Christmas Office Party Games

Christmas Office Party Game Ideas

People Bingo

This game is a great way to get people talking. Create a bingo card with holiday-themed statements in the squares instead of the usual numbers. You can include facts like:

• Still believes in Santa Claus
• Watches It's a Wonderful Life every year
• Hasn't finished shopping for Christmas
• Has made a gingerbread house
• Has never gone ice skating

Players must find people to match the statements and write their names in the squares on their cards. The winner can either be the first person to get a traditional bingo by filling a row or the person who marks the most squares.

Santa Hat Game

Pass out Santa hats to the guests as they enter the party venue. To start the game, everyone dons the hats, and one person is designated the leader. The object of the game is to wear the hat until the leader takes hers off. The last person wearing a hat loses the game.

For best effect, the leader should wait until the party has gone on long enough for people to become distracted by conversations, food, and dancing before removing the hat. Then watch the hat removal ripple through the party. You can create a humorous penalty for the last person wearing a hat, like having to sing a Christmas carol, or make him the leader for the next round of the game. In addition to providing entertainment, the Santa hats add a festive air to the celebration.

Team-Based Games

Team-based games are good Christmas office party games because they get more people involved in the fun. A few possibilities include:

• Charades – Charades is a classic adult Christmas party game. Ask the guests to form teams and act out holiday-related words and phrases for their team members to guess.
• Christmas Trivia – Fans of Jeopardy and other quiz shows will enjoy testing their knowledge. Create questions about the history of Christmas, Christmas songs, Christmas movies, and more. Christmas trivia can also be an individual game if you use it as a paper-and-pencil quiz.
• Impromptu Dress-Up – Give each team basic supplies like tape, scissors, and long sheets of colored paper. Ask them to dress one team member as Santa, a snowman, or another holiday-themed figure using only these supplies. Set a time limit and award prizes to the best costume creation.
• Name That Tune – Using snippets of Christmas music, teams must identify the song as quickly as possible.
• Pictionary – Pictionary is similar in spirit to charades, except people will be drawing the words and phrases for their teammates to guess. You will need a white board or an easel with a large pad of paper, so everyone can see.

Office Party Game Planning Tips

You should keep the following things in mind when planning your Christmas office party games:

• Goals – What is the purpose of playing games at your party? Do you want to use them as icebreakers to get people talking? Do you want to provide entertainment? Do you want an opportunity to award prizes? Knowing your goals can guide your game choices.
• Personalities – What is the personality of your office? Is it filled with hip, young twenty-somethings, is everyone close to retirement age, or is there a mix? More people will play along if you can tailor the games to their interests.
• Atmosphere of the party – What is the overall feel of the party? At a casual party, you're more likely to find an "anything goes" mood where guests won't feel opposed to acting silly for the sake of a game. If the guests are in tuxedos and evening gowns, they will be less likely to enjoy games requiring physical activity.
• Inclusiveness – Usually the first step towards inclusiveness is to call it a company holiday party instead of a Christmas party and to avoid overtly religious decorations and party themes. However, you should strive to be as culturally and religiously inclusive as possible in games, too. For instance, if you're playing a game of People Bingo, include a Hanukkah-based square, and make sure there are squares devoted to non-holiday-specific winter activities like skiing.
• Size of the party – The larger the group, the more difficult it will be to pull off a game involving the entire party. Smaller gatherings lend themselves toward team-based games where everyone can join in.
• Venue – Take the size and set-up of the venue into consideration when planning games. A room filled with tables offers less flexibility than an open space for mingling and dancing. You don't want to inconvenience the guests to play a game, and making guests scramble over tables and chairs could potentially cause injuries.