Exciting! Recreational Activities to Enjoy at a Christmas Party
Are you looking for Christmas activities you can enjoy with family and friends? There are lots of perfect party games that will make everyone—from kids to adults—smile, such as a “present delivery relay” where you dress up as Santa and carry gifts, hand-clapping games set to Christmas songs, and a lively “Christmas Basket” game that gets everyone excited.
In this article, we’ll introduce Christmas-specific activities that are easy to prepare and fun for any age or group size.
Use them to help create wonderful Christmas memories!
- [Children’s Club] Easy and fun indoor games. Exciting party games
- [Part 2] Recommended Indoor Activities and Recreation Games for December
- [Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
- Recommended for upper elementary grades! Exciting indoor recreation and games
- Christmas party booster! A collection of game ideas that large groups can enjoy
- [Fun!] Quizzes to Liven Up a Christmas Party
- A collection of simple indoor recreational games
- [Elementary School Rec] Recommended Games and Performances for a Fun Party
- Recreation Activities That Excite Kids’ Clubs! Plans and Ideas Children Will Love
- Christmas Party Ideas! Fun Activities and Game Ideas
- Play ideas kids can enjoy from 1st to 6th grade [indoors & outdoors]
- Let’s play Christmas songs with handmade instruments! Craft ideas for sound-making instruments
- [For Kids] Exciting Class-vs-Class Games: Team Competition Activities
Get the Party Going! 10 Christmas Party Games You’ll Be Obsessed With (31–40)
Do it right away! Epicenter game
I’m going to introduce a “Shingenchi” game that everyone can get excited about.
First, choose one person to be the Oni (it).
The Oni’s job is to figure out who the Shingenchi is.
One other member becomes the Shingenchi and performs various movements while trying not to be noticed by the Oni.
The remaining members should imitate the Shingenchi’s movements—mixing in other motions as well—so the Oni can’t tell who the real Shingenchi is.
The Oni tries to guess who the Shingenchi is.
The more players you have, the more challenging it may become.
Give it a try!
Christmas target game!
How about making a ring toss game you can use at parties? Using colored construction paper, you’ll make a Christmas tree and hats as the targets, plus the rings.
First, to make the tree, prepare a square sheet of origami paper and fold it in half to make a rectangle, aligning the left and right edges.
Next, open the fold, then fold the two bottom corners in toward the center.
Fold the new edges so they overlap at the center, tuck in any excess paper, and shape it into an isosceles triangle to finish.
The hat is made the same way, so decorate it with stickers or pom-poms to complete it.
For the rings, take two strips of construction paper, fold each in half lengthwise, twist them together into one strip, and then connect the ends to form a circle.
Fun for kids and adults! Balloon Battle
Here’s a game called “Balloon Battle” that uses long balloons and round balloons.
Prepare one long balloon for each participant.
After inflating the balloons, each participant holds a long balloon, and at the start signal, they pass the round balloon to the opponent.
The rule is that you can’t use your hands—you must pass using the long balloon.
Balloons are light, and if you misjudge your strength, they’ll drift away.
If you drop the balloon, you lose, so be careful when passing.
The game is basically played by two people, but it could also be fun as a team relay.
Fun for elementary school kids too! The Rule Game
The “Think With Your Head” rule quiz is a game that even elementary school students can enjoy.
It’s a game where you listen to connected parts like “This is 1,” “This is 2,” “This is 3,” and answer accordingly.
You might feel tempted to say the number shown by the fingers when someone makes a number pose with their hand, but try to listen carefully to the connecting words and give the correct answer.
Once you grasp the key, you can create endless questions.
Keep your mind flexible as you figure out the right answers.
It could also be fun to play with more people and compete to see who can get the most correct answers.
A Hit with Toddlers! The Traffic Light Game
Let’s play the ‘Traffic Light Game,’ which also helps you learn traffic rules! Everyone except the leader stands at the start line.
When the leader says ‘Green,’ jump forward one step with both feet.
When they say ‘Yellow,’ jump back one step with both feet.
If they say ‘Red,’ you must not move.
Listen carefully to the leader’s words, move accurately, and cross the crosswalk safely.
The rules are simple, but thinking with your head and moving your body instantly is surprisingly challenging.
Once you get used to it, speed things up and try increasing the difficulty!
Have fun with no props needed! The Gyutan (beef tongue) game
The “Gyūtan” game, which naturally gets everyone into a circle, is a fun game that people of all ages—from small children to the elderly—can enjoy together.
The rules are simple: the first person says “gyū” out loud, and the second person doesn’t say “tan” but claps instead.
The “tan” at the end increases one by one—three times, then four times, and so on.
If you get the number of “tan” wrong or fall off the rhythm, you lose.
Once you get used to it, it’s fun to try speeding it up as a challenge.
Spoon race
The “spoon race” is where you run to the finish line while balancing a ping-pong ball or another sphere on a spoon.
It’s a very simple game, but when you get flustered your hand shakes and the ping-pong ball falls off, and if you try to run faster to reach the goal, your body sways and—again—the ball drops.
Setting rules like making it a team competition or restarting from the beginning if the ball falls would likely make everyone take it more seriously!
Rolling Balance Game
The Rolling Balance Game is a game where Santa tries to deliver presents to children without falling into holes.
Cut several holes in a piece of cardboard and assign points to some of them.
Roll ping-pong balls—pretending they’re Santa or the presents—across the cardboard so they roll into the children’s holes that have points.
If you make the non-scoring holes a bit smaller, the ping-pong balls won’t drop all the way through, making it easier to play—highly recommended.
For the scoring holes, make them large enough for a ping-pong ball to fall in clearly, and place a paper cup underneath to catch it.
Set a limit on the number of ping-pong balls or the time, and compete to see who can score the most points!
Jenga
Since its release in the UK in 1983, the balance game Jenga has been loved for many years.
While Jenga is typically known for pulling and stacking wooden blocks, there are now versions made of jumbo-sized paper that you assemble and play with.
Kids love the oversized Jenga, making it a great recommendation for Christmas parties.
And because it’s made of paper, it’s safe even if it falls!
Paper cup balance game
It’s a game where you build a tower out of paper cups and cardboard, decide the order by playing rock-paper-scissors, and then each person removes one paper cup in turn.
The tower looks stable, but it surprisingly collapses quite easily, so choose carefully when picking a cup! Even if it falls, you can quickly rebuild it, and since it’s made of lightweight materials, you won’t get hurt even if something hits you.
Best of all, you can enjoy it over and over again.
It’s easy enough for little kids to play, so try it at a birthday party with children of different ages.