Are You Ready for the Best Christmas Party Ever?
Here are some fun games for your holiday party for kids or adults: For many years, I was a party planner. The office Christmas party got me started, and then I became a catering and special events manager. I had to come up with creative, innovative ideas for icebreakers and party mixers. We also have some fun ideas for New Year's Eve with the kids. Scroll to the bottom for Cotton Ball games that you can swap out for Marshmallow games. Enjoy!
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.*
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Shh... I paparazzied Santa during a summer picnic.
He was wearing this discreet disguise.
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This skill came in handy when I later began teaching summer camp and afterschool enrichment activities for kids. What's cute for little ones is silly for adults and embarrassing for teens. Want to have the best party ever? Pick a few games for parties from the list below.
Games for Christmas Parties:
Divide groups into pairs. Each pair of people stand around a table in front of a piece of
wrapping paper, a roll of tape, scissors, ribbon, and shirt gift boxes. Each pair of players stands with one arm around the other person.
Say "Go!' and the players must race to wrap their box with one person using only their right hand and the other person using only their left hand. (Keep the other hand wrapped around the partner's waist.) The first pair to wrap their gift box wins!
- Toothpick Tower Marshmallow Game
Supplies: Toothpicks, mini-marshmallows, and adult supervision or use uncooked spaghetti noodles to make an edible game for preschoolers.
Who can build the tallest marshmallow tower? It may sound simple, but you have to be super fast and some what creative to win. Suggested for ages 10 and up. Game details and instructions
Divide into pairs. Each pair decides who will play Santa. The Santa covers his face with shaving cream. The other player is Santa's barber. Jingle a bell to start! The teams race to "shave" their Santas. The winning team is the first to have a clean shaven Santa and sit their spoon onto the table. To signify they are done, Santa lets out a loud "Ho ho ho"!
Tip: Make this an edible game for kids with Non-dairy whipped cream.
Grab a bag of Dollar Store balloons and give one to each player with some curling ribbon. The players blow up their balloon and tie them to their ankles. Now blow a horn or ring a holiday bell to start the stomping! Each party guest has to stomp the other player's balloons. The more you stomp, the better your chances of winning the game. The last person to have a balloon wins! Use masking or painter's tape to mark a circle of play area on the floor.
- Little Known Secrets Game
Before the party collect little known surprising facts about 5-10 employees or party-goers. Collect photos of them as a toddler. On a colorful poster board, tape photocopies of the baby pictures and write the secret fact underneath the photo as a caption. Label the images from 1-10 (or how many co-workers you chose). Hand out paper and pens as guests arrive. Point them to your board and tell them to number the paper from 1-10. Can they guess who is who?Winner is the one who gets most correct wins. If several get all the answers correct, place their papers (with their names) in a Santa hat and draw for a winner!
Before the party, fill several stockings with two or three non-breakable items. Tie the stocking closed with a ribbon. Divide party-goers into teams. Have them spread out into different corners of the room to work. Now, each team must guess (by touch alone) what is in their stocking. The winning team wins the contents of all stockings!
This is a fun party idea for a child's party. Choose a variety of Christmas curling ribbon colors in a single roll or ball. One for each player. Tie a prize or party favor to one end of each ribbon. Hide the end with the gift on it somewhere in the house. Now, unwind the ribbon and wrap it all over the room, all around furniture, over tables, under doors, anywhere it will be a fun challenge. Tie a candy cane to the other end of the ribbon. Repeat for each player, tangling the ribbons if necessary. When the guests arrive, give each one a candy cane and have them follow the ribbon to untangle it (wrapping it around their candy cane as they go). Let them know it leads to a surprise! Then, let the chaos begin!
- Christmas Wrapping Pin the Bow
Wrap three large boxes. Line players up single file behind each box. Give each player a giant sticky bow, spin them around and jingle a bell to start. They must walk around the box and then pin the bow on top, return to the opposite end and sit down before the next team member goes. The first team sitting down wins.
Find Santa's Reindeer
Buy some cute Dollar Store holiday plushies Reindeer, Angels, Santas, etc. Hide them around the house. The reindeers must be found to drive Santa's sleigh. Attach a clue to each stuffie of where the next one can be found. When they find a reindeer, they line it up next to the Santa stuffie. There are 9 reindeer to be found. When all reindeer are placed next to Santa you announce the winner. The winner is the one who
found Rudolph and/or placed him in the lead position next to Santa. They win the stuffie of their choice!
