Christmas Games for Adults to Play at Home: 16 Games for Friends, Family and Couples

The best Christmas games for adults to play at home are carol charades, Christmas movie quotes, Who Am I?, a Christmas movie drinking game, Naughty or Nice "most likely to", Christmas trivia, a wrapping race and a white elephant gift swap. None of them need anything you don't already have in the house, and every drinking game below works with a soft drink. Below are 16 games sorted by the kind of evening you want, from a quiet night for two to a full living room on Christmas Eve.

No-prep Christmas games for adults at home

These start in a minute, cost nothing and work with whoever is still awake after dinner.

1. Carol Charades

You need: slips of paper, a bowl, a phone timer. Players: 4 to 16, in two teams.

Everyone writes three Christmas songs or films on slips. Teams take turns acting them out in 60 seconds, with no words and no humming. "Last Christmas" and "Home Alone" are easy; "Fairytale of New York" is where it gets good.

2. Christmas Movie Quotes

You need: a list of 20 quotes (write them the day before) and paper for answers. Players: 3 to 20.

Read each quote aloud and teams write down the film and, for a bonus point, the character. Mix the obvious ("Keep the change, ya filthy animal") with lines from the films people only half remember.

3. Who Am I?

You need: sticky notes and a pen. Players: 3 to 12.

Write a Christmas character on a sticky note and stick it to the forehead of the person on your left: Rudolph, the Grinch, Kevin McCallister, the Ghost of Christmas Past. Each player asks yes-or-no questions on their turn. The fewest questions wins.

4. Two Truths and a Christmas Lie

You need: nothing. Players: 3 to 12.

Each person tells three Christmas memories: the worst gift they ever got, a family disaster, a tradition nobody else has. One is invented. The group votes on the lie. This is the game where you learn the most about the in-laws.

Christmas drinking games for adults

Every game here has a sober version: swap the sip for a chocolate from the advent calendar or a point lost. Agree before you start that anyone can pass or switch to soft drinks, and keep water on the table.

5. Christmas Movie Drinking Game

You need: a Christmas film, drinks or soft drinks. Players: 2 to 15.

Pick three or four rules before the film starts, not ten. Sip when someone says "Christmas spirit", when it starts snowing at exactly the right moment, when a cynic softens, or when a character runs through an airport or a train station.

6. Truth or Drink: Christmas Edition

You need: a list of questions or a phone. Players: 3 to 10.

On your turn you answer honestly or you drink. Christmas questions land well: the gift you secretly returned, the relative you avoid at dinner, your most embarrassing office party moment. Party Roulette has a free Truth or Drink mode if you don't want to write the questions yourself.

7. Naughty or Nice: Most Likely To

You need: nothing. Players: 4 to 15.

Someone reads a prompt and on three everyone points at a person. Keep them festive: most likely to re-gift, to cry at a Christmas advert, to open a present early, to still be in pyjamas at 4 pm. The person with the most fingers on them drinks or takes a forfeit.

8. Never Have I Ever: Holiday Edition

You need: nothing. Players: 3 to 12.

"Never have I ever lied about liking a present." Anyone who has, drinks or puts a finger down. If you run out of ideas, the Never Have I Ever app has 1,800+ statements in 21 decks, with the Icebreaker and Funny decks free.

Competitive Christmas games for adults

For the family that keeps score. Put a prize on the table: the last mince pie, first pick of the chocolates, or a paper crown.

9. Christmas Trivia

You need: 30 questions in three rounds, paper. Players: 4 to 30, in teams of 2 to 5.

Run it like a pub quiz: Christmas films, Christmas number ones, and traditions around the world (who eats KFC for Christmas dinner, who hides the pickle in the tree). Swap answer sheets for marking.

10. Wrapping Race

You need: a roll of paper, tape and an awkward object per team. Players: teams of 2.

Each pair wraps a box, a bottle and a cushion in three minutes, but each person may only use one hand. The group judges on neatness. Wrap a person instead of a cushion if the crowd is up for it.

11. Holiday Pictionary

You need: a pad or whiteboard, markers, word slips. Players: 4 to 16.

Classic Pictionary with a Christmas word list: chimney, sleigh, mistletoe, eggnog, ugly sweater, Boxing Day sales. Give each drawer 60 seconds.

12. Name That Christmas Song

You need: a phone and a speaker. Players: 3 to 20.

The host plays the first three seconds of a Christmas song. First to shout the title gets a point; the artist is a bonus. Cover versions make it harder.

Christmas gift games for adults

Games that move presents around the room. Set a price limit before anyone shops.

13. White Elephant (Yankee Swap)

You need: one wrapped gift per player, numbered slips. Players: 5 to 20.

Draw numbers. Player 1 opens a gift. Everyone after can open a new gift or steal an opened one, and a gift can only be stolen three times. The funnier the gifts, the better the night.

14. Pass the Parcel Dares

You need: a small prize wrapped in many layers, with a dare written on each layer. Players: 5 to 15.

Pass the parcel while music plays. Whoever holds it when the music stops removes one layer and does that dare: sing the next line of a carol, do an impression of the host, tell the room your best Christmas memory.

15. Left Right Christmas Story

You need: one wrapped gift per person and a printed story full of the words "left" and "right". Players: 6 to 20, in a circle.

Someone reads the story aloud. Each time they say "left" or "right", everyone passes the gift they are holding in that direction. Whatever you hold at the end is yours.

Christmas games on your phone

When the board games are packed away, a phone game needs no setup at all. Party Roulette spins a wheel that picks the player and the challenge, with 700+ prompts across 15 game modes.

16. Party Roulette

You need: one Android phone. Players: 2 or more.

Add everyone's name, pick a mode and pass the phone. Warm-Up and Truth or Drink are free. Most Likely To, Never Have I Ever, Drunk Trivia, Karaoke Roulette, Hot Seat and the after-dark modes come with Party Roulette Plus. It is an 18+ game, so keep it for after the kids are asleep. More ideas in our guide to party games for adults on phone.

Christmas games for couples at home

Most of the games above work for two. The best ones for a quiet Christmas night are Christmas Movie Quotes as a head-to-head quiz, the Christmas Movie Drinking Game with a blanket, Two Truths and a Christmas Lie, and Truth or Drink with the Pillow Talk questions from Party Roulette Plus. Planning a whole season of game nights? Our Thanksgiving games for adults come with a free printable, and the Halloween party games for adults are there for next year.

Common questions

What games can adults play at Christmas without anything?

Carol Charades, Who Am I?, Two Truths and a Christmas Lie, Naughty or Nice Most Likely To and Never Have I Ever need nothing but paper or nothing at all.

What is a good Christmas game for a big family with adults and kids?

Holiday Pictionary, Name That Christmas Song, the Left Right Christmas Story and the Wrapping Race work for all ages. Save the drinking games and Party Roulette for the adults later in the night.

How do you make Christmas games fun for adults?

Add a small prize, keep each round short, play in teams so nobody is on the spot alone, and use questions that are about the people in the room rather than general knowledge.

How long should a Christmas game night last?

Plan three or four games in about two hours: one icebreaker, one competitive game, one gift game and one late-night game for whoever is still up.

Can you play Christmas games over video call?

Yes. Trivia, Christmas Movie Quotes, Name That Christmas Song, Two Truths and a Christmas Lie and Never Have I Ever all work on a call. See our list of games to play over the phone.