The holidays are a time of the year when the whole family gathers together in one place. Tables are full of food, the house comes alive with the laughter of children and grown-ups alike. Christmas can be a magical time and an opportunity to spend more time with our loved ones.

What better way to strengthen the familial bonds than to opt for some team games? Bored Panda found some fun party games that you can try out with your family after the big Christmas dinner. If the conversation at the table starts to turn sour, tell everyone it’s time for some candy cane fishing!

This family shared a bunch of games others can try out this Christmas

Image credits: janelleandkate

Tic-tac-toe but make it Christmas

Image credits: janelleandkate

This game works just like the regular tic-tac-toe, except you switch the Xs and Os with Christmas symbols. They can be Christmas trees, stars, candy canes or, as the family did, nutcrackers.

Shoveling the bows

Image credits: janelleandkate

For this game, you’ll need two containers, a big spoon and a whole bunch of bows. The player is blindfolded and has to move as many bows as they can from one container to the other before the timer runs out.

Candy cane fishing

Image credits: janelleandkate

This game has a few variations. In this version, the candy cane is put on a string that goes around the player’s belly. The person then has to use the candy cane as a hook to fish out as many candy canes from the bowl as they can before the time runs out.

This family appears to have used rice to stick the candy canes in.

Matching the shapes

Image credits: janelleandkate

For this game, players will need a medium-sized box and five pairs of objects that come in different shapes. This family used cups as their objects. Five of the objects are inside the box, while their counterparts have to be matched by the player on top of the box.

Left Or Right

Image credits: janelleandkate

The leader can call out commands like “left” or “right” without any predetermined pattern. For example, they might say “left,” and everyone in the line has to quickly step or turn to their left. Alternatively, they might call “right,” and participants need to react by stepping or turning to their right.

The key is for the participants to swiftly follow the given command without hesitation. Anyone who fails to move in the correct direction is disqualified.

Take A Bow

Image credits: janelleandkate

Every player gets a handful of bows before the game starts. The objective is to stick as many bows onto another player’s back as possible. The trick is to avoid being “de-bowed” yourself. When the time is called off, the player with the most bows wins.

There can be an extra rule if adults want to make this game a bit more fun. After the time runs out, each person has to take as many shots as they have bows on their back.

@janelleandkate BEST Christmas games 2023 #christmas #christmasgames #games #familygames #partygames #fungames ♬ Run, Rudolph Run – Chuck Berry

Roll the shots

Image credits: ourpnw_home

Image credits: ourpnw_home

This drinking game requires toilet paper rolls and shot glasses. A shot is placed at the end of the toilet paper roll. The participants have to roll it back without spilling the shot. The fastest player wins.

@ourpnw_home The epic fail. #christmasparty #christmasgames #holidaypartygame ♬ Jingle Bells – Gwen Stefani

This family did Christmas Olympics with four different games

Image credits: erika.dell

Rules are the same as for shoveling bows.

Image credits: erika.dell

For this game, every player gets two plastic cups and a huge plate. The players put the cups on their hands as if to imitate hooves. They have to pick up the marshmallows or cotton balls as fast as they can and put them onto their plate.

Play for one minute or until all the marshmallows are gone. Victory belongs to the player who has the most marshmallows.

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Image credits: erika.dell

For this game, you’ll need a balloon and five plastic cups. The player has to put the balloon into the cup, pick it up by blowing into the balloon, and stack all five cups without using their hands.

Image credits: erika.dell

Here’s another version of candy cane fishing! Instead of tying the candy cane to their waist, players pick it up with their mouth. They then use that candy cane to hook the other candies inside the cups and place them on their plate.

Those who manage to ‘fish out’ the most candy canes to their plate in a minute wins the game.

@erika.dell Never laughed so hard at a family christmas #christmasolympics #christmasgames #hungryhungryreindeer #christmas ♬ Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee

Christmas tree slide

Image credits: klemfamily

People attempt to slide the Christmas tree in between pre-marked lines to win a prize. They have to be careful for the trees to not slide off the table, or they lose the money.

@klemfamily Christmas tree slide!! #christmasgames #familygamenight #familyfun #competition #gamenight #moneygames ♬ Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee

Christmas string party game

Image credits: brookiebarry

A bunch of strings are tied up to prizes, and the ends of them are fed through a cup, so you don’t know which string is what prize. People select and pull a string to retrieve their prize.

@brookiebarry Christmas string game at the Carrico-Klink Christmas party 🎄🎅🏻 #christmasgames #stringgame #shots #christmasparty #starbucks #familygames #game #games #party #partygames ♬ Jingle Bell Rock – Bobby Helms

Cup and ball toss, human edition

Image credits: ceg22

Players have to swing the ball to get it into the cup.

Roll the can

Image credits: ceg22

Participants have to roll the can and land it on a prize, they get whatever it lands on.

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A table version of ‘plinko’

Image credits: ceg22

@ceg22 Christmas Family Games #christmas #christmasgames #navidad #juegosnavideños #easygames #familytimefun ♬ Christmas Is Coming – DM Production

People in the comments are planning to use these ideas in their holiday celebrations

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