What better way to bring joy and laughter to an already festive crowd than playing party games during the holiday season. Not only will food and music bring everyone together, but so will a little friendly competition — unless, of course, you're playing Monopoly. Always beware of Monopoly! But if you're looking to create some fun this holiday season, check out a few of these simple and affordable party game ideas and see if any or all of them might be something that will send your parties to the next level. What's great is that, if you tweak some of these, you can also play these games year round!
1. Face the Cookie
If you haven't heard of this game already, then you'll definitely want to keep reading. Face the Cookie is not only extremely fun but also delicious! All you have to do is place a cookie on your forehead (above your eyebrows) and then try to get it fully into your mouth without using your hands. The cookie has to stay on your face at all times, so no tossing allowed. You do not have to eat the cookie right away, and if it falls, start over. What makes this game more thrilling is that you only have a minute to win it! You can play three rounds, each with a new cookie, or as many rounds as you'd like. So buy or bake your most yummy holiday cookies and battle the timer.
2. Scoop It Up
A super simple game for some super simple fun is never hard to find! Grab two paper plates, place seven pin pong balls (or whatever relates to the theme of your party) on one plate, and using only a spoon, which should be placed in your mouth, transfer all seven balls into an empty plate! Play with at least three people so that each of you plays at least one of three rounds. Again, race the clock and beat the time it takes your opponents to complete their rounds.
3. Jingle in the Trunk
This one is a popular family favorite. You have to strut your stuff and shake your rump to win this game! You need ping pong balls, scissors, tissue boxes, an elastic belt, and wrapping paper. Cut slits into the bottom edges of your tissue box, slip your belt through it, and place eight ping pong balls (or 12 for the 12 days of Christmas) into the box. To be even more festive, wrap the tissue boxes in Christmas wrapping paper. Secure the area where you made the slits with two thick scrunchies or tape so that the tissue boxes don't move, and set a timer for one minute. Now all you have to do is try to get as many of the ping pong balls out of the box by shaking your body in under a minute.
4. Spoon Frog
No, you do not spoon a frog in Spoon Frog. You do however place three small glass cups in front of you. They should be aligned side-by-side but also a couple inches away from each other. You will also need three sets of two spoons in front of each cup; what you must do for each set is place one spoon face up in front of the cup with the handle facing the cup. Then another spoon should mirror the first spoon, but place the second one slightly above the edge of the handle of the first spoon. Now, as soon as soon as you set the one-minute timer, smack the first spoon to help get the second spoon to flip into the cup. Do this for each set. This is a race, so see if you can get one spoon from each set into the cup before your opponent!
5. Pass the Orange
For this game, be prepared to get up close and personal with your teammates. Create two teams of people and form a line or a circle. Each person who goes first has to place an orange under their chin, and attempt to place the orange under their teammate's chin with no hands! That teammate will then have to pass it on to the next teammate in the same way. Keep going until the last person in the line passes the orange back to the first person. If the orange drops at any time during the game, start all over with the first person. To make things harder, set a timer. Lots of laughs are had with this one.
6. Poop the Potato
Poop the Potato may not sound so pleasant, but trust me, you will definitely enjoy playing it! Place two buckets or containers at a finish line, form two teams, and have all players place a potato between their thighs. The goal is to waddle to the team's bucket and drop each potato into them as quickly as possible. No hands are permitted. If a potato drops, go back to the starting point, reposition the potato, and try again!
7. Rudolph Race
Rudolph Race is as exciting as it sounds! Tape two cutouts of Rudolph on the wall and make sure his nose isn't red. Then put some vaseline on Rudolph's nose and on two spoons (one for you and your opponent). Have a red circular gummy candy beside each spoon; and now, to begin, players have to dip their noses into the vaseline, attempt to get the gummy to stick their noses, and rush over to give Rudolph a red and very shiny nose!
8. Candy Cane Pile Up
Prepare for this simple yet challenging game! You have to try to pick up and set aside as many candy canes as you can before you reach the one minute mark. To play this game, just place a candy cane in your mouth with the hook on the outside, and, with no hands, begin scooping up candy canes faster than your opponent.
9. Pucker Up
This two-player challenge calls for some kisses well, sort of. To play Pucker Up, literally pucker up to a tennis ball that is balancing on an upside down cup with a teammate. (You should look to buy two or three sets of tennis balls that come in a three-pack container.) Both of you must carry the ball over to a tube across the room (most likely the same container the ball came in) relying solely on the pressure of each of your lips to do this. The winner will be the team who fills each container you have with the most or all of the balls within 60 seconds.
10. Drop Around The Clock
A perfect game for New Year's Eve is most definitely Drop Around the Clock! But of course, it is fitting for any party event as well. By using suction, you must pick up small candies (smarties work wonderfully) using a straw and your mouth. To create a clock, draw the 12 hours there are on a clock around the edges of a paper plate. With only one minute, you have to drop one small candy onto each hour of the clock while completing two rounds of this. The player who finishes first or, after 60 seconds, has the most pairs of candies on each hour wins!
11. Musical Chairs
A good old-fashioned game of musical chairs is always a great time. Play some of your best Christmas jingles as you and everyone walk around a set amount of chairs. If you have 10 people around, then only have nine chairs. When the music stops, you know what to do! Take a seat, and eliminate the standing player. With each elimination, remove a chair, until one victor is left.
There you have it — 11 games to bring some holiday cheer into your party. Tweak them as much as you want, and as always, have fun no matter what!
