Winter Party Games

Indoor snowballs, real ice, penguins and the fireside, with no holiday needed: press Pick 3 new games.

Winter Party Games

  1. Ice Sculptors: Pose Your Partner1. Partners decide who is the sculptor and who is the block of ice. 2. The host whispers a winter scene to the sculptors: skating, shoveling a path, catching a snowflake on the tongue. 3. Each sculptor has one minute to pose the block, moving one arm or leg at a time, without saying the scene. 4. The blocks hold still while the room guesses. Then partners swap. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  2. Snowed In With Ten Things: Agree on Three1. The host reads a list of ten things in the cabin: a deck of cards, a bag of rice, a ball of yarn, a radio with no batteries, a snow shovel. 2. Everyone writes the three they would keep for a week snowed in. 3. In groups of four, players have five minutes to agree on one list of three. 4. Each group names its three and gives a reason for one of them. The room votes for the group it would rather be snowed in with. Players: 4 to 24. Time: 12 min. Props: the host's list, paper and pens.
  3. Paper-Cup Fort Against Sock Snowballs1. Two teams each build a wall of twenty paper cups on their side of a line of tape. 2. On go, both teams throw rolled-sock snowballs underhand at the other wall. Nobody crosses the tape. 3. After two minutes, stop and count the cups still standing. 4. Rebuild and play again. A wall may be any shape, so the second round is a contest between builders too. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: forty paper cups, twenty pairs of rolled socks and tape.

Next step Winter would you rather questions

How it works

These winter party games are for the weeks after the holidays: a January birthday, a club night or a neighborhood party. Snowballs are rolled socks, the ice is real, and none of the games needs snow outside.

Read the full guide

From the loudest set to the quietest

The All games menu runs from Indoor snowball games through Ice games and Penguin and polar games to Fireside games for the end of the night. The wonderland set is for a dance, a birthday or a banquet with tables.

Head count, minutes and energy

More filters, the last entry of that menu, sorts by head count, minutes and energy. Most games suit children and adults in one room, and each one prints its players and minutes.

Tips
  • Roll twenty pairs of socks before the guests come. Four of the snowball games use them.

Questions and answers

Are these winter party games for kids or for grown-ups?

Both. Most of the list suits a mixed room. The children's picks include Waddle Tag With Towel Floes, Pass the Fish, Act the Animal and Paper Cup Igloo, Big Enough for One.

Which winter party games for adults work at a table?

Wooden-Spoon Hockey, Ice Cube for a Puck, Tissue Over the Cup, Coin on Top and Foil Icicle Passed Elbow to Elbow are played seated. A Partner on Every Line of the Winter Card suits a banquet.

What can you play at a winter party when there is no snow?

Everything here. The snowballs are rolled socks or crumpled paper, the igloo is paper cups and the ice comes from the freezer.

What is a calm winter game for the end of the night?

Packing for the Pole and Unfortunately, a Blizzard: The Seesaw Story need only voices, and Snowed In With Ten Things: Agree on Three is a quiet debate.

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Browse Holiday Games

All 40 games

Indoor snowball games 8

  • Add a Snowball Each Lap 1. Stand in a circle. The first player throws one sock snowball to someone across the circle, who throws it to someone else, until everyone has caught it once and it is back at the start. 2. Send it around the same path again, faster. 3. Each time it gets home, the starter adds another snowball behind it. 4. Count how many snowballs the circle can keep moving before two are on the floor at once. Players: 5 to 14. Time: 8 min. Props: six pairs of rolled socks.
  • Baking-Sheet Snowball Shields 1. Partners stand four steps apart. One has ten paper snowballs and the other holds a baking sheet as a shield. 2. The thrower lobs the snowballs underhand, one at a time, at the partner's knees. 3. Every ball that rings off the shield scores a point for the pair. 4. Swap jobs and add the two scores. The best pair total wins. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 8 min. Props: crumpled paper and a baking sheet for each pair.
  • Big Snowball Slalom, Elbows Only 1. Wrap a beach ball or an exercise ball in a white pillowcase: the big snowball. 2. Set five chairs in a line. Partners steer the snowball between the chairs and back, touching it with their elbows only. 3. A ball that rolls away is brought back to the last chair it passed. 4. Time each pair. Children pair with adults for the last round. Players: 4 to 16. Time: 10 min. Props: a beach ball or an exercise ball, a white pillowcase, five chairs and a watch.
Show all 40 games (37 more)

