15 Easy And Engaging Christmas Games For The Office

Your employees toil all year long. During Christmas, they deserve to have some fun and laughter. And what better way could there be to add those cheers in the holiday season than throwing a fabulous party for them to enjoy? Party with great food, beverages, and some awesome team-building activities. After all, team-building and engaging activities like Christmas games for the office foster a network of healthy professional relationships and encourage rekindling the existing ones.

Apart from that, playing games at the office with colleagues helps to:

• Boost communication
• Build trust
• Improve employee morale
• Foster collaboration
• Promote positive company culture

But most of all, it saves your co-workers from those “awkwardly waiting, not knowing what to do” situations. And from some epic office party boredom.

So, why not plan some fun office games for this Christmas? Games that are engaging, fun, and easy to play inside office premises.

If you’ve decided to go for it. Here are some fun Christmas games for the office to consider.

But before getting started, make sure to follow and communicate the key “office games ethics.” The ethics or rather etiquettes are listed below:

Don’t force anyone.

Play games that will cheer employees up.

Ensure everyone is invited and feels included.

Make sure it's played fairly.

Now, let’s begin.

15 Best Christmas Games for The Office

1. Cookie Swap Challenge

Christmas without cookies is like Spiderman without Mary Jane. Those snowflake, star, or bear-shaped cookies are the highlights of the holiday season. Not only do they look amazing, but they also taste great and are a wonderful gifting option.

But you'll be interested to know that cookies can also be a part of some fun office games. Games like Cookie Swap Challenge are very engaging and can truly add to the Christmas cheers.

Steps to Play Cookie Swap Challenge

Step 1. Count the number of people participating in the Cookie Swap Challenge.

Step 2. Bake a sample of delicious cookies in different shapes, keeping in mind the number of people participating. It would be a good idea to bake some extra cookies in case more people join in.

Step 3. At your office, exchange cookies with each other along with warm Christmas greetings.

Step 4. After everyone has gifted cookies to one another, the tasty-trade-off ends.

2. Gingerbread House Decoration

The Gingerbread house decoration challenge is one of the most creative and delightful games to play with friends. When it comes to a fun bake-off and decorating challenges, missing this game is a sin.

So this Christmas, keep the gingerbread house decoration challenge in your games-to-play-at-office list.

But make sure to be ready with the items listed below:

Items you'll require:

• Some pre-assembled Graham Cracker Houses.
• Some extra crackers for making chimneys, dormers, or house porches.
• Assorted candies like jelly beans, gummy bears, cane candies, gum drops, etc.
• Frosting or royal icing along with sprinkling sugar or confetti.
• Tables
• Spoons, forks, and knives

And yes, you’ll also need a few judges and some score sheets to evaluate the participants.

Steps to play Gingerbread House Decoration Challenge

Step 1. Divide all employees into groups of five. You can split the employees into groups through easy and rapid fun games.

Step 2. Allot one table and timer or watch to each group.

Step 3. Give each group a pre-assembled graham cracker house, some extra crackers, assorted candies, and royal icing. Also, please provide them with utilities like forks, spoons, and knives.

Step 4. Notify all the participants of the allotted time to complete the challenge. A duration of 10-12 minutes should suffice.

Step 5. Once the duration of the challenge is over, request the employees to step back. And allow the judges to score the teams based on the following parameters:

• Originality
• Design
• Appearance
• Teamwork

Step 6. The team with the highest score wins the challenge.

3. Guess Who’s The Kid

There is no better game than "Guess Who's The Kid." to recall the fondest and funniest childhood memories. Unexpected waves of laughter are guaranteed while playing the game. Whether or not employees can identify the mini-version of their colleagues, this challenge is sure to enliven the Christmas party.

Steps to play Guess Who’s The Kid Challenge

Step 1. Request your employees to bring their childhood photo.

Step 2. Assign a number to each photograph and post it on a wall or pin-up board.

Step 3. ncourage your employees to identify their colleagues in their childhood.

Step 4. The one with the maximum number of correct answers wins the challenge.

4. The Gift Wrap Challenge

Gifts are amazing and unwrapping them even more. Unwrapping and discovering what's inside is an endless source of enjoyment. Not only do they raise excitement levels, but they also add an element of suspense.

