Christmas Party Games and Ideas

Fun Games for Children's Ministry Christmas Parties

Unwrap a Present Game

This game takes quit a bit of preparation and should be done if you have a limited amount of guests. Before the party buy enough small gifts for each child plus a few extras. Wrap the smallest gift first. Place the next gift on top of the first gift and wrap them together. Keep wrapping like this until you have all the gifts wrapped up into one big present. To play the game have the children stand in a large circle. Start playing some Christmas Music. When the music stops the child that is holding the present gets to unwrap the first layer of wrapping paper and keep the gift. This child should sit down and let the other children play. Keep playing the game until all the children have a gift. You can play a variation of this game with only one winner. Use one gift, but wrap it up with many layers of wrapping paper. Play the same as above but everyone stays in the game. The game is done when someone unwraps the last layer and get the gift.

Play Musical Chairs

Set up enough chairs so that you have one for each player. Mark one chair as the special chair (Put a special blanket on it or something) Play this game like Musical Chairs except that the child that sits on the special chair gets to pick a gift. (Have enough gifts for each child pre-wrapped) The child that picked a gift is out of the game. Remove one chair and continue playing until all the children get a gift. (To make this game less competitive tell the children that everyone will get a gift and don't let them pick a gift just hand them one or don't hand out gifts.

Play a Crepe Paper Tag Game

You will need lots of room for this game. Divide the children up into two teams. Tie green crepe paper around the waist of one team and red crepe paper around the waist of another team. The object of the game is to be the first team to tear all the crepe paper belts off the other team. This game can also be played with balloons. Tie the balloons on a string to the children's ankles. Make sure all the strings are about the same length about 18" long. The first team to break all the other teams balloons wins.

Play a "Doggy, Doggy, Where's Your Bone?"

Game Using a Christmas Theme - Gather everyone into a circle. Hold up a small stuffed sheep - small enough so that it can be hidden behind the children's backs. Pick someone to be the shepherd and send him into the middle of the circle and make him close his eyes while the sheep gets passed around. Point to someone silently to be the "hider" and when the sheep gets to them, they should hide it behind their back. Everyone else, meanwhile, puts their empty hands behind their backs and looks as guilty as they possibly can. When everyone is ready lead a chant of "Shepherd, Shepherd, Where's Your sheep?" The person in the center opens his eyes and tries to guess who the real "hider" is. If the "shepherd" guesses correctly he swaps with the "hider". You can also play the game by having someone walk around the outside of the circle with the sheep in his hands. He pretends to give the sheep to different people confusing the shepherd. The shepherd in the middle doesn't close his eyes but watches to see if he can tell who gets the sheep. When the person walking around the outside is finished he starts the chant and the shepherd has to guess. If the shepherd guesses correctly the person with the sheep behind his back takes his place.

Play Tic-Tac-Toe

Draw a large Tic-Tac-Toe on a piece of poster board. Decorate it with Christmas pictures and other things. Divide the children into two teams. You will need 4 green and 4 red bean bags. Have the teams take turns throwing the bean bags. If a bean bag lands on a square that is already taken by the other team the child can remove the other teams bean bag. If it lands on a square with the same color bean bag the extra bean bag is removed and a new player throws.

Play Christmas Bingo

Make playing cards 4 squares across and 2 squares up and down. Print out a bunch of Christmas clipart. Cut them out and glue the pictures on the cards. Keep one picture of each clipart for the Bingo caller. You can use some of the same pictures on each card. Just make sure you don't have the same four picture across one row on any of the cards. Use wrapped Christmas candy as tokens. Place a copy of each picture used into a bag and mix them up. Keep pulling out a picture and calling it out until one child gets a bingo by covering 4 pictures in a row.

Wooden Stars in a Jar Game

Paint five wooden stars with gold paint and glitter. Place a jar on the floor (Use a jar with a wider opening for little children) Give the first player the five stars and let him see how many stars he can drop into the jar by holding a star under their chin and dropping to the floor over the jar. Younger children can use their hands to hold the clothespin under their chin to help them drop it in the jar. Whoever gets the most clothespins in the jar wins.

Play a Balloon Game

Break the children up into teams of 2 or 3. Give each team a bag of balloons. Show the children how to rub the balloons on their clothes and hair to build up static electricity. On the word "go" the children see how many balloons they can get to stick on a designated teammate. Time the children for one minute. The team that got the most balloons to stick wins.

Build a Snowman

Go outside and make a snowman. Make a snowman family if you have a lot of children. If you live in an area where there isn't any snow make snowmen out of white garbage bags stuffed with newspapers.

Snow Sculptures

Make Snow Sculptures and use food coloring in spray bottles to paint them.

Play "Cut the Pie"

Make a huge circle in the snow then cut the circle in half by walking straight 3. through the circle. Cut the circle in half again and again until you have what looks like a pie cut into pieces. Have the children stand around the edge of the pie and one child in the center. Make sure the children know they can't cut through the pie. They have to stay on the paths. On the word go the child in the center tries to tag a child. The child that is tagged is now "it" and tries to tag someone else.

Sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus

Make a birthday cake and put a lot of candles on it. Sing "Happy Birthday" and have everyone help blow out the candles. To use the cake as an outreach make the bottom layer chocolate to represent our sins. Make the second layer red to represent Jesus shedding his blood for our sins. Make the third layer green to represent the new life we have in Jesus. And use white icing to represent our sins being washed away and white as snow.

" Follow the Star" Christmas Sunday School Game

Play like "Follow the Leader" except have the leader hold up a large star on a stick. The leader should lead the children around and under tables and chair while jumping, sliding his or her feet, clapping, crawling, walking backwards, marching, swinging arms, twirling in circles, skipping, etc. The children should do exactly what the leader is doing.

"Find the Star" - Christmas Sunday School Game

Play this game to remind your children that the Star of Bethlehem guided the Wise Men to Jesus the night he was born.

Before class cut out a bunch of star shapes from construction paper. Make them all the same except for one -- make it a little bigger. Tape the stars all around the room. In class explain to the children that the wise men knew that the star would lead them to Jesus because it was very different from all the other stars. It had appeared in the sky and hadn't been there before and it moved across the sky leading them to Jesus. Tell your children that on the word "go" they should each go and try to find the star they think is different from all the rest. When they find it, they should stand by the star until you say "Stop". Compare the stars to see which one is different.

"Follow the Stars" Musical Chairs - Game for Sunday School

Before class cut out a bunch of star shapes making one bigger and brighter then the rest. Tape them to the back of the chairs. Place the same amount of chairs in a circle as you have children. Play like Musical Chairs, except the child how sits on the "Special Star" chair gets to sit down at the table and eat his or her snack. Remove one chair and play again. Keep playing until you only have the "Special Star" chair left.

Other Fun Activies

1. Sing Christmas Carols

2. Decorate Cookies

3. Make Gifts for Parents and friends and wrapped them.