Indoor snowball games, continued

  • Broom Golf Into the Boots 1. Lay three winter boots on their sides around the room, openings facing a starting line. 2. Each player putts a rolled-sock snowball with a broom, counting strokes until it is inside the first boot. 3. Play all three boots in order. 4. The fewest strokes win. A ball stuck under the sofa may be moved one broom length for one extra stroke. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 12 min. Props: a broom, a pair of rolled socks and three winter boots.
  • Dustpan Shovel Relay 1. Scatter paper snowballs over the floor at one end of the room: the driveway. Each team has a dustpan and a box at the other end. 2. One shoveler at a time scoops up as many snowballs as the dustpan will hold, with no help from the other hand, and walks them to the box. 3. Any that fall stay where they land. 4. When the driveway is clear, count the boxes. The fuller box wins. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: crumpled paper, a dustpan and a box for each team.
  • Load the Blanket Sled Hand to Hand 1. Each team stands in a line from a pile of sock snowballs to a laundry basket on a blanket: the sled. 2. Hand the snowballs along the line, one at a time, until the basket is full. 3. The two players at the end pull the blanket to the far wall, walking backward. 4. A snowball that bounces out on the way stays out. The team that delivers the most wins. Players: 6 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: rolled socks, a laundry basket and a blanket for each team.
  • Paper-Cup Fort Against Sock Snowballs 1. Two teams each build a wall of twenty paper cups on their side of a line of tape. 2. On go, both teams throw rolled-sock snowballs underhand at the other wall. Nobody crosses the tape. 3. After two minutes, stop and count the cups still standing. 4. Rebuild and play again. A wall may be any shape, so the second round is a contest between builders too. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: forty paper cups, twenty pairs of rolled socks and tape.
  • Uncrumple Your Numbers, One Through Ten 1. Write the numbers 1 to 10 on sheets of white paper, one set for each team in its own color of ink, and crumple every sheet into a ball. 2. Mix all the balls in a pile in the middle of the room. 3. One player at a time fetches a ball and opens it. If it is the team's next number, it is laid in the row. If not, it is crumpled and thrown back. 4. The first team with a row from 1 to 10 wins. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: white paper and a marker in a different color for each team.

