Christmas is the season of joy and togetherness, making it the perfect time for employees to build stronger connections at the Christmas work party.
To make sure your holiday-season event gets off to a perfect start, we’re providing you with a huge list of Christmas-themed icebreaker questions and games.
In this article, we share
- Reflective icebreaker questions
- Funny icebreaker questions
- Materialistic icebreaker questions
- Nostalgic icebreaker questions
- Food & drink icebreaker questions
- Entertainment icebreaker questions
- Travel-related icebreaker questions
Plus…
- Quick and easy icebreaker games
- Team-based icebreaker games
- Icebreaker games for virtual teams
These icebreaker questions and games are perfect for Christmas meetings, team-building events, parties and more.
70 Christmas-themed icebreaker questions ⁉️
Icebreaker questions are a great way to kick off your Christmas event because they help get everyone in the mood for ideating, socialising and having fun.
They also help colleagues get to know each other better by providing insight into one another’s backgrounds, interests and experiences.
If you’re wondering which are the best questions to ask at your event, check out this list of 70 Christmas-themed icebreaker questions.
Reflective icebreaker questions 🤔
- What did you do this year that would put you on the naughty list?
- Are you more like Santa Claus or the Grinch?
- What do you most like and dislike about the festive season?
- What is your new-year resolution?
- What are you most thankful for this year?
- What was your new-year resolution last year and did you achieve it?
- If you could have given yourself a piece of advice at the beginning of this year, what would it have been?
- Describe the last year using just three words.
- What’s your secret to staying relaxed during the busy Christmas period?
- What Christmas miracle are you wishing for this year?
Funny icebreaker questions 🤣
- How early (or late) do you start preparing for Christmas?
- What thing does your family do every Christmas that’s normal to you but would seem strange to everybody else?
- Who will you dress up as at the staff Christmas party?
- If you could have a famous person sit at your Christmas dinner table, dead or alive, who would you choose?
- Which coworkers would make the best department store Santa Claus?
- Which Christmas tradition would you make disappear if you could?
- Did you ever give somebody a Christmas present that you wish you could have kept for yourself? If so, what was it?
- What is your favourite holiday joke?
- Be honest: is it really the thought that counts?
- What Christmas gift would offend you the most?
Materialistic icebreaker questions 🎁
- If you could receive any present you wanted this year, what would you get?
- How big is your Christmas tree this year and where have you put it?
- Present a show-and-tell about your favourite Christmas decoration.
- How early do you start putting up Christmas decorations?
- What’s the best Christmas present you ever received?
- Do you do all of your Christmas shopping online or in person?
- Have you ever re-gifted a present? If so, what was it and to whom did you give it?
- Have you ever taken a sneaky peek at your presents on Christmas Eve?
- Are you an early or last-minute Christmas shopper?
- If money were no object, what kind of gifts would you buy?
Nostalgic icebreaker questions 👪
- What age were you when you stopped believing in Santa Claus?
- How did you find out that Santa Claus isn’t real?
- What is your most cherished childhood Christmas memory?
- Do you still have any Christmas ornaments that you made at school?
- What Christmas ornament are you most sentimental about?
- Which Christmas song brings back great memories?
- Do you have any holiday traditions that you look forward to each year?
- Do you have any Christmas superstitions or beliefs?
- Do you have any holiday traditions or customs that have been passed down through your family for generations?
- What is the most nostalgic holiday scent or flavour for you?
Food and drink icebreaker questions 🍻
- What’s your favourite part about Christmas dinner?
- Would you ban Brussels sprouts forever if you could?
- What snacks did you put out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve when you were younger?
- What food is a must-have on a Christmas buffet table?
- What’s your favourite drink at Christmas time?
- Would you rather cook Christmas dinner or do the dishes?
- Describe your perfect Christmas dinner in the style of a Michelin restaurant menu.
- What is your go-to alcoholic drink during Christmas?
- Eggnog or hot chocolate?
- Which celebrity chef would you choose to prepare your Christmas dinner?
Entertainment icebreaker questions 🎶
- What is your favourite Christmas movie?
- If you could only listen to one Christmas song for the rest of your life what would it be?
- On NYE, do you prefer a quiet night in with the family or a big knees-up with friends?
- What’s your favourite thing to do when it snows?
- Which song would you destroy during Christmas karaoke?
- Which TV series or theme should release a Christmas special?
- Would you rather watch a Christmas movie or go to the theatre?
- Who is your favourite Christmas movie character?
