Which games work at a church Christmas party?

A church Christmas party fills the fellowship hall with every generation at once: the Sunday school class, the choir, young families, the women’s ministry and members who have come for sixty years. The games have to work for all of them, seated, with nobody put on the spot. Here is a plan that does, with the games we make for it.

A ready 90-minute church Christmas party

This is the plan printed in our Church Christmas Games Bundle, which puts four games in one download.

Short on time? For an hour, play Finish the Phrase for ten minutes, one round of the Bible quiz, one line of carol bingo (about fifteen minutes) and close with the gift story, which takes three or four minutes.

Games every age can play in one hall

Carol lines. In Christmas Finish the Phrase, you say “Joy to the world,” and the hall gives the rest. It has 60 lines in 6 rounds, from carols, “The Night Before Christmas” and classic sayings, each with its story. Nobody writes anything, so it suits the guests still taking off their coats.

Bible questions on the Nativity. The Christmas Bible Quiz has 40 questions in four rounds, three choices each, and a Scripture reference for every answer. Here is one, exactly as written:

What were the shepherds doing in the fields that night? A. Sleeping soundly · B. Keeping watch · C. Counting stars (Answer: B, Keeping watch.)

Carol bingo. Christmas Carol Bingo has 100 different cards and 40 traditional carols, 16 to a card, with every title at 22 pt or larger. No recordings are included: the caller sings, hums or plays each carol, and anyone who knows the words can sing along.

Acting it out. For a livelier table, Christmas Charades has 120 cards in six decks, including eight Nativity cards. Every Picture Card and every Easy Action works sitting down.

A Bible quiz without embarrassment

A quiz at church can feel like a test if it’s run the wrong way. A few habits keep it a pleasure:

1. Play in table teams of four to six. Nobody answers alone, and the member who knows every prophet sits beside the one who knows every carol.
2. Read each question and its three answers twice, then give the tables about 30 seconds.
3. Read the answer with its reference. The volunteer at the front never has to defend an answer: anyone can check it in their own Bible. The quiz works with any Bible translation; its wording was checked in three widely read ones.
4. Use Easy Mode for an older group. Everyone holds up an A, B or C paddle, there are no scores, and each round ends with applause. The Host Pack’s Gentle 20 is a ready short game of the friendliest questions.
5. Ask the table question after the answer. “What is the most thoughtful gift you have ever received?” turns a fact into a conversation.

For more questions with answers, see our Christmas trivia questions and answers.

An ice breaker for newcomers

A Christmas party is often a visitor’s first time in the fellowship hall. Church Fellowship Find the Guest Bingo gives them a reason to say hello: every square finishes “Find someone who…” with squares like “sits in the same pew” and “has rung a church bell”. It has 16 different cards and 48 squares, and the first BINGO usually comes in about five minutes. In Hands Up mode the host reads the squares and nobody walks or writes, and anyone may say “not me” or pass.

Closing with a gift story

Pass the Gift is a read-aloud story: guests sit in a circle with a small wrapped gift, and every time the reader says a direction word, the gifts move that way. The Church Christmas story in Christmas Pass the Gift is set at a children’s pageant rehearsal, with shepherds in bathrobes and a donkey whose ears are tied on with string. It has 13 passes and takes three to four minutes.

• Best with 6 to 14 players and a reader who doesn’t play. A bigger hall makes two circles, each with its own reader.
• Not a gift for everyone? Play One Prize: a single wrapped prize goes around, and whoever holds it at the end keeps it.
• For guests who find lifting hard, Table Slide lets the gifts slide along the table instead.

Seating 30 to 80 people

• Tables of four to six are your teams. Mix the ages at every table, and give each one a name.
• Carol bingo scales easily: up to 100 players, each with a different card.
• For 20 to 100 guests with helpers, the Christmas Party Kit for Large Groups has five games and timed plans of 90, 60 or 45 minutes, written for one host and four helpers.
• Seat older members near the front, close to the caller and away from the kitchen.

Women’s ministry, senior ministry and small groups

The same four games bend to the group. For a women’s ministry tea, play the Bible quiz in teams at each table, then carol bingo. For senior ministry, use the Easy Mode paddles and the Gentle 20; Finish the Phrase needs no writing at all. For a Christmas fellowship or Sunday school party, mix the ages in teams, since everyone knows the carols. A small group at home can read everything aloud from the Host Packs; two people are enough. For the rest of the year, our women’s ministry fellowship guide has a one-hour plan.

Printing on a church budget

Black ink is all these games need. Print at 100% (Actual size), never Fit to page. Nothing has to be cut: the bingo cards print whole, the Bible quiz and Finish the Phrase are read from their Host Packs, and the Pass the Gift story prints as it is. If your hall has a TV, the slides skip most of the printing.

Pick the carol that opens the evening, and the rest of the party follows. Browse all our church games.