The Best Christmas Party Games for the Office

Secret Santa is a simple and fun office Christmas party game to bring the team together before the holidays. Each person draws a colleague’s name and buys a small gift within an agreed budget (usually £10–£15). Use an online generator to keep things anonymous and organised. You can set a theme like “something cosy” or “desk essentials” to make shopping easier. Schedule the gift exchange as a mini festive celebration and encourage everyone to guess who their Santa was. It’s an easy, low-cost activity that adds fun, joy and a bit of mystery to your office.

White Elephant is a fun office Christmas game alternative to Secret Santa that adds some friendly competition. The name comes from the idea of a “white elephant”, which is a gift that’s fun or unusual, but not exactly practical. Everyone brings one wrapped gift within a set budget and draws a number for turn order. The first person unwraps a gift; the next can choose a new one or “steal” an opened gift. Each gift can only be stolen a set number of times. Continue until all gifts are claimed.

Split into small teams, give each group wrapping paper, tape, scissors and a random object. The stranger the object, the better, like staplers, water bottles or even a chair. Set a timer for five to ten minutes and see which team can wrap their item the most neatly or creatively. You can add challenges like “no scissors allowed” or “wrap with one hand.” End with a quick vote for the best (or worst) wrap job and small prizes for the winners.

Organise a festive dress-up day, where everyone shows up in their most outrageous Christmas jumper or full-on costume, from sparkly reindeers to inflatable turkeys and the Grinch. It’s a great way to break up the workday, get people talking and share a few laughs. Many offices tie it in with Christmas Jumper Day to raise money for Save the Children, so it’s fun for a good cause too. Don’t forget to take photos and hand out small prizes for the most creative (or ridiculous) outfits.

Teams receive a list of festive or random items to find, and the first to tick off everything wins. You can run it indoors around the office or outdoors near your workplace. For a next-level version, try our GPS Treasure Hunt team building event. Each team is equipped with a high-tech tablet loaded with an interactive GPS app. Using live maps and cryptic clues, teams navigate through checkpoints, completing surprise challenges like photo missions and puzzles to earn points. Every hunt is custom-built to your chosen location.

Wrap a small gift in several layers of paper, adding chocolate treats or small prizes between some layers. Gather everyone in a circle, play festive music, and pass the parcel around until the music stops. Whoever’s holding the parcel when the music stops, unwraps one layer. Keep going until the final gift is revealed. Choose one person to control the music and make sure no one takes extra turns. All you need is one well-wrapped parcel, a playlist of Christmas favourites and a few minutes to spare for a quick holiday Christmas game for the office.

Prepare a few rounds of Christmas-themed questions covering everything from holiday films and songs to random festive facts. Split the office into teams, nominate a quizmaster, and keep score on a whiteboard or shared screen. For the full-scale version, try our Christmas Ultimate Quiz office Christmas activity, where teams compete in TV game show–inspired rounds led by a lively Christmas host. Every challenge is packed with festive themes, laughter and friendly competition.

Create bingo cards filled with festive words, phrases or icons like “mistletoe,” “reindeer,” or “Santa.” Hand them out to your team and call out each item at random as everyone marks off their cards. Offer small prizes for one line, two line and a full house. For a fun twist, try Musical Christmas Bingo: instead of words, play short clips of popular holiday songs, and players mark off the title when they recognise it.

Fill a Christmas stocking with around ten festive items such as candy canes, baubles, tinsel or small decorations. Loosely cover the top so no one can peek inside. Pass the stocking around and let each person reach in for a few seconds to feel what’s inside, then write down their guesses. When everyone’s had a turn, reveal the items and count up the correct answers. The player with the most right guesses wins a prize.

Prepare a game sheet filled with emoji clues that represent Christmas carols, festive films or seasonal phrases. For example, a Santa emoji, a present emoji and a house emoji might mean Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. You can easily find ready-made versions online or create your own. Hand out the sheets, set a timer for around three minutes, and see who can decode the most clues before time runs out. Go through the answers together and award a small prize to the winner.

Set up a decorating station with pre-made gingerbread house kits, icing and plenty of sweets for everyone to get creative. Work in small teams and see who can build the most festive (or structurally sound) creation. For something more involved, try a professional Christmas baking activity brought straight to your office. A mobile kitchen is set up with all utensils, ingredients and materials ready to go. Guided by a professional chef, teams can bake and decorate treats like gingerbread, Christmas-themed cupcakes, pudding chocolates and cinnamon palmier pastries.

Provide each person with a wreath base, wire and a mix of festive decorations such as foliage, pinecones, ribbons, dried fruit and cinnamon sticks. Set up a workspace with plenty of room and materials for everyone can design their own wreath. Or let GOTO Events take care of everything in our Wreath Making Team Building Workshop, where everything is included, from all materials and tools to expert guidance. Led by an artisan florist, your team will craft beautiful wreaths using natural, seasonal elements while developing creativity and teamwork. Everyone leaves with their own handmade wreath to hang at home.

Set up a creative station with plain baubles, paints, ribbons, glitter and markers so everyone can design their own festive decorations. It’s a fun office Christmas game that lets people get hands-on and show their personality through colour and sparkle. For the professional workshop, our Bauble Decorating event brings everything to you: kits packed with baubles, metallic pens, sequins, ribbons and more, along with an expert instructor. The session begins with a short demonstration before teams dive into decorating, mini festive games and light-hearted design challenges. Everyone finishes with a set of handcrafted baubles to take home or gift.

In our Operation Christmas Tree charity team building event, teams work together to create sustainable Christmas decorations and use them to decorate trees that will be donated to families and communities in need. We supply everything from decoration kits and trees, to an expert facilitator to lead the activity. Before the event, you’ll choose where to donate your trees, whether to a care home, shelter, or local families, and after the event, our crew will deliver the completed trees to your chosen community.

Charity Knit-a-thon is a hands-on team workshop that comes directly to your office anywhere in the UK. Teams will learn the art of hand and arm knitting to create warm, comforting items such as blankets, scarves and hats that are donated to people in need. We provide everything: soft chunky yarns, materials and a friendly expert to guide your team through each step. No needles are required; participants use their hands to weave oversized stitches, making it easy for complete beginners. The workshop is calm, creative and focused on teamwork, with everyone contributing to a shared goal. Each finished piece is donated to charity, helping bring warmth and comfort to others during the colder months.

Each participant builds a mini winter garden inside a glass container using soil, pebbles, moss and seasonal plants. Add pine cones, dried oranges, cinnamon sticks or a sprinkle of faux snow to give it a festive touch. Everything you need is included in our Winter Terrarium Workshop, which comes directly to your office anywhere in the UK. Guided by an expert instructor, your team will learn how to layer, plant and decorate their own winter-inspired terrariums. Everyone leaves with a beautiful, low-maintenance piece of living décor to brighten up their home or desk through the festive season.

Teams learn to mix and serve seasonal cocktails with a professional mixologist who will show you fun demos and key techniques like shaking, stirring and perfecting the pour. Participants then recreate classic cocktails such as spiced apple mojitos, cranberry margaritas and winter Old Fashioneds, before taking on a team challenge to design their own Christmas cocktail using a mystery box of seasonal ingredients. Alcohol-free options are included and we supply everything: glassware, ingredients, equipment and setup, and bring the full experience directly to your office.