- Which Christmas film do you have to watch every year?
- Which character did you play in your school nativity play?
Travel-related icebreaker questions ✈️
- If you could spend Christmas anywhere in the world, where would you go?
- White Christmas or tropical Christmas?
- Have you ever spent Christmas in a foreign country? If so, where?
- What is your favourite Christmas destination?
- Do you have any upcoming holiday travel plans?
- If you could travel back in time to spend Christmas in any era or place, where would you go?
- What is the most memorable holiday trip you’ve ever taken?
- Have you ever experienced a different Christmas tradition while travelling?
- Is there a place you always go to for Christmas?
- Did you ever get on a plane on Christmas day? If so, where were you going?
30 Christmas-themed icebreaker games 🎲
Christmas icebreaker games are designed to get everybody warmed up for the festive celebrations ahead.
By breaking the ice with these short and fun games, you’ll pave the way for a successful Christmas party, meeting or team-building event.
Quick and easy icebreaker games ⏰
The following icebreaker games have been specifically chosen because they’re quick to play and don’t require many props or materials.
1. How Many Decorations?
This is a super simple icebreaker game that you can play with your team during the Holiday season. All you need is a Christmas tree and a bunch of decorations.
To play, simply decorate your office Christmas tree with a number of festive ornaments, making sure to keep track of the exact number.
Then, give each person a few seconds to observe the tree and then ask them to guess how many decorations there are.
The person who guesses the closest wins a prize.
2. Word Association (Christmas Edition)
This icebreaker game gets your employees nicely warmed up before a meeting or team-building activity.
The idea is very simple: Players sit in a circle on chairs or on the floor and one person starts by saying a one-word (Christmassy) prompt. This could be an object, a place, a person, etc.
Then, the person to the left (if you’re playing clockwise) of the first player says another word that they closely associate with the previous word.
For example, if player one says “Santa”, player two might say something like “red” or “presents”. Play moves around the circle until the time runs out.
3. Holiday Alphabet
This is a quick-fire thinking game that will help to kick everyone’s brains into gear before a team-building event or meeting.
To play, hand each player a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. Then, ask them to write the alphabet vertically on their piece of paper.
When you shout, “Go!” Players start writing down Christmas-themed objects that start with each letter of the Alphabet. They could write “Antlers” for the letter “A” and “Berries” for the letter “B”, for example.
The first player to complete their alphabet wins!
4. The Christmas Memory Game
This quick and easy icebreaker will put your colleagues' short-term recollection skills to the ultimate test! All you’ll need is a tray holding various Christmassy items.
Give players one minute to memorise the items on the tray, then take the tray away and give them thirty seconds to write down as many items as they can remember.
Award one point per correctly remembered item and feel free to award bonus points for extra details. The player who scores the most points wins.
5. Name That Tune (Christmas Edition)
Name That Tune is a timeless party game classic that everybody loves! Only this time, you’ll be playing festive hits ONLY.
If you haven’t played Name That Tune before, don’t worry—the rules are very simple.
Start playing a Christmas song and award points to the fastest player to guess the name of the song. If they guess the name of the song correctly, offer them the chance to win bonus points by guessing the artist too.
If they fail to guess the artist correctly, you can give other players the chance to win extra points by guessing the artist instead.
The player to score the most points by the end of the game is the winner.
6. Who Am I? (Holiday Edition)
Here’s another well-known icebreaker game that your team is likely to know already.
For those who haven’t played Who Am I? before, this is how it works…
Each player writes the names of a famous (Christmas-themed) character onto a sticky note. Then, they stick their note to another player’s forehead without them seeing what’s written on the note. This happens until every player has a name on a sticky note stuck to their forehead.
The aim of the game is for each player to guess the name of the character that’s written on their forehead by asking questions that can only be answered with “Yes” or “No”.
Players can ask as many questions as they need. However, they can only ask a maximum of three questions in a row to the same player. After that, they must move on to another player.
Play continues until all players have guessed who they are.
7. Holiday Fortunes
This game is a fun precursor to your Christmas dinner or Spirit Week event. It works best when everybody is sitting with your team at a table.
To prepare, write a fortune for each player. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
- You’ll receive an inappropriate gift from a coworker this week.
- Something unexpected is going to happen at the upcoming Christmas party.
- A Christmas miracle is around the corner.
- You’ll do something today that will earn you a spot on Santa’s naughty list.
Once you’ve finished writing the fortunes, insert them into balloons. Then, inflate the balloons and give one to each player.