Ice games 8

  • Box-Lid Ice Hole, Magnet Rod Magnet fishing through a hole in a box lid: the angler cannot see the fish. 1. Cut a round hole in the lid of a box. Inside, scatter paper fish with a paper clip on each and a number from 1 to 5 written underneath. 2. Tie a magnet to a string on a wooden spoon for a rod. 3. Each angler gets thirty seconds at the hole and may not look in. 4. Add up the numbers on the catch. Throw the fish back before the next angler. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: a box with a lid, paper fish, paper clips, a magnet, string and a wooden spoon.
  • The Cube on the Saucer: Guess the Minute 1. At the start of the party, put one ice cube on a saucer in the middle of the table. 2. Everyone writes the clock time at which they think the last of it will have melted. 3. Carry on with the party. Anyone may look, and nobody may touch. 4. The host calls the time when only water is left. The closest guess wins. Players: 3 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: an ice cube, a saucer, slips and a pen.
  • Ice Sculptors: Pose Your Partner 1. Partners decide who is the sculptor and who is the block of ice. 2. The host whispers a winter scene to the sculptors: skating, shoveling a path, catching a snowflake on the tongue. 3. Each sculptor has one minute to pose the block, moving one arm or leg at a time, without saying the scene. 4. The blocks hold still while the room guesses. Then partners swap. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  • Ice-Brush Painting Against the Thaw 1. The night before, an adult freezes tinted water in an ice cube tray with a craft stick standing in each cube. 2. Each team gets one ice brush, a big sheet of paper and a secret word from the host: a mitten, a pine tree, a kettle. 3. One painter at a time paints with the melting cube, and the brush passes on every twenty seconds. 4. The other teams guess the picture. A team scores if its word is guessed before the cube is gone. Players: 4 to 16. Time: 12 min. Props: tinted ice cubes on craft sticks, big sheets of paper and towels.
  • The Thermometer Says 1. The caller is the thermometer and stands where everyone can see, with an arm held up as the mercury. 2. Arm high is a heat wave, and everyone moves fast on the spot. Arm level is a mild day, and everyone walks. 3. Arm at the knees is freezing: everyone stops dead. Arm on the floor is a blizzard, and everyone huddles in threes. 4. The last to react becomes the thermometer. Players: 5 to 30. Time: 6 min. Props: none.
  • Tilt the Cube Into the Mug 1. Partners hold a baking sheet level between them, with a mug on the floor under one corner. 2. The host sets an ice cube on the opposite corner. 3. By tilting the sheet together, the pair steers the cube across and tips it into the mug. Hands stay on the edges. 4. A cube that slides off the wrong side is replaced at the start. Time each pair, and dry the sheet between turns. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 8 min. Props: a baking sheet, a mug, a bowl of ice cubes, a towel and a watch.
  • Tissue Over the Cup, Coin on Top 1. Stretch one square of tissue over a cup and hold it with a rubber band. Lay a coin in the middle. 2. Players take turns poking one hole in the tissue with a toothpick. 3. The holes may be anywhere, and each must go right through. 4. Whoever makes the hole that drops the coin sets up the next cup. Players: 2 to 8. Time: 8 min. Props: a cup, tissues, a rubber band, a coin and toothpicks.
  • Wooden-Spoon Hockey, Ice Cube for a Puck 1. Lay rolled towels along the long sides of a bare table, and stand two cups at each end as goal posts. 2. Two players each hold a wooden spoon. Drop an ice cube in the middle. 3. Push the cube with the spoon only. A cube between the cups is a goal. 4. Play to three, with a fresh cube whenever the puck gets small. The winner stays on. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 8 min. Props: a table, towels, four cups, two wooden spoons and a bowl of ice cubes.

Penguin and polar games 8

  • Arctic Wall, Antarctic Wall 1. Name one wall of the room the Arctic and the opposite wall the Antarctic. 2. The host calls an animal, and everyone walks to the end of the world where it lives in the wild. 3. Polar bears, walruses, narwhals and snowy owls live in the north. Emperor penguins, leopard seals and Weddell seals live in the south. 4. Anyone at the wrong wall waddles across to the right one. Finish by calling "penguin" and "polar bear" faster and faster. Players: 4 to 40. Time: 6 min. Props: none.
  • Egg From Feet to Feet, Never on the Ice 1. Teams sit on the floor in a line, legs out, shoulder to shoulder. 2. The first player balances a beanbag egg on top of both feet and passes it to the next player's feet. No hands. 3. An egg that touches the floor goes back to the start of the line. 4. The first team to pass its egg to the end and back wins. Players: 6 to 24. Time: 8 min. Props: a beanbag for each team.
  • Huddle Rotation Inside the Rope 1. Lay a rope in a circle just big enough for the whole group to stand inside, shoulder to shoulder. 2. Everyone on the outside edge is cold. On each whistle, the outside ring shuffles in and the middle shuffles out. 3. Nobody may step over the rope. 4. Time how long it takes until everyone has stood in the warm middle once. Then make the rope smaller. Players: 8 to 30. Time: 6 min. Props: a rope and a whistle.
  • Paper Cup Igloo, Big Enough for One 1. Give each team a sleeve of one hundred white paper cups. 2. Teams build a ring of cups on their sides, rims facing in, then stack more rings on top, each a little smaller. 3. Leave a gap for the door. Nothing but cups may be used. 4. After ten minutes, the igloo with the most rows standing wins. Bonus: the smallest builder sits inside. Players: 4 to 16. Time: 15 min. Props: one hundred white paper cups for each team.
  • Pass the Fish, Act the Animal 1. Sit in a circle and pass a paper fish while music plays. 2. When the music stops, the player holding the fish acts a cold-weather animal without a sound. 3. The first right guess starts the music again. 4. Nobody is out. An animal may not be acted twice, so the circle has to keep thinking of new ones. Players: 5 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: a paper fish and music.
  • Waddle Tag With Towel Floes 1. Scatter four bath towels on the floor: ice floes. One player is the polar bear, and the rest are seals. 2. Everyone moves in a waddle, heels together and toes apart. No running. 3. A seal on a floe is safe for a count of five, then has to leave. 4. A tagged seal becomes a second bear. When four bears are hunting, start again with a new one. Players: 6 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: four bath towels.
  • Which Way Is North? Spin and Point 1. Hang a sign that says NORTH on one wall. It does not have to be true north. 2. One explorer stands in the middle, closes their eyes and turns around slowly five times. 3. Still with eyes closed, the explorer points to where they think the sign is. 4. Mark the spot on the wall with a sticky note and a name. After everyone has had a turn, the closest note wins. Players: 3 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: a sign and sticky notes.
  • Whiteout: Voice Guide Across the Crevasses 1. Scatter cushions over the floor: the crevasses. 2. One partner closes their eyes. The other walks beside them and steers by voice alone: two steps forward, small step left. 3. A touched cushion sends the pair back to the start. 4. Time each crossing, then swap. An adult walks beside any child whose eyes are closed. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 10 min. Props: cushions and a watch.

