30 games
Checked October 2026

Christmas Party Games With Prizes

Christmas party games to win prizes with tickets, unwrapping, lucky draws, knockouts and money, every prize supplied by the host.

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One Key in Twelve Parcels1. Lock the prize in a box or a bag with a small padlock. Keep its key and collect eleven old keys that do not fit.2. Wrap all twelve keys as tiny parcels and pile them in a basket.3. Each player picks one parcel and unwraps it. With fewer than twelve players, go around again until the basket is empty.4. Players try their keys in the lock in turn. The key that opens it wins what is inside.Prizes: one big prize. Players: 4 to 12. You need: a padlock with its key, eleven other keys, a box or bag that locks, paper and a prize.
Tree, Fireplace or Door: Walk to Your Answer1. Write ten questions about Christmas in this house or this office, each with three answers, such as how many lights are on the tree: 200, 400 or 600. Name three spots in the room as answers one, two and three.2. Read a question. Players walk to the spot for their answer.3. Count down from five, then give the answer. Players on a wrong spot sit down.4. Keep going until one player is left. If everyone still in is wrong together, they all stay in.Prizes: one big prize. Players: 8 to 100. You need: ten questions written beforehand.
The Ticket Count and the Walk to the Table1. Lay the prizes out on one table where everyone can see them all evening.2. After the last game, players count their tickets and line up from most to fewest. Players with the same count throw one round of rock, paper, scissors for the place.3. Each player in turn takes one prize from the table.4. If prizes are left when the line ends, the line goes around again from the front.Prizes: one for every player, chosen in ticket order. Players: 4 to 50. You need: a table of prizes, at least one for each player.

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Win tickets for the prize table 6

Chain Ten Ornament Hooks, a Ticket a Chain 1. Tip a box of wire ornament hooks onto the table and give each player a paper plate. 2. On "go", players have one minute to link hooks into chains of ten. 3. A chain counts only if it hangs from one hand without dropping a hook. 4. Hand out one ticket for every full chain. Prizes: tickets, spent at the prize table at the end. Players: 2 to 12. You need: a box of ornament hooks, paper plates and a roll of tickets.
How Many Bows Was the Host Wearing? 1. Before guests arrive, the host sticks gift bows all over an outfit: on a shoulder, on a shoe, on the back of the collar. Count them. 2. Say nothing, and walk through the whole room during the first half hour. 3. Then step out, take the bows off, come back and ask everyone to write down how many there were. 4. The exact number wins three tickets, and one off either way wins one. Prizes: tickets, spent at the prize table at the end. Players: 4 to 50. You need: a bag of stick-on bows, slips, pens and tickets.
Jingle Bell Roll to the Ribbon 1. Tape a ribbon across the floor five steps from a start line. 2. In heats of four, each player rolls one jingle bell along the floor and tries to stop it nearest the ribbon. 3. A bell that rolls past the ribbon still counts, measured from where it stops. 4. The nearest bell in each heat wins two tickets and the second nearest wins one. Prizes: tickets, spent at the prize table at the end. Players: 4 to 30. You need: a ribbon, tape, four jingle bells and tickets.

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Win tickets for the prize table, continued

Scrambled Gift Tags, a Ticket a Word 1. Write ten Christmas words on gift tags with the letters mixed up, such as LESNIT for tinsel and GIHSEL for sleigh, and hang them along a string. 2. Give every player a card and a pen. 3. Players have three minutes to walk the line and unscramble as many as they can. 4. Read out the answers. Each right word earns a ticket. Prizes: tickets, spent at the prize table at the end. Players: 2 to 30. You need: ten gift tags, string, cards, pens and tickets.
Stocking Feel Test, a Ticket for Each Right Answer 1. Put five small things in a thick stocking and knot the top: a pine cone, a cookie cutter, a bell, a roll of tape, a walnut. 2. Pass the stocking around. Each player has ten seconds to feel it through the wool. 3. Players write down what they think is inside. 4. Untie the stocking, hold each thing up and give a ticket for every right answer. Prizes: tickets, spent at the prize table at the end. Players: 3 to 20. You need: a thick stocking, five small things, paper, pens and tickets.
The Ticket Count and the Walk to the Table 1. Lay the prizes out on one table where everyone can see them all evening. 2. After the last game, players count their tickets and line up from most to fewest. Players with the same count throw one round of rock, paper, scissors for the place. 3. Each player in turn takes one prize from the table. 4. If prizes are left when the line ends, the line goes around again from the front. Prizes: one for every player, chosen in ticket order. Players: 4 to 50. You need: a table of prizes, at least one for each player.