Players will then take turns popping their balloons and reading out their fortunes to the group. This sparks lively conversations between employees for a group dinner or team-building event!
8. Inflatable Beach Ball Questions
This is an easy get-to-know-you game that can be played with groups of any size. It’s one of the best icebreakers for introverts because it allows them to speak without being interrupted by extroverts.
To play Inflatable Beach Ball Questions, you’ll need a set of questions and an inflatable beach ball.
Arrange your group into a circle, then pass the beach ball to a random player. When the player catches the ball, the game facilitator asks them a question at random which they must answer.
Once they’ve answered, they bounce the beach ball to somebody else, to whom the game facilitator then asks another question.
The game can continue in this manner for as long as you deem suitable.
9. The Sticker Challenge
This is a fun energisation game designed to get players moving around and interacting at the start of a social or team-building event.
To play, hand each player a page with 10 stickers. The object of the game is for players to stick all of their stickers to other players without them realising it.
The rules are as follows:
- Players cannot stick more than one sticker to the same person.
- If they’re caught by the other player, they must take their sticker back and take an additional sticker from the other player.
- If somebody falsely accused you of putting a sticker on them, you can place one sticker on them for free.
- The first person to stick all of their stickers on other players is the winner.
10. Holiday Charades
It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve played charades, it’s always great fun! This icebreaker will get your team interacting and laughing together.
If you’re unfamiliar with charades, the rules are as follows:
- Write the names of Christmas-themed songs, movies, books and television shows on little pieces of paper and jumble them together in a hat.
- One by one, players take a piece of paper and attempt to act out what’s written by performing gestures and using silent clues.
- Players cannot speak or point to things in their vicinity.
- Whoever guesses the answer correctly steps up and takes a new piece of paper.
If you like, you can keep track of who made the most correct guesses and declare them the winner at the end.
Team-based icebreaker games 🤼
These icebreaker games will help to improve communication and teamwork skills by encouraging employees to work together in teams.
As with all icebreaker games, the goal is to get employees warmed up and enthusiastic about the event ahead.
11. Gift Wrap Challenge
In this game, players will be working together in pairs to wrap a present the fastest. But it won’t all be as easy as that, of course.
The pairs will be stood side by side with their left hand tied to the other’s right. This forces the pairs to communicate well in order to wrap the gift efficiently.
The gift must be wrapped entirely so that no part of the gift is visible, and they must finish by tying it with a ribbon.
The winning team is the one that successfully completes the criteria the fastest.
12. Unwrap The Parcel
This is a high-tempo energisation game that always results in plenty of laughs.
The premise is simple:
- Arrange your group into a circle and place a prize (wrapped multiple times in wrapping paper) in the centre.
- Give a random player a die, and ask them to roll it.
- If they roll a six, they rush to the centre of the circle, put on a Santa hat and a pair of oven mitts and remove one layer of wrapping paper from the prize. They then return to their place in the circle and pass the die to the next player.
- If a six is not rolled, the die is immediately passed to the next player in the circle.
- The person who unwraps the final layer of wrapping paper claims the prize for themselves or chooses a person to whom they’d like to give it.
13. Pop The Balloons
This is a physical energisation game that works well with large groups. You’ll need several balloons in two different colours and an open space in which to play.
To start, separate your group into two equal teams. Give all the players of one team a green balloon and give a red balloon to all players of the other. Then, instruct the players to affix their balloons to their ankles using a piece of string or twine.
When the players hear “Go!” they start popping as many of the other team’s balloons as possible. If a player's balloon is popped, they’re eliminated from the game.
The first team to eliminate all players of the opposition is the winner.
14. Reindeer Antlers
This is a hilarious teamwork game that forces players to think creatively and work together.
You’ll need to prepare a few materials before you can get started:
- A pair of unused tights, with the feet cut off and a hole cut into the belly panel, for each team
- 14 small balloons per team
- Some red ribbon for each team
To play, give each team a set of the above materials and set a timer for five minutes.
One member of each team slips the tights over their head so that their face fits into the hole you cut into the belly panel.
The other team members then start to stuff the legs with balloons so that they start to stand up like reindeer antlers.
The ribbon is used for both decorating and as a way of tying the ends of the tights closed. If teams have time left over, they can decorate their antlers with any materials they find around the office.
The team to create the best set of antlers is declared the winner.
15. Wreath Hoops
This is a festive party game that’s perfect for energising a team at the start of the day.