Winter wonderland party games 8

  • A Partner on Every Line of the Winter Card 1. Give every guest a card with six numbered snowflakes and a pencil. 2. Guests have three minutes to fill each snowflake with the name of a different person. 3. The host calls a number and a question, such as "your best snow day". Everyone finds the partner on that line and answers. 4. Call all six numbers through the evening, between dances or courses. Players: 10 to 80. Time: 15 min. Props: a card for each guest and pencils.
  • Foil Icicle Passed Elbow to Elbow 1. Roll a sheet of foil into a long icicle for each table. 2. On go, the first guest grips the icicle between both elbows and passes it to the next guest's elbows. 3. It travels around the whole table. A dropped icicle goes back one guest. 4. The first table to stand its icicle in the centerpiece wins. Players: 6 to 80. Time: 6 min. Props: kitchen foil.
  • Match the Cut Edge: Half a Snowflake Each 1. Before the party, cut a paper snowflake for every two guests, each one different, and cut each in half. 2. Hand a half to every guest at the door. 3. Guests look for the person who holds the half that fits theirs. 4. A matched pair writes both names on the snowflake and tapes it to the window. The first three pairs choose the next song. Players: 8 to 80. Time: 10 min. Props: paper snowflakes cut in half, pens and tape.
  • The North Wind Blows for Everyone Who The change-seats circle game, called by the north wind. 1. Sit in a circle of chairs with one player standing in the middle. 2. The player in the middle says, "The north wind blows for everyone who..." and finishes it: owns a sled, is wearing blue, likes cold pizza. 3. Everyone it is true of changes chairs, and the player in the middle takes one. 4. Whoever is left standing calls the next wind. Players: 8 to 30. Time: 8 min. Props: a chair for each player but one.
  • Sealed Forecast for the Next Snow Day 1. Each guest writes the date on which they think the next snow will fall where the party is held, and signs the slip. Where snow never comes, forecast the next frost or the next rain. 2. Seal the slips in an envelope and hand it to the host. 3. The host opens it on the first morning that the forecast comes true. 4. The closest date gets a message from the host that day, and a prize the next time the group meets. Players: 4 to 80. Time: 5 min. Props: slips, pens and an envelope.
  • Snowfall From the Stairs 1. Write a number from 1 to 5 on each of thirty paper snowflakes. 2. A grown-up drops them a few at a time from the stairs, or from as high as they can reach. 3. Players below catch flakes on a paper plate. Hands may not touch a flake. 4. When the snow has stopped, add up the numbers on each plate. The highest total wins. Players: 3 to 20. Time: 6 min. Props: thirty paper snowflakes and a paper plate for each player.
  • Swirl, Then Freeze Inside the Ribbon Globe 1. Groups of five stand inside a ring of white ribbon on the floor: the globe. 2. The host calls "Shake!" and everyone in the globe swirls on the spot like snow. 3. The host calls a scene, such as a skating pond or a sledding hill, and each group settles into a frozen picture of it. 4. The host walks around and names the best picture. That group calls the next scene. Players: 10 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: white ribbon or rope.
  • Whole-Table Winter Charades 1. Each table draws a winter scene card: building a fire, a ski lift, scraping a windshield. 2. The whole table acts the scene together, with no words. 3. The other tables write a guess on a napkin and hold it up. 4. A point for each table that guesses right, and a point to the actors for each right guess. Players: 8 to 80. Time: 12 min. Props: winter scene cards, napkins and pens.

