9 Creative Office Christmas Party Games for Large Groups

Updated: August 08, 2022

The office Christmas party: it’s an event that’s hotly anticipated throughout the year at best, or one that elicits woeful and obligatory participation (at worst).

Most companies which fall into the first category put the focus of the office Christmas party squarely on fun. If you’re planning the holiday party for your office, the easiest way to do this is to incorporate entertaining, holiday-themed activities for your employees. Here’s a list of some easy, accessible, and memorable games which companies of any size can use to spice up the Christmas party (some eggnog can help, too).

#1 – Two Truths and A Lie

A great option for smaller dinner tables or more intimate groups, Two Truths and A Lie is the infamous game where each person identifies three things about him or herself (two of which are true, one of which is a lie). Everyone else has to guess what the deception is, and the game continues to the next player once the lie is uncovered.

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#2 – Scavenger Hunt

This one is a madly popular choice (of course we’re bias, but check out what our customers say – testimonials), specifically with Scavify, which simplifies the process and makes it easy for everyone involved. Particularly for large groups, as our platform consolidates every stage in the process, so there’s no extra work on the planning front even if you go from 2 teams to 2,000.

An unlimited number of people can play from anywhere, at anytime, and it encourages resourcefulness and creativity in your employees, although they’ll be too busy having fun to notice.

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#3 – Trivia

Trivia is always a crowd pleaser, whether it’s informal in a smaller group, or coordinated by a professional for a larger team. Lots of resources exist online to make the trivia Q&A process easier for facilitators (particularly with a holiday theme), and it can be given to a crowd of any size! Think through how you’d like employees to submit answers (e.g., writing them on a response sheet or submitting electronically), and identify your prizes for first, second and third place!

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#4 – White Elephant

The White Elephant gift exchange is a Christmas tradition: each employee brings in a different, wrapped gift, and these gifts are pooled in a central location. All employees receive a numerical assignment, letting them know at what point they’ll be able to select a gift from the central area, or steal an open gift from an employee that’s opened a gift earlier in the process. Once a gift has been ‘stolen’ three times, it’s out of play.

Want to spice up the usual flow? Ask employees to bring in a themed gift, or perhaps a framed photo of their favorite coworker (which can quickly become a year-over-year tradition).

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#5 – Christmas Cookie Eating Contest

This one is only for the brave, or the hungry: many people end up with lots of uneaten (or unwanted) Christmas cookies around the holidays, and this is a great chance to unload them (if needed) or have some fun with people who claim to be the best eaters. Have participants volunteer, and assign someone (their spouse/partner or a colleague) to count the number of cookies consumed within a specific time period. Think about what you’d like to give the winner, beyond just bragging rights.

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#6 – Holiday Movie Charades

Charades is a tried and true favorite, and the only thing that can make it better in December is if every question relates to a Christmas movie! This activity takes a bit of prep work, but not much: simply create or download a list of the most popular holiday films, print it out, cut it into slips (one title per slip) and put all the slips into a hat from which employees will draw. All players can take a slip, and act out the film title for all to guess!

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#7 – Name That Christmas Tune

A holiday twist puts a new spin on everyone’s favorite, fast-paced music guessing game. Create a playlist of famous holiday songs, and give employees (or teams of employees) a specified time to guess the song title (and the artist, if you want to up the complexity level). For the highly competitive, you can organize a face-off, where two people go toe-to-toe to name the song first before the other can guess.

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#8 – Left Right Center

Played often at house parties, this game brings cold, hard cash into the equation. However, it lends itself nicely to the corporate holiday party atmosphere, as it’s easy for companies to fund the game, and the winner gets to take home the spoils!

Another great option for seated dinners, this game is best played with teams of 6-8. Each participant receives three, $1 bills (or 3 quarters, depending on volume and cost). Each team receives three dice for the middle of their table or playing area. Based on highest initial roll, that person will go first. He or she will roll the dice and do the following based on the number shown on each of the three die:

1 = hold a dollar

2 = hold a dollar

3 = hold a dollar

4 = put a dollar in the center

5 = pass a dollar to the person on his/her left

6 = pass a dollar to the person on his/her right

After he or she moves enough dollars based on what’s shown on the dice, play moves clockwise to the next player. Play continues until you’re the last person with a dollar (and that person gets all the money that’s been given to the center of the table)!

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Although the food and drink at a holiday party might still be a bigger subject of discussion among guests, the games and entertainment won’t be forgotten! Be sure to wow your employees with one (or more) ways to pass the time during the party, and make it a night to remember!