The Christmas Party Games Guide
Whether it’s a primary school party, a senior school activities day, a staff team building day or a family gathering, there’s nothing better for bringing people together (and tearing them apart!) than a party game.
I have a few fond favourites here to share with you, each with varying levels of skills and humiliation required to have a good time. Some are old classics you may have forgotten and there are a few family favourites here too. Feel free to adapt to suit the needs of your group gathering.
1, The Mars Bar Game
You will need:
A couple of Mars bars, a plate, a knife and fork, sterilising wipes, a selection of hats, scarves and gloves (the bulkier the better!) and a die (the bigger the better)
The aim of the game:
To eat as much Mars bar as you can in the time you have.
Instructions:
Everyone sits in a circle, at the centre of which is a Mars bar on a plate, a knife and fork and a selection of hats, scarves and gloves.
The participants take turns to roll the die.
When they roll a 6, they get up, run to the middle of the circle, put on a hat, a scarf and a pair of gloves and use the knife and fork to cut themselves a piece of the Mars bar to eat. They continue to cut pieces for themselves until the next person comes up.
Meanwhile, the other game players continue rolling the dice and as soon as the next person rolls a 6, the first person stops, takes off their hat, scarf and gloves, and is replaced by the new person, who will need to don a hat, scarf and gloves before they carve off a piece of Mars for themselves.
This continues until all of the Mars bar is gone
Top tips:
Carve slim guide lines in the top of the Mars bar beforehand
Use the sanitary wipes for cleaning the knife and fork between users.
2, Wink Murder
You will need:
A timer
The aim of the game:
For one person to ‘murder’ as many people as possible in 3 minutes
Instructions:
All of the participants sit in a circle. One person is selected to be the Detective and they leave the room. While they are outside, one person is selected to be the Murderer and then the detective returns.
The Murderer has to ‘kill’ as many people as possible in the allotted time without being detected. To do this they wink at other participants. Those who are winked at need to ‘die’ in magnificent style (screaming, staggering and swooning are encouraged - you could even give bonus points for the best ‘death’).
Meanwhile the Detective will be moving around the circle and watching. They have 3 guesses to identify who the murderer is.
The game ends when the Murderer is identified, or when the 3 minutes are up.
Repeat a number of times and the person with the most ‘murders’ is the winner.
Top Tips:
You might want to draw names out of a hat to make it fair
3, Poop The Potato
You will need:
A bag of potatoes, 2 buckets
The aim of the game:
To deposit as many potatoes in the bucket as possible
Instructions:
The participants are split into 2 groups who stand in relay lines.
Next to the groups is a pile/bag/basket of potatoes, while 2 buckets are placed next to each other, roughly 10 metres away.
Taking it in turns, participants place a potato between their buttocks/upper thighs and walk/waddle to their team bucket, where they squat over it and deposit the potato in the bucket.
Any potatoes dropped outside the bucket are lost
The player then runs back and high fives the next person on their team, who repeats the potato carrying process
This is repeated until all of the potatoes have been used
The team with the most potatoes in their bucket wins
Top Tips:
Smaller potatoes are easier to ‘carry.’
You can add more buckets and more teams for larger groups
4, The Cereal Box Game
You will need:
A cardboard cereal box
The aim of the game:
To be the last person able to lift the cereal box
Instructions:
The participants sit in a circle with an empty cereal box in the middle
Taking it in turns, everyone picks up the cereal box with their teeth. They are only allowed to have their feet (or one foot) on the floor. Anyone who touches the floor with a hand, knee or any other body part is out. Anyone unable to pick up the cereal box is out
Once one round is completed, an inch is torn from the top of the cereal box and the game is repeated.
This continues, with the box getting lower and lower, until there is only one person left
Top Tips:
Loose clothing helps!
5, The List Game
You will need:
The list below! (or your own version of it)
The aim of the game:
To be the first team to locate each items and get the most points
Instructions:
The group is split into teams and the winning team is the one with the most points at the end of the game
You shout out the name of the item on the list and one person from each team has to locate this item and bring it to you. The first person to bring you the item gets a point for their team
For the next item, a new person from each team is selected, and so on, so that everyone gets a chance to be the ‘runner’ and so that there is only a limited number of people running at any one time!
The suggested school list:
A plastic ruler
A lunch box with a cartoon on it
A pink (empty) water bottle
A white sock
A set of keys on a keyring
A lanyard
A book written by someone starting with R
An orange pencil
Something beginning with T
A piece of lego
Top Tips:
Change the list to suit your participants and environment
6, Pass The Squeeze
You will need:
A deck of cards, a cup and a teaspoon
The aim of the game:
To either put the teaspoon in the cup, or to turn the cup upside down
Instructions:
The participants are split into 2 teams who sit in a line facing the opposite team (like train tracks)
At the far end of the lines are a cup (facing upwards) and a teaspoon, both places centrally between the 2 teams
All of the participants hold hands (behind their backs) with the people sitting next to them and look down the line in the direction of the cup and spoon
The person at the end of each team, nearest the cup and spoon must have their free hand behind their back too
At the other end of the lines, the leader/adult sits and slowly turns over a deck of shuffled cards one at a time. The person on each team who is closest to the cards watches the cards and, when they see a Queen card, they squeeze the hand of the person next to them.