Cotton Ball Games for Parties Fun Adult or Kid's Activity
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We have lots of games with cotton balls
which are a great sensory activity for kids. |
- Shoveling Snow – Cotton Ball Game
How to play game: Everyone sits in a circle on their knees or around a table. Place a dab of Vaseline on the tip of each player’s nose. Place a bowl in front of each player with a pile of cotton balls next to the bowl or scattered in front of them on the table.
The object of the game is to have them use their noses to pick up a cotton ball and then somehow get the cotton ball off their nose and into the bowl without using hands. Hands should always be clasped behind their back. After 1 minute, the player with the most cotton balls in their bowl wins! The prize can be a wrapped surprise gift or a stocking full of goodies.
- Sticky Cotton - Another Cotton Ball Game Fun for all Parties
Blindfold your guests and place them in front of two bowls, one empty bowl and one with cotton balls. Give the players a wooden spoon. They must move as many cotton balls as they can from one bowl to the other using only 3 spoonfuls. Tally the number of cotton balls per player. Have them go to the end of the line when done. Everyone gets two chances! The person with the most cotton balls in both turns wins!
Divide the co-workers, family members, or kids into groups. Place a bowl of 10 cotton balls at a starting line (Use painter's tape on the floor) and the other bowl 15 to 20 feet away. To begin the cotton ball relay game, player number one takes the spoon, selects a cotton ball, and walks it down to the bowl on the other end dropping it in. When the player drops the cotton ball into the bowl, they must race back to the start. When they touch the bowl, the next player takes their turn, and so on. If the cotton ball falls off the spoon, the player must return and start over. No hands allowed! The first team to empty their start bowl and fill their finish bowl wins.
This is similar to the game above, but in this one there are no teams just individual players.
Set your start line, halfway point, and finish line with painter's tape of chalk. Divide the players and put them on opposite ends of the halfway point. Give each player a cotton ball and a spoon. Ring a bell to start the race. Players must place the cotton ball onto their spoon, and race to the halfway point and return to the start without losing their cotton ball. They cannot touch the cotton ball after initially placing it on the spoon. If it falls they must return to the start line and begin again. The winner is the one who returns to the start line first.
Supplies: White trash bags, recycled items, plastic grocery bags, duct tape, etc.
Get white trash bags and have the teams/players stuff them with recycled plastic grocery bags or old paper (shredded office paper). Get a basket to fill with office or recycled items (you choose what you have on hand). Ask a trivia question about the holiday, your boss, your company, or team members. The team who answers correctly first gets to choose an item from your basket. These items will then be placed onto the trash bag snowman with duct tape. When all of your items are gone the team with the best snowman wins!
Use a long dinner table or the floor for this fun, competitive, sensory game for kids or adults. Hint: Teens love it!
1. Set a Start and Finish line (10 to 15 feet apart.)
2. Give each player a drinking straw and a cotton ball.
3. Let them know they must move their cotton ball from the Start to the Finish using only their Straw. (Keep hands clasped behind back)
4. Tip - Do not demonstrate how to play. They can use it like a hockey stick, folded as chopsticks, or as a straw blowing air toward the cotton ball.
5. The first one across the finish line Wins. You can make a dot on each cotton ball with a marker so you know who is what color. This will eliminate any confusion as to who won.
*This cotton ball game can also be played as a relay race.
- Cotton Ball Target Drop - Easy and fun game for toddlers.
This is an easy games for the little ones. Toddlers and preschooler will enjoy this party game just as much as teens or adults!
1. Player stands on a step stool.
2. Give each player five cotton balls.
3. They are to hold the cotton ball to their nose and let it drop into the bowl below.
4. Each player gets five tries. Give a party favor for each cotton ball that makes it into the bowl. If playing with adults or teens, the team with the most balls in the bowl wins.
- Cotton Ball Snowball Scoop Up Game
This is a simple game. Players form a circle. Blindfold the first player and sit them in the middle of the circle to scoop up as many cotton balls as they can within thirty seconds. The middle of the circle is filled with snowballs (cotton balls). Hand the bowl and spoon to the player once they are seated. Jingle a bell to signify the start. The player with the most snowballs in the bowl wins. Enjoy!
Recommended Reading:
Look for more Christmas Party Games in our site. In the meantime, add some Christmas Stories
to your kids' holiday party.
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