa, Elf, Frosty Hunt would work too!
human shazam
Find a playlist of Christmas songs. In teams, have the first player come up.
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Their desk could have a buzzer (if you're so inclined) or a bell, or they can imitate a Christmas story animal (OK, so not many animals are mentioned, but use your creativity).
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Start playing the introduction to a Christmas song. First team to buzz or moo or whatever gets to answer. Song right for one point. Artist right for one. Both for three points. Then next player.
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I have no link with the app Shazam.
festive what's in the box
Put a box with a hole cut in it in front of each team.
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On go, first team member in each team puts their hand in and tries to identify the festive object in the box. First identification wins a point.
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Swap the players and the items and play continues.
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Ideas could include soggy Brussel sprout, carrot, fake snow, tinsel, Christingle, stocking with Rubik's cube in it, etc.
Read a chapter in my book on Icebreakers, Games & Activities. Buy it here.
elf breakfast eating competition
Give each player a bowl of (cooked) spaghetti, together with maple syrup, chocolate syrup, Smarties/M&Ms, marshmallows, pretty much anything.
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When the whistle goes, each team member needs to build their breakfast and eat it. You can help build that breakfast if they're not very fast... First to finish wins.
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The idea is taken from the movie 'Elf' with which I have no connection.
Wrapping paper fashion show
You can work that out.
christmas movie observation
Play about five minutes of a Christmas movie (remember your licensing). Then ask around 10 questions on the scene. Try The Grinch saying why he can't go to an event: ". Search 'Grinch - what would I wear?' Or Kevin outwitting the burglars in Home Alone. Or the last song (Thankful heart) in The Muppet Christmas Carol. Or again in The Grinch, Santa's head being eaten instead of the cookies.
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You might include questions like: What time does the clock on the wall of the kitchen say? Or Which step does Marv slip on? Or what song is playing in the hotel scene? ​Try and get questions people will have heard as well as things they've seen.
pass the parcel explosion
If you want to mix up the classic Pass the Parcel, wrap eight presents, then wrap those into four pairs, then those into two pairs, then those into one. Put extra wrapping paper at any point and forfeits as required. After someone finds two wrapped presents, as the music starts, send those two in different directions. Eventually you will have eight people opening presents.
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Make it more interesting by wrapping up eight different prizes.
pin the nose on rudolph
Blindfold player, Give them a cut carrot dipped in red paint to mark Rudolph's nose. Spin them round and then have them try to mark the nose on Rudolph. Use a giant reindeer stuck on a wall with a tarpaulin down. Closest one gets a prize.
what's in the stocking
Place different objects inside stockings. Players need to identify them just by touch. You can make it a relay with teams competing against each other. You can give them what they identify if you want to be very generous.
Game originally appeared in Premier Youth and Children's Work magazione
santa limbo
Put a player from each team in a Santa suit, complete with cushions and have them complete a limbo competition.
card hanger
Stand a Christmas card for each team on one side of a table. Cards need to have the join is at the top, not the side. First player must blow the card over to the other side of the table and leave it hanging over the edge. If it falls off, they've got to repeat it. Then next player does the same.
ovenglove unwrap
Fastest person to unwrap a present wearing ovengloves. Can play in teams in a relay. Want to mix it up? Wrap instead!
nibble a Snowflake
Give each player a tortilla wrap. They have two minutes to create the best snowflake shape, using just their teeth. Make sure you have separated the wraps before you start, otherwise you'll mess up the wraps and take a lot more time.
Carol pictionary
Each team has to draw a Christmas carol that has been given to them. First team to guess it wins a point. Alternatively, it can be played as a relay. First team to correctly identify all ten wins.
carrot darts
Put a dartboard on the wall (it can be printed if you don't want ketchup all over your dartboard). Each team dips their carrot in a different coloured sauce then throws their carrot at the board. Score as normal.
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You'll probably need to have the carrots un- or undercooked. Floppy carrots will be funny but may not fly well.
snowflake-making contest
All you need is paper and scissors. Give each player five minutes to make their best snowflake.
name that christmas tune
Read out clues to different Christmas songs / carols e.g. We - Richard II, Lear and the Lion. First person to sing it wins the round. You could just convert this into a quiz round.
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Idea from https://happyhomefairy.com/another-super-fun-christmas-game
hang the decs
Each team stands up an empty wrapping paper roll, balances a fairly long thin piece of wood across the top of it and then tries to balance ten baubles along the wood, without holding the roll or the wood. First team to balance it wins.
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Use the hooked baubles, rather than the string ones to make them easier to balance.
christmas bingo charades
Give each person a bingo card with each box of the card having a Christmas-themed idea e.g. Santa getting stuck up the chimney, building a snowman, King's Christmas message, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, whatever you like. Every bingo card has to be different. Each young person also starts with a card with a Christmas idea.
Choose young people at random, or have them volunteer to act out their idea. When someone recognises it, they cross it off if it's on their bingo card. Eventually, someone will be able to cross off everything on their card and shout, 'Bingo', hopefully!
Wrapping pairs
Get some outsize sweatshirts. Split group into pairs. Each pair puts a sweatshirt over their head, with both their heads through the head hole. One player puts their left hand out and the other their right hand. Each team has to wrap a present using just one hand each. They race with other pairs. Probably best to play single-sex pairs.
get in touch
Do let me know if you have a great idea for a Christmas game!
Background photos by George Dolgikh from Pexels
"Raising the Bar is a MUST READ for every youth minister."
Matt Wendal, US Youth Pastor
There's a whole chapter of Icebreakers, Games and Activities in my book: "RAISING THE BAR: Nearly Everything You Need to Know about Christian Youth Ministry." There are nearly 400 pages of ideas and support for your youth ministry.
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