One such game is "The Gift Wrap" challenge, which you can opt to add to the list of Christmas party games.

Steps to play The Gift Wrap Challenge

Step 1. Bring in a nice present for the winner. A reward worth working hard for.

Step 2. Wrap the present in multiple layers of wrapping paper.

Step 3. Request all the employees to sit in a circle and pass the gift around while music is playing.

Step 4. When the music stops, allow the person holding the gift to unwrap a layer of paper. (Only one layer must be unwrapped at a time)

Step 5. Repeat the game until the last layer of paper is unwrapped.

Step 6. The participant who unwraps the last layer of the gift gets the opportunity to keep it.

5. Face on the Elf

Elves are an integral part of the holiday season and keep the Christmas spirit alive. The cute-looking diminutive figures, whose hallmark is their long and pointed ears, add so much cheer. Without them, Christmas parties at home or the office are incomplete.

So, including the elves in your office party will be a great idea. And what better way would there be other than incorporating them into your games? "Face on the Elf" are interesting games to play. They are challenging yet fun.

Items you'll require:

• Printed faces
• Printed Elf
• A tape
• One or few blindfolds

Steps to play Face On The Elf

Step 1. Print a few sheets of elf drawing and tape the halves together on a wall.

Step 2. Print out a photo of every employee. Make sure the faces fit the blank space where the elf's face is attached.

Step 3. Now, cut them out and attach double-sided tape on the back of each one.

Step 4. Allow the participants to hold onto their printed faces and then blindfold them.

Step 5. Direct the employees a few feet away from the elf's body on the wall.

Step 6. Spin the player a couple of times and ask them to proceed.

Step 7. Check if they can stick their printed face onto the elf's face.

Step 8. Participants who get closest to the anatomically correct face placement win the challenge.

6. Santa Hats Challenge

If you can get your hands on some Santa hats, you are ready for an amazing Christmas office game scene. Santa hat challenge is an easy-to-play game and is also perfect for office spaces. This game will surely break your employees into fits of laughter as it progresses. So, give the Santa hat game a try this Christmas.

Steps to play Santa Hat Game

Step 1. Provide a Santa Hats to each guest as they enter the office.

Step 2. Appoint one employee as the captain or leader. Introduce the appointed leader to all participants.

Step 3. The captain of the game is in charge of taking the hat on and off. The rest of the participants must follow their captain's action.

Step 4. Ask all the employees to follow the captain and take the hat on and off as and when the captain does.

Step 5. If someone is not quick enough to follow the action, they lose.

Step 6. The one who properly follows the leader and is swift in undertaking the action wins the challenge.

7. Santa Belly Bust

Yet another fun game with Santa at its center. Santa Belly Bust is a whole new level of joy for all your employees. The only challenge will be to control your employees from falling on the floor laughing after seeing their co-workers bursting bellies. So, if your team is up for some epic ROFL, give this game a try.

Steps to play Santa Belly Bust

Step 1. Inflate balloons and ask your employees to place them under their shirts.

Step 2. Instruct the participants to keep their hands behind their backs.

Step 3. Play the music.

Step 4. Encourage all employees to bust the balloons under their shirts without using their hands.

Step 5. After a few months, stop the music.

Step 6. The last set of employees with a Santa Belly on loses the challenge. They must keep the balloons under their shirts for the rest of the party.

8. Identify the Christmas Songs/ Guess the Movie

Introducing challenging games can make your office Christmas party amusing and engaging. Games that test employees' general knowledge will not only add a punch of positive competition but will also encourage learning.

A few classic knowledge test game during Christmas is guessing the Christmas song or identifying the movies.

Steps to play Guess the Christmas Song or Identify the Movies

Step 1. Create a list of Christmas songs and movies. Ensure not to disclose it to anyone.

Step 2. Divide your employees into a group of 3.

Step 3. For Songs

• Play the first few lines of the songs.

Step 4. For Movies

• Play a few clips or popular scenes from the movie.

Step 5. Grant all the teams some time to make the guesses.

Step 6. Ask employees to raise their hands if they think they know the answers. Members from whichever team raise their hands first shall get the chance to answer.

Step 7. The team with the highest number of correct guesses shall win the game.

9. Funny Employee Awards

Christmas is a wonderful time to appreciate and nurture the culture of employee recognition at work. But it doesn't need to be a mundane ceremony. Rather it could be made interesting by adding some humor.