The aim of the game is for teams to throw as many balls through the hanging wreath as possible.
To play, hang a large wreath from the ceiling. We recommend buying a cheap hula hoop from a discount store and decorating it with holly and tinsel.
Then separate your group into teams of 2-4 players and give each team a bucket filled with screwed-up pieces of paper or ping pong balls.
Position the teams at equal distances from the hoop and set a timer for about 1 minute.
When teams hear “Go!” they start throwing as many ping pong balls through the hoop as they can. When the time runs out, count how many balls each team got through the hoop.
The team that got the most balls through the hoop wins.
16. Christmas Card Match
This is a social party game that encourages employees to interact with colleagues they wouldn’t usually socialise with.
Before your Christmas party or get-together, gather half the number of Christmas cards as you have guests. Then, cut the cards in half and jumble them together.
Upon entrance, hand each employee half of a Christmas card. Employees are then tasked with finding the person in possession of the other half of their card.
This game sparks spontaneous interactions and helps employees form new connections with their colleagues.
17. Holiday 30 Seconds
30 Seconds is a classic party game that will coax your colleagues out of their shells by forcing them to describe and act out as many ‘things’ as they can within a 30-second time limit.
To design your own Christmas-themed 30 Seconds, have each player write five Christmas-related ‘things’ onto a piece of scrap paper. They can write literally anything, from famous people to feelings or concepts.
Then, collect the pieces of paper and throw them all into a hat. Separate your group into teams of 2-6 players and have them come up with team names.
Each team will allocate a person to describe as many things as they can within 30 seconds. As the player describes, the other members of the team will attempt to guess what they’re describing. Once they guess correctly, the describing player selects another thing from the hat at random.
When the 30 seconds are up, write down how many things they guessed correctly. Don’t put the pieces of paper back into the hat.
The game ends once all of the pieces of paper are finished. The team that scored the most points wins.
18. Snatch The Xmas Cup
This easy-to-play icebreaker game will help to channel focus and inspire competitiveness among your employees.
To play, separate players into pairs, ask them to sit on the floor opposite each other and place a plastic cup between them.
Then, put on your favourite Christmas song and let it play for a few seconds. When you hit ‘pause’, the players will attempt to snatch the cup from their partner!
The loser is eliminated and play continues until just one player remains.
19. Santa’s Helper Hunt
This is a great icebreaker game to play in the office, especially after your team has been sitting for a while.
All you have to do is hide some of “Santa's helpers” around the office and challenge your employees to find as many as they can.
You can use miniature ornaments or simply print out some pictures of elves and stick them in hidden places around the office.
The team to find the most elves within the time limit wins.
20. Christmas Hopscotch
This is a high-intensity game that can be played in teams or individually. The premise of the game follows that of “the glass tile” game that appears in the famous Squid Game series on Netflix.
Here’s how to play:
- Form two parallel lines of cardboard boxes and fill half of them with something that can bear the weight of a person like old newspapers. Leave the other half empty. Then, wrap all of the boxes in Christmas wrapping paper.
- Divide your players into two equal teams.
- One by one, players must attempt to cross from one side of the boxes to the other. They will need to choose the right path as some boxes will collapse when stepped on. If they step on a hollow box, they’re eliminated from the game immediately.
- The team that makes the most successful crossings wins.
Icebreaker games for virtual teams 🌐
The following icebreaker games are perfect for distributed teams working remotely.
Simply pick a game and invite your employees to a meeting with your chosen video conferencing software such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
21. Secret Sentences
This isn’t a standalone game as such but makes a great ongoing game that will provide some laughs throughout your online meeting or team-building event.
To win, players need to say their “secret sentence” at some point during the meeting without being detected. Players are eliminated from the game if another player correctly identifies when they said their “secret sentence.”
You’ll need to provide each player with their “secret sentence” before the meeting starts. The best way to do this is by sending them a private message in Slack.
Here are some “secret sentence” ideas:
- “That reminds me of when my grandmother got me a pair of rollerskates for Christmas.”
- “I think too many parents spoil their children at Christmas time.”
- “I always put my heart and soul into decorating my house at Christmas”
- “What’s that famous man called again? You know, that one with the big beard who delivers presents?”
The best secret sentences are those that stick out slightly from standard chit-chat. They should be challenging to fit into the conversation, but not impossible.
22. Lightning Scavenger Hunt (Holiday Edition)
Lightning Scavenger Hunts are the shorter, faster-paced cousins of traditional Scavenger Hunts.
