DIY Christmas Games: 16 Handmade Party Games for Adults That Make Every Family Gathering More Fun
DIY Christmas games are the cheapest way to turn a quiet holiday gathering into the night everyone talks about until next year. A pom pom toss bucket, a felt snowman, a jar of charades slips and a stack of wrapped boxes cost a few dollars, yet they pull grandparents, teens and cousins off their phones and into the same room. Searches for Christmas games and Christmas activities have jumped to breakout levels on Google this month, so hosts everywhere are hunting for ideas. Every project below uses dollar store or thrift supplies, packs flat into a bin after the party and looks cute enough to leave out as decor. Some take ten minutes, a few take an afternoon, and all of them are built for grown ups who still love to win. Pick three or four, set up stations around the house and let the friendly trash talk begin..
Pom Pom Snow Toss Bucket for DIY Christmas Games
Start the party with the easiest game on the list. A galvanized bucket tied with a plaid bow sits on the coffee table, and players stand behind a ribbon line and lob fluffy white pom poms into it. Soft pom poms never break an ornament or chip a mug, so even the most competitive uncle can play indoors. Give each player ten tosses and keep score on a chalkboard. The bucket doubles as decor between rounds, much like the cheerful pieces in our snowman decor ideas roundup..
You will need: 1 galvanized bucket, 40 large white pom poms, 1 yard of red buffalo plaid ribbon, masking tape, a small chalkboard.
How to make it: 1. Tie the plaid ribbon around the bucket and finish with a big bow. 2. Mark a throw line on the floor with masking tape about eight feet away. 3. Give each player ten pom poms, count the ones that land inside and move the line back a step for the final round.
Gift Wrap Race Station
This one gets loud fast. Set out rolls of paper, tape and scissors, then hand each team an empty box and start a timer. The first team to wrap a neat package with a bow wins, but a sloppy corner costs ten seconds. It is one of those DIY Christmas games that also gets real work done, because you can race with actual presents that still need wrapping. Save the funniest results for a prank gift wrapping moment on Christmas morning.
You will need: 2 or 3 rolls of wrapping paper, tape dispensers, child safe scissors, empty boxes in matching sizes, ribbon spools, a kitchen timer.
How to make it: 1. Set up one wrapping station per team on a cleared table. 2. Give every team the same size box so the race is fair. 3. Start the timer, call time at two minutes and let a neutral judge pick the neatest package.
Pin the Nose on the Felt Snowman
Remember the old birthday party classic? This version swaps the donkey for a big felt snowman and the tail for a carrot nose. Players wear a plaid blindfold, spin three times and try to stick the nose in the right spot. Hook and loop dots let the noses stay put without pins, so the poster can be used year after year. If you can sew a straight line, the snowman comes together in an hour, just like the projects in our easy Christmas sewing list.
You will need: 1 yard of white felt, black and red felt squares, orange felt, sticky hook and loop dots, a foam board, fabric glue, a plaid scarf for a blindfold.
How to make it: 1. Cut a three circle snowman from white felt and glue it to the foam board. 2. Add black felt eyes, coal buttons and a red felt scarf. 3. Cut five carrot noses, stick a hook dot on each one and a loop dot on the face.
Candy Cane Hunt, One of the Easiest DIY Christmas Games
Hide two dozen candy canes around the living room and kitchen, then hand each team a map you sketched by hand on brown paper. Little drawings of the couch, the tree and the bookshelf give clues without making it too easy. Grown ups get surprisingly fierce about this, especially when one golden striped cane is worth five points. Wrap leftovers into a jar for the winner, or use them later for the fun candy cane crafts the kids love to make.
You will need: 24 wrapped candy canes, 1 gold painted candy cane, brown kraft paper, a black marker, colored pencils, small treat bags.
How to make it: 1. Hide the candy canes in places everyone can reach safely. 2. Sketch a simple map of the rooms and mark rough zones with stars. 3. Give each team a bag and ten minutes, then count canes, adding five points for the gold one.
Wood Slice Memory Match
A classic matching game looks heirloom pretty when it is painted on wood slices. Paint pairs of simple shapes like ornaments, trees, stars and mittens, then lay them face down in a grid. Players flip two at a time and keep any pair they find. These DIY Christmas games pieces store in a cloth bag and also make a sweet gift for a family with young kids. If you have extra slices left over, our wood slice Christmas crafts guide has plenty of other uses for them.