The one amazing way to add humor to the Christmas get-together in the office is by uniquely awarding unconventional employees. Let's figure out how.

Steps to organize Funny Employee Award

Step 1. Arrange a few trophies or gift hampers. You can also provide sashes with unique titles printed on them.

Step 2. Jot down some unique and humorous titles for the awards.

Step 3. Conduct a poll and request all employees to vote for the candidates most deserving of the given humorous titles.

Step 4. Once the poll is done and the results have arrived, commemorate the unconventional employees in the ceremony with the trophies

Step 5. Request winning employees to give a one-minute speech. This will make it even more fun.

10. Find the Jingle Bells

Time for some adventure. And what better adventure game could there be other than jingle bell hunting? The popular jingle bell hunt is more fun than one could imagine, and employees can also play it with much ease. Their only challenge will be to be on red alert throughout and searching.

Steps to play Find the Jingle Bells

Step 1. Buy a few dozen of jingle bells.

Step 2. Hide a bunch of jingle bells around the office before the party begins.

Step 3. Ask someone to volunteer for the game.

Step 4. Once the party starts and employees are ready for the hunt, allot 5 minutes to each of them to search for the bells.

Step 5. Set the timer on and ask the employees to hunt for the bells around the office.

Step 6. After the allotted time ends, the employee with the highest number of jingle bells in their kitties wins the hunting challenge.

11. The Great Christmas Hunt

With Christmas Scavenger Hunt, the adventure will be at its peak. This game is not only engrossing but is tough too. After all, how good is a game if it is not a challenging one? So, if your team is up for some challenges, go for this hunt.

Items you'll require:

• Prints of the list of items to hunt for in the office
• Several holiday or Christmas items like balls, cookies, candies, candles, stockings, Santa hats, etc.
• A Santa Bag
• A timer or watch

Steps to play Christmas Scavenger Hunt

Step 1. Scatter or hide the items around the office.

Step 2. Divide the employees into groups of 5 and ask them to pick a name for their team.

Step 3. Distribute the list of items to hunt for to all employees.

Step 4. Ask the employees to put the items in their Santa bags and checkmark the boxes in the list when they find the items they're searching for.

Step 5. Allot 5-10 minutes to the participants and set the timer as soon as the teams are ready for the hunt.

Step 6. After the duration ends, ask the employees to stand with their respective teams along with the items they've collected.

Step 7. Request the volunteer to count the number of items hunted by each team. The team with the highest number of Christmas items pursued wins the challenge and gets to keep all of those.

12. Never Have I Ever

One of the purposes of organizing Christmas parties or get-togethers is to know one another better. And playing games like Never Have I Ever is a great way to learn about each other. Also, this game requires little to no props and can be played anywhere and anytime.

For example:

• Never Have I Ever fallen asleep in the office.
• Never Have I Ever lied to the boss.
• Never Have I Ever regifted gifts to anyone.
• Never Have I Ever run a marathon.

Asking light-hearted questions will not be boring but will help employees to realize how alike they are with their co-workers.

So, if you've made up your mind to incorporate this game into your Christmas games list, then look at the steps to play this game.

Steps to play Never Have I Ever

Step 1. Prepare a list of questions for the challenges. Go through it thoroughly before putting them up.

Step 2. Request someone to host the game.

Step 3. Gather all the employees in a circle willing to play this game.

Step 4. The host will raise the first question and question following thereafter.

Step 5. Ask employees to put one finger down if they've done what the host has said.

Step 6. The host will keep moving to the next question, one after the other until the questions are exhausted.

Step 7. The employee with fingers remaining up wins the epic Never Have I Ever challenge.

13. Karaoke All The Way

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear.
~Buddy the Elf

These words are immortal. After all, Christmas without songs is like life without a soul. So, including songs at the parties is a must. And the best way to add songs at Christmas parties is by organizing karaoke.

Karaoke has room for everyone, no matter how bad your employees' singing skills are.

If your pack is ready to set the office on fire, ask them to grab the mic and sing an awesome holiday song.

Steps to play Karaoke Challenge

Step 1. Inform your employees a few days prior to the karaoke challenge. Having some time in hand will allow them to prepare better.

