Christmas Party Games: 12 Best Ideas for Small Workplace Teams

A memorable office party isn’t just about appetizers and a playlist. The right entertainment keeps energy high and gives coworkers a reason to mingle. Below, we sort through Christmas contests that work beautifully even for a team of five. We’ve gathered the most engaging options so your small group can have a big night.

What To Consider When Choosing Games

If you want people to join in, the activities need to be appropriate and meet interests of the participants. When choosing games for your festive gathering, keep these elements in mind:

• Company culture — your values, team communication style, and traditions should guide what fits the celebration and what to skip right away.
• Party theme — if you’ve chosen a specific aesthetic or storyline, the contests should feel like a natural extension, not a random collection of activities.
• Venue — what’s fine in a rented house might be off-limits at a restaurant. Follow the rules of the space.
• Motivation — great prizes boost the desire to jump in and win.
• Mood — match the room. If people arrive low-key or tense, move certain contests later or cut them to avoid friction.

Games You Can Play at the Table

You can kick off the entertainment without leaving your seats. This is perfect if you want to break up the usual toasts or the room simply doesn’t have space for more active contests.

What’s in the Mystery Box

The host places several items in a box and gives a short description. For instance, if there’s a computer mouse inside, the clue might be: "It scurries across your desk, but leaves no mess."

Another version: choose items tied to a common theme and answer participants’ questions only with yes or no.

Three Artists

You’ll need letter-size paper and markers or pens. Split into teams of three and fold each sheet so that it has three sections. The host announces a drawing theme — for example, stars, actors, fairy-tale heroes — and clarifies that everyone should draw a person. The task is to guess whom your teammates are drawing.

Person one draws the head on the first section and folds it over so no one sees. Person two draws the torso, person three draws the legs. At the end, unfold the sheet and reveal a hilarious portrait.

Holiday Bingo: Office Edition

A low-prep, HR-safe game that keeps everyone at the table and sparks easy conversation. Print bingo cards filled with common holiday and office moments — "Wore an ugly sweater," "Has a favorite holiday movie," "Did Secret Santa this year," "Knows the words to Jingle Bell Rock."

To play, give out Bingo cards and pens. The host draws prompts from a bowl (or uses a simple on-screen spinner) and reads them aloud one by one; players mark matching squares. First to complete a row, column, or diagonal calls "Bingo!" and wins a small prize. Keep playing quick rounds so multiple people can win.

You can add a few company-specific squares with team traditions, inside jokes, and project milestones to keep the game personalized.

Also Read:

An HR’s guide to an amazing Christmas party

Read

Active Games and Contests

If the space and party format allow it, add a few physical games and contests. They loosen everyone up and help people across the room connect.

Improvisation Theater

The simplest, silliest option is acting out a fairy tale. Pick a suitable script and assign roles. The twist is that players don’t know what they’ll have to do — everyone improvises in the moment.

You can choose Christmas fairy tales or any funny story you can find. Usually the host handles the script selection, but you can find recordings on your own, too. Search for humorous audio fairy tales and skits.

When the story ends, give small awards for standout roles — that little gesture shows you noticed and appreciated the effort.

Field-Day Relays

If your team prefers familiar, straightforward activities, give them a field day-style relays. Create three to five mini-rounds with different challenges for speed, dexterity, or just anything competitive. If you want to dial up competition, play for a prize or set a light penalty for the losing team — it raises the stakes.

Round ideas:

• Carry a ping-pong ball on a racket or a spoon to the finish line and back.
• Assemble a small construction set against the clock.
• Toss paper balls into a trash can from varying distances.
• Get the whole team to the finish line stepping only on "stepping stones" made of sheets of paper.

Dance Battle

This one is great because you can spin it up on the fly: choose someone to switch tracks and pick the participants. You can split into teams or run individual rounds. The key is a supportive atmosphere so everyone feels comfortable and isn’t shy about dancing.

Secret Prize

Wrap small gifts in ribbon so the contents are practically invisible. Each participant gets one secret prize, and the goal is to unwrap it faster than the others.

Try to estimate how many coworkers will want to play. If your team has up to seven people, it makes sense to involve everyone. If there are 15 or 20, prep five to seven prizes, knowing there will be other chances to win in different contests.

Christmas-Themed Contests

A corporate party should actually feel like the holidays. These contests help set the scene.

Broken Telephone (Holiday-themed)

Players sit in a circle. The first players makes up a silly Christmas-related phrase to pass around the circle, for example, "Mrs. Claus went to karaoke to sing mantras." The first player whispers it to the second, the second to the third, and so on. The last player speaks the message aloud, which always brings a lot of fun! The team that distorted the message less wins.

Secret Santa

While Secret Santa isn't a competitive game in itself, you can add a twist at the corporate party to make a reveal more competitive and engaging. Say, you can agree ahead of time to set up a mini contest — choose the most original wrapping or the most creative gift.

The service offers other helpful features, too:

• Automatic drawing quickly assigns pairs.
• Each participant can make a wishlist so they’re more likely to receive something they truly want.
• The organizer can track progress in real time and see how players are doing.
• Set exceptions if some players don't like each other.

Try our MySanta app

You can create wishlists, add exclusions, and communicate with your gifree secretly. Moreover, there is an option to track gifts and ensure that everyone buys a present on time.

Start

Holiday Charades

Rules are simple and familiar: a player draws a word and acts it out without speaking. The only difference — every prompt is Christmas-themed.

Try to pick a wide range of words to keep the excitement going: movies, festive dishes, customs, and memorable holiday performances by celebrities. The more varied the categories, the more fun the play.

Cringe-Worthy (and Wonderful) Contests

Sometimes the most popular contests are the odd and even ridiculous ones. They’re easy, funny, and unpredictable — and teams adore them for exactly that.

Pop the Balloon

You’ll need an even number of participants — at least six. Split into pairs and give each pair a balloon. Their mission is to pop it together without using their hands.

Catch the Hot Dog

A test of patience and coordination: tie a hot dog to a string around each participant’s waist. To win, they have to swing it and catch it with their mouth. The first to take a bite wins.

Bob for Apples

Prep ahead: apples and deep bowls for the number of participants. Fill each bowl with water and drop in three apples. The task is to catch an apple without using hands and take a bite.

If you want to make it harder, sprinkle glitter in the water. It will stick to people’s faces — everyone ends up with a "one-of-a-kind" look.

Conclusion

Build your program with your teammates’ preferences in mind so they genuinely want to join the contests. That’s the simplest way to make sure the celebration sticks with each person.

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