You will need: 24 sanded wood slices about three inches wide, red, green, gold and white acrylic paint, small brushes, clear matte sealer, a drawstring bag.
How to make it: 1. Sand the slices smooth and wipe off the dust. 2. Paint twelve matching pairs of simple holiday shapes on the cut side. 3. Seal with two thin coats and let them dry overnight before playing.
Jingle Bell Bowling for Noisy DIY Christmas Games
Clean plastic soda bottles become bowling pins with a coat of white paint and a red stripe. Tie a jingle bell around the neck of each one so every strike rings like a sleigh. Roll a soft playground ball down the hallway and keep score just like at the lanes. It is loud, silly and perfect for the stretch after dinner when everyone needs to move. For more ways to use those shiny bells, browse our DIY Christmas bells projects.
You will need: 10 empty plastic soda bottles, white spray paint, red paint pen or tape, 10 jingle bells, thin red ribbon, a soft playground ball, 2 cups of sand.
How to make it: 1. Add a little sand to each bottle for weight and cap it tightly. 2. Paint the bottles white and add a red stripe. 3. Tie a bell around each neck, set the pins in a triangle and bowl two frames per player.
Christmas Charades Jar
Charades needs nothing but people, yet a pretty jar of slips makes it feel like a real event. Write holiday movies, songs and traditions on folded red and white paper, drop them in a mason jar and tie it with twine. One person draws, acts it out with no words and the team guesses before the timer runs out. Keep the jar on the coffee table and DIY Christmas games night is always ready to go. The same jar idea works for the Christmas treat jars you hand out to guests.
You will need: 1 quart mason jar, red and white paper, scissors, a pen, red and white baker’s twine, a one minute sand timer.
How to make it: 1. Cut paper into strips about one inch by four inches. 2. Write a movie, song or tradition on each and fold it twice. 3. Fill the jar, tie the twine bow and play in teams of three or four.
Ornament Scavenger Hunt to Kick Off Your DIY Christmas Games
Your tree is already the game board. Make a list of ten ornaments hanging on it, like a red glass ornament, a tiny bird or a gold star, and hand a copy to each guest. The first person to find and point out every item wins a small prize. It keeps early arrivals busy while you finish cooking, and people notice keepsakes they have never spotted before. Our ornament tree ideas are great for adding a second hunting ground on a side table.
You will need: A decorated tree, printed or handwritten lists of ten ornaments, pencils, small wrapped prizes.
How to make it: 1. Walk around the tree and pick ten ornaments that are tricky but visible. 2. Write each one on the list with a short clue. 3. Hand out lists and pencils and give a prize to the first guest who finds them all.
Tabletop Mini Curling With Jar Lids
Bring the Winter Olympics to the dining table. A strip of brown kraft paper becomes the ice, a painted bullseye becomes the target, and metal jar lids painted red and green become the stones. Players slide their lids down the table and try to land closest to the center, knocking rival lids away when they can. If you want the real rules, the sport of curling scores the same way. Among all DIY Christmas games, this one gets the most cheering. Saved bottle caps work too, as in our bottle cap Christmas crafts.
You will need: A long roll of brown kraft paper, red and white acrylic paint, a dinner plate and a bowl to trace, 8 metal jar lids, red and green spray paint, painter’s tape.
How to make it: 1. Roll the paper down the table and tape the corners. 2. Trace the plate and bowl at one end and paint the rings. 3. Spray four lids red and four green, then let teams take turns sliding them toward the center.
Stocking Guessing Game
Fill a few spare stockings with everyday objects like a pine cone, a whisk, a spool of thread and a cookie cutter, then knot the tops. Guests reach in without looking and write down what they think each item is. The funniest wrong answers usually win the night, even if they do not win the prize. Hang the stockings on the mantel ahead of time so the game looks like part of the decor, and wrap the prize in one of our fabric gift bags for a pretty finish.
You will need: 4 to 6 stockings, 5 small household objects per stocking, ribbon to tie the tops, paper and pencils, a small prize.
How to make it: 1. Fill each stocking with five objects that feel tricky but safe to touch. 2. Tie the tops loosely so a hand fits inside. 3. Give guests two minutes per stocking, then reveal the answers one by one.
Felt Christmas Bingo Boards
Paper bingo cards end up in the trash, but felt boards last for years. Stitch or glue a grid of tiny felt shapes onto green felt squares, then use buttons as markers. The caller draws matching shapes from a bowl and players cover them until someone fills a row. These DIY Christmas games boards are calm enough for grandparents and quick enough for teens. They are a lovely sit down project to make together, just like the ideas in our Christmas crafts with grandkids collection.