Step 2. Rent a Karaoke machine and ensure it has the best collection of holiday songs.

Step 3. Appoint a few judges amongst your colleagues who share the love and passion for music. Allow them to score the performers based on the parameters listed below:

• Rendition
• Song Selection
• Vocal Techniques
• Showmanship

Step 4. The singers who perform well on these parameters shall be rewarded in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd positions.

14. Dangling Doughnuts

The dangling doughnut challenge will be a fun twist to the party. The game test not just how many doughnuts one can have at a given time. But it tests one's coordination, strategy, and willingness.

Items you'll require:

• A few dozen of doughnuts
• String rolls
• A bar or ceiling to hang the doughnuts
• Timer or watch

Steps to play Dangling Doughnut Challenge

Step 1. Hang the doughnuts on a bar or the ceiling at a height that is neither too high nor too low.

Step 2. Ask the employees to eat the doughnuts while keeping their hands behind their backs. They are not allowed to touch the doughnuts with their hands at any time in the game.

Step 3. Communicate to the players to raise their hands when they're done eating the doughnuts.

Step 4. After communicating the rules and ensuring that the participants are ready, set the timer.

Step 5. The game begins at the count of 1-2-3, and the player who eats the maximum doughnuts in less time and raises both hands wins the challenge.

15. Christmas Deck Up Challenge

Christmas is the time for decorating the X-mass tree. But it can also be a wonderful chance to deck up your beloved colleagues. After all, why shall the Christmas tree have all the fun? Don't you think?

Moreover, the impromptu costume challenge will give you some wacky photos that could serve as the best blackmail material. If the pictures of your Christmas tree-looking friend are stored well, it can get a lot of your things done effortlessly.

So, organize the classic yet trendy Impromptu Costume Challenge to bring some ease into your life until the next holiday season.

Steps to play Christmas Costume Challenge

Step 1. Get a few tons of traditional Christmas tree decoration items like tinsels, bells, snow globes, wreaths, etc.

Step 2. Divide employees into groups of 3 and ask them to select someone amongst them to volunteer.

Step 3. Appoint a judge and allot 1 minute to each team.

Step 4. Set the timer and at the count of 1-2-3, ask the participants to start decking up their team's volunteers with various Christmas tree decorating items.

Step 5. After the allotted time, the judge will decide the winner of the challenge based on creativity and speed.

Conclusion

Christmas is the time to acknowledge and appreciate loved ones. It is the time to create cherished memories with family and friends. And engaging in fun games helps you with creating those lifetime memories. The only thing is to ensure that the games are played not with a competitive spirit but with the spirit of fostering lifelong relationships. The games should serve as an opportunity to know one another better.

(Image Credits: Unsplash, Freepik and Pixabay)

FAQs

1. Can we give small prizes for Christmas game winners?

Ans: Yes, giving small token prizes like gift cards, fun trophies, or candy for game winners is appropriate and adds extra enthusiasm.

2. What are some budget-friendly game ideas that don’t require extensive resources or materials?

Ans: Games like "Christmas Trivia" or "Holiday Bingo" require minimal resources and can be played with printed sheets or digital platforms. Decorating contests using office supplies or a DIY ornament-making station are also cost-effective.

3. Are there any low-preparation games that can be organized quickly during a lunch break or short office gathering?

Ans: Absolutely, games like "Holiday Charades" or "Guess the Christmas Song" are simple and need minimal preparation. They can be played with just pen and paper or by utilizing a whiteboard.

4. What are some inclusive Christmas games suitable for an office environment?

Ans: Inclusive games often involve elements like holiday-themed trivia, decorating contests, or gift exchanges where participation is optional. Games that don’t require specific physical abilities or knowledge can engage a diverse group, ensuring everyone feels welcome.

5. Are there any virtual or online Christmas games suitable for remote or hybrid office setups?

Ans: Absolutely! Games like virtual Secret Santa gift exchanges using online platforms, holiday-themed Zoom backgrounds competition, or even online escape rooms can be engaging for remote teams.

This article is written by Sanjeevani Saikia who is a part of the marketing team at Vantage Circle. Sanjeevani loves to split her leisure time between reading and watching TedX. Her curiosity is easily piqued by the most recent developments in Human Resource Management and Organizational Psychology. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com.