Unwrap to win 6

A Right Answer Tears a Layer 1. Give each table a parcel with a prize to share inside, such as a tin of cookies, wrapped in six layers. 2. Ask questions about this party or this family, such as who hosted last year. Tables write their answers. 3. Every right answer lets a table tear off one layer. 4. Each table keeps its tin when it gets there. The first table through all six layers also takes the prize on the host's table. Prizes: one for each table and one more for the first table through. Players: 6 to 50. You need: a parcel in six layers for each table, one more prize, paper and pens.
Box in a Box in a Box, One Lid a Stop 1. Pass the parcel, with boxes for layers. Pack a prize in a small box, tape it shut and nest it inside five more boxes, each one taped. 2. Players sit in a circle and pass the parcel while a carol plays. The person working the music faces away. 3. When the music stops, the holder opens one box and passes on what is inside. 4. Whoever opens the last box keeps the prize. Prizes: one big prize. Players: 5 to 20. You need: six boxes that nest, tape, a prize and music.
Guess It Before the Last Layer 1. Wrap one prize in eight loose layers of paper, the outer ones bulky enough to hide its shape. 2. Give each player a card with lines numbered 1 to 8. 3. The host takes off one layer at a time. After each layer, players write a guess on the next line, or a dash if they have none. 4. Unwrap the prize. The player whose right guess stands on the earliest line wins it. Prizes: one big prize. Players: 3 to 30. You need: a prize in eight layers of paper, cards and pens.
Neatest Unwrap: Not One Tear 1. Wrap a small prize for every player in the same paper, with plenty of tape. 2. On "go", everyone unwraps their own parcel. No scissors, and no hurry, because there is no clock. 3. When every parcel is open, players hold up their sheet of paper. 4. Everyone keeps what was in their parcel, and the sheet with the fewest tears wins one extra prize. Prizes: one for every player and one extra. Players: 3 to 30. You need: a wrapped prize for each player and one extra.
One Key in Twelve Parcels 1. Lock the prize in a box or a bag with a small padlock. Keep its key and collect eleven old keys that do not fit. 2. Wrap all twelve keys as tiny parcels and pile them in a basket. 3. Each player picks one parcel and unwraps it. With fewer than twelve players, go around again until the basket is empty. 4. Players try their keys in the lock in turn. The key that opens it wins what is inside. Prizes: one big prize. Players: 4 to 12. You need: a padlock with its key, eleven other keys, a box or bag that locks, paper and a prize.
Ten Knots in the Ribbon 1. Tie a ribbon around a wrapped prize and knot it ten times, one knot on top of another. 2. Players sit in a circle. The first player has fifteen seconds to work on the knots with one hand, then passes the parcel on. 3. Nobody may slide the ribbon off a corner or use teeth. 4. The player who undoes the last knot unwraps the prize and keeps it. Prizes: one big prize. Players: 4 to 15. You need: a wrapped prize, a long ribbon and a watch.

Luck of the draw 6

Numbered Ornaments on the Prize Tree 1. Number the prizes under a small tree. Hang one folded paper ornament for each prize on the tree, with the number written inside the fold. 2. Players take one ornament each, in the order they arrived. 3. Nobody opens an ornament yet. Each player may swap once with anyone who agrees. 4. On the count of three, everyone opens the fold and collects the prize with that number. Prizes: one for every player. Players: 4 to 30. You need: a small tree, a folded paper ornament and a numbered prize for each player.
Punch a Cup on the Tree Board 1. Tape paper cups to a big board in the shape of a Christmas tree, open ends facing out. Drop a small prize or a prize slip into each, then cover every cup with tissue paper held by a rubber band. 2. Players line up, youngest first. 3. Each player punches through one cup and takes what is inside. 4. Make one cup for every player, so the board is empty when the line ends. Prizes: one for every player. Players: 4 to 30. You need: a board, a paper cup for each player, tissue paper, rubber bands, tape and small prizes.
Six-Letter Christmas Word, Letters From a Stocking 1. Every player writes a Christmas word of exactly six letters on a card, such as TINSEL, SLEIGH, WREATH or CANDLE. 2. The host pulls letter tiles from a stocking one at a time and calls each letter. 3. Players cross that letter off wherever it stands in their word. 4. The first player with all six letters crossed off calls "Noel" and wins. Play on for second and third place if there are more prizes. Prizes: one a round or a draw. Players: 3 to 50. You need: the 26 letters on tiles or paper squares, a stocking, cards and pens.
Spin the Arrow in the Wreath 1. Lay a wreath flat in the middle of the table. Fix a cardboard arrow to a jar lid with a paper fastener, so that it spins freely, and set it in the center. 2. Guests sit around the table and the host spins first. 3. Whoever the arrow points to wins a small prize, then spins for the next one. A guest who has already won spins again. 4. Stop when the prizes are gone. Prizes: one a round or a draw. Players: 4 to 12. You need: a wreath, a cardboard arrow on a jar lid and a handful of small prizes.
The Star in One Cracker 1. Buy or make a Christmas cracker for each guest. Open one end of three of them, slide in a paper star and close them again. 2. Mix the crackers and put one at each place. 3. Before the meal, everyone pulls crackers around the table at the same moment. 4. The three guests who find a star beside their paper hat go to the prize table. Prizes: three. Players: 6 to 50. You need: a cracker for each guest, three paper stars and three prizes.
Tear a Link Off the Paper Chain 1. While you make a paper chain, draw a star on the inside of some links before you glue them, and leave the rest blank. 2. Hang the chain where every guest can reach it. 3. As guests leave the table after dinner, each tears off one link and opens it. 4. A link with a star is swapped for a prize. Make a link for every guest and a star for every prize you have. Prizes: one a round or a draw. Players: 6 to 50. You need: a paper chain with a link for each guest, a pen and a few prizes.

