7 Funny Christmas Party Games From All Over the World

As colorful and diverse as our world is, so are its Christmas traditions. These Christmas party games from different countries and continents provide fun, variety and a laugh or two.

When it comes to planning a Christmas party, whether for family, friends or colleagues, a lot needs to be considered: for food and drinks, for decoration and for music, but above all you want to ensure a good mood. And a secret ingredient that should not be underestimated are good Christmas party games!

You might immediately think of Wichtel – the classic game for a Christmas party. In a previous article we have already described three different Secret Santa variants and even more beautiful Christmas games for adults.

But it is often worthwhile to look beyond the familiar and try out new, unusual and sometimes bizarre Christmas party games from all over the world.

7 Christmas Party Games from Every Corner of the Earth

Numerous Christmas games are popular all over the world, but there are regional preferences and characteristics. The following Christmas games all come from or have a traditional connection to specific countries or regions of the world.

1. Christmas Bingo (almost) like in Italy

Throughout the year, people in Italy collect small change for Christmas. Not to donate it, but to gamble it away at Christmas bingo!

Then traditionally, a kind of bingo is played here before the gift-giving, where bingo cards are bought with combinations of numbers and then numbers are drawn from a little bag and announced.

The whole thing can be done without cash, of course, using our template for a Christmas bingo, for example.

2. “Bite the Bag” as in the Philippines

There is hardly a country that celebrates Christmas as obsessively as the Philippines. On the majority Catholic archipelago, Christmas starts as early as September and lasts almost a third of the year! No wonder that they have developed so many different Christmas traditions and games.

Besides the extremely popular Limbo, the game “Bite the Bag” also enjoys great popularity at Filipino Christmas parties.

To do this, place a paper bag upright on the floor. The challenge is to bend down with your arms behind your back, balancing on one leg only, and lift the bag with your mouth. If you don’t make it, fall down or break the rules (e.g. by using your hands), you are eliminated.

For hygiene reasons, you should have a paper bag ready for each player. As an additional incentive, you can fill the bag with sweets.

If you are playing more than one round, you could also use slightly lower bags in each round, or cut a thin strip off the edge so that you have to bend down even lower and it gets harder with each round.

3. Candy Cane Fishing like in the USA

For this game you need:

• Candy canes (bent into the shape of a walking stick!)
• 2 containers (e.g. large plastic boxes)
• A piece of string (approx. 50-70 cm long)

First, tie one of the candy canes to the piece of string so that you can put it around your neck like a necklace. It is important that the bent end hangs downwards. One of the boxes is filled with candy canes so that the bent ends point upwards, the other one is placed empty about half a meter away from it.

All players now have 30 seconds to transport as many candy canes as possible from the full box to the empty box. The player whose turn it is puts the string around his neck and tries to catch the other candy canes with the candy cane hanging around his neck.

The winner is of course the one who creates the most candy canes, but of course everyone is allowed to snack 😉

4. Gift Unwrapping With Oven Gloves Like in Germany

This is one of those Christmas party games that I remember from my own childhood. It was often played at children’s birthday parties and Christmas parties and is just as fun as an adult as it was back then.

What you need for it:

• A gift wrapped in as many layers of gift wrap as possible
• Oven Gloves
• a Santa hat (+ possibly a beard)
• a cube

Everyone who is playing sits in a circle around the gift that is in the middle, as well as the other game materials. Now the dice are rolled in turn until someone rolls a 6. The person is then allowed to quickly put on the hat, beard and gloves and unwrap the gift until the next 6 is rolled and someone else takes over.

Whoever finally frees the gift completely from the wrapping paper gets to keep it.

5. Christmas Piñata Like in Mexico

While piñatas in Spain are traditionally associated with Easter and the breaking of Lent, in Central America, and especially in Mexico, the piñata is particularly popular during Advent and is virtually one of the classic Christmas party games. Here, smashing piñatas is one of the most important traditions at the so-called Posadas, the traditional pre-Christmas fiestas.

Typically, a Christmas piñata is shaped like a ball with seven cone-shaped tips. According to Christian belief, these stand for the seven deadly sins, which must first be smashed before the piñata reveals a rain of happiness in the form of sweets. Nowadays, however, there are also Christmas piñatas in other shapes, such as poinsettias, Santa Clauses or fir trees.

Either way, a piñata is sure to provide great fun at your Christmas party, though you should make enough room for it and take a few safety precautions, after all, this game involves swinging a bat while blindfolded.

6. Secret Santa With Dice Like in Sweden

What would a list of Christmas party games be without mentioning Wichteln? This now worldwide popular game originates from Scandinavia, where it is known as “Julklapp” and knows numerous variations. In the meantime also in this country a Swedish variant of the Secret Santa is played with pleasure, with which the actual fun begins only if all Secret Santa gifts lie on the gift table.

All you need for this game, apart from the Secret Santa gifts themselves, are one or two dice. There are also different variants, I explain in the following one with 2 dice.

As is usually the case with Secret Santa, it is agreed in advance what type of gifts should be and in what range the purchase value should be. At the Christmas party, everyone places their wrapped gifts on a table. Everyone sits in a circle and begins to roll two dice around the gifts.

The first round is about distributing the gifts: whoever rolls a double may take one from the table and then does not roll again until everyone has a gift.

Then the second round begins, for this you set an alarm, e.g. to 10 minutes. A double now means that you may exchange your gift with anyone from the round, with a sum of 5 all gifts are passed to the left, with a sum of 9 to the right. When the alarm clock rings, the second round ends and everyone is allowed to unwrap the gift they are currently holding.

Before the third round begins, everyone briefly presents the gifts they are holding to the others. Then it continues with the same rules as in the second round. It is also possible to shorten the time, e.g. to 5 minutes, to get things moving.

7. Christmas Carols Karaoke (almost) like in Japan

Although in Japan only a minority of the population is Christian, Christmas is celebrated by many Japanese, even non-Christians. Especially young couples celebrate Christmas as a “festival of love”, almost a bit like Valentine’s Day is celebrated here. Karaoke singing in Japan is of course not only popular at Christmas time, but fits perfectly with the European tradition of Christmas carol singing.

A karaoke contest with Christmas songs is an excellent opportunity for your guests to show off their singing talent and create a great atmosphere at your Christmas party. The Konzerthaus Berlin, for example, has recorded 9 of the most popular German Christmas songs and prepared them as Karaokevideos, e.g. “O du Fröhliche”.

We hope these Christmas party games make for a merry holiday!

While you’re here, browse a bit more of our Christmas ideas for friends, couples, and families!

On Greatime you’ll also find lots of other ideas for creating a Christmas party, including instructions for a Christmas raffle, a Christmas quiz and Christmas games for kids.

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