This person then squeezes the next person’s hand and this squeeze is passed down the line to the people at the far end.
The job of the last people in the line is either to put the spoon in the cup or turn the cup over. If they do this correctly their team gets a point. If they do this when a Queen has NOT been turned (often there are mis-squeezes) then the other team gets the point.
After each turn, players at the far end come to the ‘card’ end of the line and everyone moves down a place. This way everyone gets a turn at being the observer and the turner.
The card turner continues turning over the pack of cards until all cards are turned. They then shuffle the cards and start again
The game finishes when everyone has had a turn in the line and the points are then totalled.
Top Tips:
Watch out for Kings and Jacks as they are often mistaken for Queens and will send a mis-squeeze down the line!
Swap the cup and the spoon over between turns to make it fair (it’s slightly easier to turn the cup)
7, The Celebrities Game
You will need:
A bowl, lots of pieces of paper, pens or pencils, a timer
The aim of the game:
To be the team who wins the most points
Instructions:
The participants are all given the same number of pieces of paper and asked to write the name of a celebrity (living or dead, fictional or real - but who everyone will know) on each piece of paper, then fold it in half and put it in the bowl.
The group is then split into teams (between 3 and 10 people per team)
Round 1. Each team is given 3 minutes. During that time, one person will take names from the bowl and try to get their team to guess the name on the piece of paper. They do this by describing the person and what they do, what they’re famous for, etc - but with no actions. (for example Chris Helmsworth: ‘an Australian actor who plays Thor. He was in a remake of Ghostbusters. He’s from Melbourne and married to Elsa Pataky. He started his career on Home and Away. He has 2 brothers, one is called Liam’ etc)
For each person correctly guessed, the team gets a point. The team can have multiple guesses. If they give up and pass, the other team(s) get a point.
If the person is correctly guessed, the paper goes on the floor. If the team passes, the name goes back in the bowl.
At the end of the 3 minutes the bowl is passed to the next team and it’s their turn to guess as many people as possible
This continues back and forth between the teams until all the names are guessed. Then the papers on the floor are scooped up, refolded and put back into the bowl for round 2. The person who was playing continues their turn until their time is up.
Round 2. Same names, different rules. This time the person holding the bowl only gets to say one word to their team (for example Chris Helmsworth: ‘Thor’) Again, the team has multiple guesses. If they guess correctly they get a point and the paper goes on the floor. If they give up, the other team(s) get a point and the paper goes back in the bowl.
At the end of the 3 minutes, the bowl is passed to the next team for their turn.
Again this continues until the names run out.
Round 3. The same rules apply but this time, no words are allowed, only actions and the team has to guess the person from the actions (for example Chris Helmsworth: do weight lifting and throw and catch the hammer)
At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins
Top Tips:
Listen to the other teams so you know all of the names in the bowl
8, Musical Groups
You will need:
A large space and music
The aim of the game:
To be the last team left
Instructions:
Everyone dances while the music plays
When the music stops you shout out a number and then count to 5.
The children need to get into groups of that number and sit down together.
Anyone left standing outside a group on the count of 5 is out
Repeat until there is only one group left
Top Tips:
Small groups are fun and easy (shouting 1 is always confusing!)
9, Musical Statues
You will need:
A large space and music
The aim of the game:
To be the last team left
Instructions:
Everyone dances while the music plays
When the music stops everyone freezes for 5 seconds
Anyone who moves is out
Repeat until there are only 3 people left
Top Tips:
Encourage wild and crazy dancing
10, The Picture Game
You will need:
Plenty of plain paper and pencils, a selection of pieces of art work (can be photographs, images from magazines, classic pieces of art - the more complicated the better)
The aim of the game:
To communicate clearly and recreate the most accurate version of the original picture
Instructions:
Groups of 3 people (can be groups of 4 for older children)
In each group the players are numbered 1, 2 and 3 (and 4)
Player number 1 from each group gets to come and look at a picture for 3 minutes and memorise it.
They then go to player number 2 in their team and have 3 minutes to describe the picture in fine detail. Player number 2 can ask questions
Player number 2 then goes to player number 3 and describes the picture again so that Player number 3 can draw it. Again they have 3 minutes.
The finished pictures are then brought to the adjudicator who judges them against the original picture and scores them for accuracy.
Repeat with a new picture and the players each in a different role
Top Tips:
For larger groups you can add in another round of describing