Fireside games for the end of the night 8

  • A for Avalanche: Winter From A to Z An alphabet game on one subject: winter. 1. Going around the circle, each player names something to do with winter that starts with the next letter of the alphabet. 2. The circle may vote out an answer that is a stretch. 3. A player with no answer says "brr" and the letter passes on. 4. Count the letters the group fills. Q, X and Z may be skipped, or kept for a harder round. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
  • Cold to Warm in Four Steps 1. Write COLD at the top of a sheet and WARM at the bottom. 2. Pairs have to get from one to the other by changing one letter at a time, making a real word at every step. 3. One answer: COLD, CORD, CARD, WARD, WARM. The host keeps it hidden. 4. The first pair to finish sets the next ladder for the room, such as SNOW to SLED in as few steps as they can find. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 10 min. Props: paper and pencils.
  • Marshmallows or None? Forecast Each Mug 1. Before the warm drinks are made, list the choices on a card: cocoa or cider, marshmallows or none, a cinnamon stick or plain. 2. Each guest writes what they think every other guest will choose. 3. Take the real orders aloud, one guest at a time. 4. A point for each guest predicted exactly. The winner is served first. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: paper and pens.
  • Packing for the Pole The I-packed-my-bag memory chain, packed for the pole. 1. The first player says, "I am going to the pole and I am packing a..." and names one thing. 2. The next player repeats the line, the first thing and adds another. 3. The list goes around, growing by one each time. 4. A player who slips is helped by the circle and starts a new list. Count the longest list of the night. Players: 3 to 14. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  • Snowed In With Ten Things: Agree on Three 1. The host reads a list of ten things in the cabin: a deck of cards, a bag of rice, a ball of yarn, a radio with no batteries, a snow shovel. 2. Everyone writes the three they would keep for a week snowed in. 3. In groups of four, players have five minutes to agree on one list of three. 4. Each group names its three and gives a reason for one of them. The room votes for the group it would rather be snowed in with. Players: 4 to 24. Time: 12 min. Props: the host's list, paper and pens.
  • Three Picture Dice, One Winter Tale 1. Draw a small picture on each face of three paper cubes or on stickers on three dice: a sled, an owl, a lantern, a lost mitten. 2. The first player rolls all three and begins a story that uses the three pictures. 3. The next player rolls and carries the same story on. 4. The story ends when the dice have gone once around. The listeners give it a title. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 12 min. Props: three dice with picture stickers.
  • Unfortunately, a Blizzard: The Seesaw Story The fortunately, unfortunately story game, set on a winter journey. 1. The first storyteller opens a tale of a winter journey with one sentence. 2. The next has to begin with "Unfortunately" and make things worse. 3. The next begins with "Fortunately" and saves the day, and so on around the room. 4. After three times around, the next storyteller has to end the tale in a single sentence. Players: 3 to 14. Time: 10 min. Props: none.
  • Whoever the Flashlight Lands On Adds the Sound 1. Turn the lamps down. One storyteller holds a flashlight and begins a winter story. 2. At any moment the storyteller stops and shines the light on a listener's knees. 3. That listener makes the sound the story needs: the wind, boots on snow, a kettle, an owl. 4. After six sounds, the flashlight passes to a new storyteller, who carries the same story on. Players: 3 to 16. Time: 10 min. Props: a flashlight.

How this list was compiled: Written by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-03 for a winter party with no holiday in it: a birthday in January, a club night, a church social or a neighborhood party. The wording is ours, and player ranges and minutes are our estimates. Snowballs are rolled socks or paper and are thrown underhand; nothing is eaten against a clock. Checked on 2026-10-03 against English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ followed by the name): Polar_bear, Walrus, Narwhal, Snowy_owl, Emperor_penguin, Leopard_seal and Weddell_seal for where each animal lives. Licence: own work