Knockout rounds for one big prize 6

Count to Twenty-Five, Clashers Sit 1. Everyone stands. The room counts aloud from one to twenty-five, one voice at a time, with no order agreed. 2. Anyone may call the next number, but never two numbers in a row. If two players speak at once, both sit down and the count starts again at one. 3. When the count reaches twenty-five, anyone who has not called a number sits down as well. 4. Count again with whoever is left. When two players remain, one round of rock, paper, scissors decides the prize. Prizes: one big prize. Players: 6 to 30. You need: nothing.
Last Name in the Stocking 1. Every guest writes their name on a slip and drops it into a stocking. 2. The host draws names one at a time. A name that is drawn is out, and that guest takes a candy from the bowl. 3. Slow down for the last five, and have those guests stand together. 4. The last name left in the stocking wins the prize. Prizes: one big prize. Players: 8 to 200. You need: slips, pens, a stocking and a bowl of candy.
Pass the Bell Without a Sound 1. Players stand in a circle. Give one of them a jingle bell on a loop of ribbon. 2. The bell goes around from hand to hand. If it rings, the player handing it on sits down and the circle closes up. 3. After each full lap, add a rule: left hands only, the taker's eyes shut, a pass behind the back. 4. The last player standing wins the prize. Prizes: one big prize. Players: 5 to 20. You need: a jingle bell on a ribbon.
Red Bow or Green Bow Out of the Sack 1. Put the same number of red and green stick-on bows in a sack, about three for each player. 2. Everyone stands. Each player pulls one bow without looking and sticks it on a sleeve. 3. Green bows sit down. Red bows stay up and pull again. 4. If everyone still standing pulls green in the same round, they all stay in. The last player standing wins the prize. Prizes: one big prize. Players: 6 to 50. You need: a sack of red and green stick-on bows.
Tree, Fireplace or Door: Walk to Your Answer 1. Write ten questions about Christmas in this house or this office, each with three answers, such as how many lights are on the tree: 200, 400 or 600. Name three spots in the room as answers one, two and three. 2. Read a question. Players walk to the spot for their answer. 3. Count down from five, then give the answer. Players on a wrong spot sit down. 4. Keep going until one player is left. If everyone still in is wrong together, they all stay in. Prizes: one big prize. Players: 8 to 100. You need: ten questions written beforehand.
Which Fist Holds the Bow? Winners Meet Winners 1. Everyone takes one small stick-on bow and finds a partner. With an odd number, one player waits a round. 2. One partner hides a bow in a fist behind their back, then holds out both fists. The other taps one. 3. A right guess wins the pair, and a wrong guess means the hider wins. Each pair plays once only. 4. Winners find another winner. The last two play best of three for the prize. Prizes: one big prize. Players: 6 to 50. You need: a small stick-on bow for each player.