You will need: Green felt sheets, red, white, gold and purple felt pieces, fabric glue, a bowl of mixed buttons, a small bowl for calling cards.
How to make it: 1. Cut green felt into ten inch squares and mark a five by five grid. 2. Glue a different small felt shape in each square, mixing the order on every board. 3. Cut matching paper calling shapes, draw them from a bowl and cover squares with buttons.
Present Stack Challenge
Wrap a pile of empty boxes in leftover paper and give each player one minute to build the tallest tower they can. Here is the catch: they can only use one hand. Towers wobble, laughter erupts and someone always claims the table moved. It is one of the cheapest DIY Christmas games because the boxes are free, and they can be stacked under the tree as decor when the round is over. Our shoe box crafts show more ways to give those empty boxes a second life.
You will need: 10 to 15 empty boxes of mixed sizes, leftover wrapping paper, tape, ribbon, a one minute timer, a tape measure.
How to make it: 1. Wrap every box and tape the seams flat so they stack well. 2. Give one player at a time the full pile and one minute. 3. Measure each tower when time is up and award the tallest builder.
Cardboard Trivia Wheel for DIY Christmas Games
Spin the wheel, land on a color and answer a question from that category. Red might be holiday movies, green might be family history, gold might be songs and cream might be food. A brass fastener and a cut wooden arrow make the spinner turn smoothly, and the wheel itself is just a big round of cardboard painted in pie wedges. It leans on a stack of books like a vintage game show prop. For more sturdy builds from boxes, see our cardboard Christmas decorations.
You will need: A 20 inch cardboard circle, red, green, gold and cream acrylic paint, a ruler, a thin wooden arrow, a brass paper fastener, index cards for questions.
How to make it: 1. Draw twelve equal wedges across the cardboard with a ruler and paint them in four colors. 2. Push the fastener through the arrow and the center so it spins. 3. Write five questions for each color on index cards and play in teams.
Paper Snowflake Cutting Contest
Hand everyone a stack of white paper, scissors and five minutes on the clock. The goal is the most beautiful snowflake, judged by a guest who did not play. It sounds calm, but these DIY Christmas games get competitive once people start sneaking looks at each other’s designs. Tape the finished flakes to the windows so the party leaves a winter scene behind. If you want patterns to copy, our paper snowflake ideas walk through simple folds that look impressive.
You will need: White copy paper cut into squares, small sharp scissors for each player, a five minute timer, clear tape, a small prize ribbon.
How to make it: 1. Show players how to fold a square into a narrow six sided wedge. 2. Start the timer and let everyone cut their own design. 3. Unfold, line them up on the table and let a judge award the ribbon.
Roll a Snowman Dice Game
Each number on the die matches a snowman piece. Roll a one for the body, a two for the head, a three for the hat and so on, and the first player to complete a felt snowman wins. A hand painted wooden box holds the dice and pieces, so the set looks like a cozy heirloom on the shelf. These are the DIY Christmas games that young kids and grandparents can play side by side. Pair the box with other wooden Christmas gifts for a family present under the tree.
You will need: A small unfinished wooden box with a sliding lid, white, black, orange and red acrylic paint, 2 wooden dice, white, black, orange and red felt, fabric glue.
How to make it: 1. Paint a cheerful snowman on the box lid and let it dry. 2. Cut one felt snowman set per player: body, head, hat, scarf, eyes and nose. 3. Give a number to each piece, roll in turns and build until someone finishes.
Cookie Decorating Showdown to End Your DIY Christmas Games
Finish the night at the kitchen table. Bake plain sugar cookies ahead of time, set out bowls of icing and sprinkles, and give each guest three cookies and fifteen minutes. A blind tasting is fun, but the real prize goes to the prettiest plate, like holly leaves with shiny red berries. Everyone takes their cookies home, so the last game doubles as a party favor. Cut shapes ahead of time with the tools from our cookie cutter Christmas crafts post.
You will need: 3 dozen plain sugar cookies, white, red and green royal icing in piping bags, sprinkles, small offset spatulas, paper plates, a fifteen minute timer.
How to make it: 1. Bake and cool the cookies the day before. 2. Set each guest up with three cookies, icing bags and sprinkles. 3. Start the timer, then let a neutral judge pick the prettiest plate.
