Games for a Holiday Party

Updated on December 10, 2013
A.H. asks from Ontario, CA
9 answers

We're expecting about 90-100 people at our company holiday party. We have drinks, dinner, a DJ (but no one really dances), a prize raffle, they give out the year-end bonuses and everyone calls it a night. This year, in addition to the raffle, we're going to have games to win some of the prizes (gift cards valued at about $100-$200).

I'd like 3-4 more games that will really get as many people involved as possible. At our Halloween party, we did a "hot potato" type game that was fun (we changed up who got eliminated each time, not necesserily the person holding the "potato"). We plan to do that again, but I need a few more ideas.

We're engineers & drafters, the age of the guests is approx 23-60. Party is Saturday night at a hotel.

Thanks!

1 mom found this helpful

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P.L.

answers from Washington DC on

My hubby's company played Simon Says, hilarious once they had a few drinks in them!
Oriental Trading Company has a inflatable candy cane limbo game!
P

2 moms found this helpful

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V.B.

answers from Jacksonville on

Maybe you could do some variation of the baby shower game where every time a person says "baby" someone can steal your clothespin. Only use something else, like colored office clips with candy canes drawn on them with sharpies. And then choose a word... obviously not "baby". LOL

You could make it a Christmas related word, or a work related word. Prizes for the most clips at a certain time of the night.
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Just wanted to add that the beauty of this game (to me anyway) is that it really doesn't matter how many people you have. You could play it with 300 people, and it wouldn't matter. It also is an ongoing game that anyone can participate in as much or little as they like throughout the evening. And really doesn't involve anyone "running" it while it is going on. You just hand out a clip to everyone as they come in (or maybe have a checklist so that if they don't get it when they come in someone can give them one eventually, but nobody gets more than one b/c their name gets marked off the list as it is given to them), and then at some pre-designated time someone grabs a mic and says, hey it's time. Who has more than 10 clips? And goes from there.

Usually, someone ends up with almost all of them and pretty much everyone else has none... so it isn't hard to figure out who wins.

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S.S.

answers from Chicago on

We played aChristmas trivia game last year. They have decks of cards this time of year with Christmas trivia at all the dollar tree stores.

Is everyone in agreement about the switch up from "raffling" the prizes to "winning"them? If not you may get some grumbling from people who don't want to play but still want chances to win.

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C.V.

answers from Columbia on

Have each table make a Christmas card for deployed Soldiers. Have cardstock and crafting stuff at each table. Best card wins. Put a shipping box on each table and encourage everyone to bring in care-package items to send to the Troops.

1 mom found this helpful
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❤.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

Guess the Movie Star/Rock Star I have posted on my back w/a Post-It
note. Make the notes professional looking. Have them printed out in
nice type & put them in those plastic badges w/clips.
You get to ask 3 questions of each person.
Have a few prizes for top 3 or 5 winners.

1 mom found this helpful

D.B.

answers from Boston on

A lot of people like the celebrity "guess who I am?" game mentioned below. It's also a conversation starter among people who may not know each other. Just make sure that all the names aren't people that some people have never heard of (not all 60 year olds have heard of One Direction as a group, let alone the individual members). You could also do an office trivia game if you have time to gather the info - meaning everyone has to submit 3 facts about themselves. Guests can guess which person played saxophone in the high school band or guess who was a champion gymnast, guess who does magic tricks or does volunteer work with the homeless, etc. Every correct answer gets a raffle ticket, and the person with the most correct guesses wins something. Again, it's a way of learning more about each other beyond the workplace.

I think a raffle is okay if the money goes to charity - make it $1 tickets and let people buy what they want (and maybe give everyone 5 tickets when they arrive), with the money going to a GOOD charity (perhaps local?) where all (or most of) the money goes into services and not into executive salaries. The local food pantry might be a good choice. Nothing political, religious or controversial like The Salvation Army and nothing associated with a particular disease.

A lot of groups do a "shoebox raffle" where people can put their tickets into a shoebox for the designated prize. I've seen groups use inexpensive paper lunch bags (with the tops rolled down and a little ribbon around the "waist" which seems to make them sturdier as well as cuter. Label each bag with what prize it connects with - then people can load up all their tickets in the bag/box for something they would really like, so the 60 year old man doesn't get stuck with the facial and the vegetarian doesn't get the gift card for the steak house.

But remember that people really just like to socialize at these parties too so don't have too much structure.

1 mom found this helpful

S.T.

answers from Houston on

We are a similar group of folks (engineers/drafters/designers at the same general age bracket) and we have success with 'guess what's in my walnut.' Someone saws open and empties a walnut. He then fills it with miscellaneous stuff (thread, needle, dime, dust bunny, etc.) and then glues it back together. Everyone in attendance writes down on a slip of paper what he or she thinks is in the walnut. Prizes are given to the top two or three people who provide the largest number of correct items in the walnut.

Another variation on the theme is how many of something is in a container.

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D.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

How well does everyone know each other? If there are new people, or if you think some people don't know each other very well, you can give everyone a bingo card, with random things on it, like this:
Someone who doesn't like snow.
Someone who knows how to scuba dive.
Someone who went to XX university.
Someone who grew up on a farm.

Then, when people talk to each other, they have to find someone with each of the characteristics and have that person sign the square. The first person to get 4 in a row (or, to make it last longer, the first person to fill the entire card), wins.

You want to pick a few really common things, and then a few traits that you think are pretty rare for the cards.

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G.♣.

answers from Springfield on

Trivia. Maybe a shortened version of Trivia Night. Is that popular where you live? It's really, really popular here - especially in the winter.

Also, ask the DJ for ideas. My husband is a DJ, and they have lots of things they do to warm up a crowd.

The DJ at our wedding did some trivia questions (with drink tickets as prizes) before our arrival.

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