They’re quick and easy to play and work perfectly for online events because they get players moving around and away from their desks.
To play, simply ask your team members to retrieve a Christmas-themed object from their home as quickly as possible.
The first person to return to their desk with the object wins.
23. Christmas Emoji Quiz
We’ve mentioned The Emoji quiz in some of our other articles about team-building activities. It’s fun to play and easy to adapt to your Christmas-themed event.
To play, you’ll need to come up with a list of film and song titles and then spell them out using only emojis.
Here are a few examples to help you get started:
- Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree (song): 🤘 ♻️ 🎄
- Fairytale of New York (song): 🧚 📖 🗽
- The Polar Express (film): 🐻❄️ 🚂
The easiest way to show the questions is to simply share your screen. Make teams of 2-4 people and start a timer. When the time runs out, reveal the answers and award points for each correct answer.
The team with the most correct answers wins.
24. The GIF Game (Holiday Edition)
The GIF game is one of our favourite online icebreaker games to play at Christmas because it’s all about laughter and having fun.
The idea is very simple.
You say a sentence and your employees choose a funny GIF to match your statement.
Here’s an example:
Sentence: “That feeling when your manager tells you there will be an open bar at the Christmas party.”
GIF:
If you like, you can ask other players to vote for the response they found funniest. The player with the most votes at the end of the game wins.
25. Christmas Mini Quiz
A Christmas Mini Quiz is a super simple way to engage your employees at the beginning of your virtual Christmas event.
All you need to do is come up with a list of festive questions that will test your employees' holiday season knowledge.
The way you design your mini quiz is up to you, but we recommend dividing it into separate rounds such as
- Who’s The Famous Person?
- Guess That Tune
- General (Christmas) Knowledge
- Etc.
Remember: This is an icebreaker game, so your quiz shouldn't last much longer than 10-15 minutes.
26. Christmas Show and Tell
This icebreaker game is all about public speaking.
During the game, players will select a Christmas item from their home and give a short 1-2 minute presentation about it.
They can talk about anything they like, from the material from which it’s made to the person who gave it to them.
If you like, you can set aside a few minutes after each presentation for a short Q&A session.
27. Funny Family Christmas Card
This icebreaker game encourages collaboration and creativity among your employees.
To play, split the group into separate breakout rooms and ask them to create a funny/awkward Christmas card within five minutes using the virtual whiteboard feature.
Once the five minutes are up, invite everybody back and ask each team to present their creation by uploading their image.
Teams will then vote for their favourite before a winner is announced.
28. “Never Have I Ever” (Holiday Edition)
With this fun party game, one player gives a statement starting with the phrase “Never have I ever…” and the other players raise their hand if they’ve done it, or keep their hand down if they haven’t.
An example of a phrase might be: “Never have I ever given somebody a present with the secret intention of using it myself.”
It’s a hilarious game that provides insight into your coworkers’ personalities, morals and tendencies.
29. Festive Background
This icebreaker game requires players to use the “choose background” feature on their virtual conferencing software.
It’s not so much a game as it is a way of adding some Christmas cheer to your online meeting or event.
All you do is ask your employees to upload a background that best resembles their dream Christmas-time destination.
Some might upload images of a cosy living room with a fireplace while others might upload pictures of a tropical beach.
Once everybody has uploaded a photo, go around the group and ask each person why they chose their new background.
30. Pitch to Santa
This icebreaker game is designed to improve your employees’ public speaking and debate skills.
If you’ve ever watched Shark Tank or Dragon’s Den, you’ll know how to play.
Only this time, we’re adding a Christmassy twist: your employees will be elves pitching new toy ideas to Santa Claus.
To play, each player has a few minutes to present their idea for an amazing new toy. At the end of each presentation, the other players will be allowed to critique the idea or ask questions.
Once everybody has presented their idea, players vote for the idea they found the best. The idea with the most wins.
Treat your team to some well-deserved winter sun
Your team has worked hard all year.
They’ve hit targets, surpassed milestones and even put in extra hours when deadlines approached.
And now, with Christmas on the horizon, it’s almost time for your employees to blow off some steam and enjoy the fruits of their labour. It’s also time for you to acknowledge their hard work, reward desirable behaviour and bolster the company culture.
What better way to do this than with a winter retreat to a warm and sunny destination like The Canary Islands or The Mediterranean?
If you’re interested in organising a winter offsite with your team, feel free to reach out to one of our specialist retreat planners.