When the prize is money or a gift card 6

A Bill in a Block of Ice 1. The day before, seal a folded bill in a small zip bag, press the air out and freeze it in the middle of a tub of water. 2. Turn the block out onto a tray, with a towel underneath. 3. Players take turns of twenty seconds to free the bill with a metal spoon and warm hands. No hot water and nothing sharp. 4. The player who pulls the bag free keeps the bill. Prizes: one bill. Players: 3 to 10. You need: a bill frozen in a block of ice, a tray, a towel and a metal spoon.
A Gift Card Under One Cup, a Lift for Every Winner 1. Before the party, turn twelve paper cups upside down in a row on a shelf. Hide a gift card under one and a candy under each of the others. 2. Tell everyone the rule at the start: the winner of any game tonight lifts one cup. 3. A winner keeps whatever is under that cup. 4. Once the card is found, the cups that are left still hold a candy for later winners. Prizes: one gift card and eleven candies. Players: 4 to 50. You need: twelve paper cups, a gift card and eleven candies.
Coins in Mittens: Keep What Reaches the Cup 1. Spread a pile of the host's coins on a tablecloth. Give the player a pair of thick mittens and a cup. 2. The player has thirty seconds to pick up coins one at a time and drop them in the cup. 3. A coin that is scooped, slid off the table edge or dropped outside the cup goes back on the pile. 4. The player keeps what is in the cup. Top up the pile, so every turn starts the same. Prizes: coins for every player. Players: 2 to 15. You need: a pile of coins, thick mittens, a cup and a watch.
Guess the Jar, Keep the Jar 1. Fill a jar with the host's coins. Count the total value beforehand and seal the amount in an envelope. 2. During the party, guests write their name and a guess of the total on a slip. 3. Open the envelope after dinner and read the amount. 4. The closest guess takes the jar home. In a tie, both guess the number of coins and the closer one wins. Prizes: one jar of coins. Players: 4 to 100. You need: a jar of coins, slips, pens and an envelope.
Plain Envelopes, One Pick Each 1. Put a bill or a gift card in a plain envelope for every player: mostly the smallest bill, with two or three bigger ones. Add a piece of card to each, so they all feel alike, and seal them. 2. Fan the envelopes on a tray. 3. Players pick one each, in the order they have known the host, longest first. 4. Nobody opens an envelope until the tray is empty. Then everyone opens together. Prizes: one for every player. Players: 3 to 30. You need: a sealed envelope with a bill or a gift card for each player.
Roll Once, Take That Many 1. Put a bowl of one kind of coin, or a stack of one-dollar bills, on the table. 2. Each player rolls one die, once. 3. The player takes that many from the bowl, so a six takes six. 4. Go around the table, youngest first, until everyone has rolled. Have six for every player ready, in case the die is generous. Prizes: coins or bills for every player. Players: 2 to 20. You need: a die and a bowl of coins or one-dollar bills.

How this list was compiled: Our suggestions, written for this site for a host who gives the prizes at a Christmas party. The wording and the player counts are ours. Every game was screened so that nobody pays to play, nobody stakes anything, no ticket is sold and no player can lose something they brought. The list states no rule or history of a traditional game as fact, so no outside source was needed. Licence: own work

How it works

Buy the prizes first, then choose games to match: each of these Christmas party games with prizes says how many it hands out. Everything on the table comes from the host, so nobody pays, stakes anything or goes home poorer.

Read the full guide

Christmas games to play for prizes, by what is on your table

1. A table of small prizes: play the ticket games all evening, then finish with The Ticket Count and the Walk to the Table. 2. One prize for each guest: Punch a Cup on the Tree Board or Numbered Ornaments on the Prize Tree. 3. One good prize: a knockout such as Last Name in the Stocking ends with a single winner.

Money games for a Christmas party

Under When the prize is money or a gift card, the money is the host's gift. Roll Once, Take That Many gives every player something, and A Bill in a Block of Ice has one winner. Keep coins away from children under three.

Buy two more prizes than the guest list says. Ties happen, and so do extra cousins.
Say how a tie is settled before a knockout starts, not after.

Questions and answers

What are good prizes for Christmas party games?

Match the prize to the game. Ticket games need a table of small things nobody minds choosing last: candy, socks, ornaments, mugs. A knockout needs one prize worth cheering for. Money games need only small bills, coins and plain envelopes.

How many prizes do you need for a Christmas party?

Add up the Prizes lines of the games you choose: one for every player, one a round, or one big prize.

What Christmas party games can you play to win money?

Six, all with money or a gift card the host gives: Plain Envelopes, One Pick Each, Coins in Mittens: Keep What Reaches the Cup, Guess the Jar, Keep the Jar and three more.

Which Christmas prize games work for a large group?

The knockouts. Last Name in the Stocking and Red Bow or Green Bow Out of the Sack take a whole room down to one winner, and Tree, Fireplace or Door: Walk to Your Answer needs only floor space and ten questions.