17 Christmas Office Games for Small Teams That Aren’t Awkward

A small office party does not need a ballroom, hired host or complicated supplies. In fact, games often work better with five to twenty coworkers when rules are short, nobody is forced to perform alone and each activity fits comfortably into a meeting room.

These Christmas office games are designed for small teams, mixed personalities and real workplace limits. They avoid alcohol, embarrassing dares and expensive props. For distributed teams, use our virtual Christmas games for remote teams; for very large events, see Christmas party games for large groups.

Choose the right game for your team

• 5–8 people: One-Sentence Christmas Story, Holiday Memory Tray, Guess the Coworker’s Holiday Fact
• 9–15 people: Two-Minute Desk Tree, Festive This-or-That, Paper Snowball Target
• 16–25 people: Office Ornament Hunt, Holiday Emoji Decoder, 20-Minute Mini Tournament
• Quiet meeting room: Christmas Categories, Reindeer Route Planner, Five-Word Festive Review
• No preparation: Festive This-or-That, Christmas Categories, One-Sentence Christmas Story

17 Christmas office games for small teams

1. Two-Minute Desk Tree

Best for: teams of 4–12 • Time: 8 minutes • Supplies: office paper, tape and one mug per team. Teams build a freestanding Christmas tree using only the materials on their table. Give two minutes to plan and four minutes to build. Judge stability, creativity and teamwork—not height alone.

2. Holiday Emoji Decoder

Best for: seated groups • Time: 10 minutes • Supplies: screen or paper. Show combinations of emojis that represent Christmas films, songs or winter phrases. Teams write one answer per clue. Include a mix of easy and challenging clues so new employees can contribute without needing specialist knowledge.

3. Mystery Desk Item Gift Pitch

Best for: creative teams • Time: 12 minutes • Supplies: ordinary desk items. Place a stapler, pen cup, notebook or mouse pad in a bag. Each team draws one item and has three minutes to invent a humorous holiday gift pitch. Keep presentations to 30 seconds.

4. Christmas Categories Countdown

Best for: no-prep play • Time: 8 minutes • Supplies: timer. Name a category—holiday foods, winter clothing, gifts under $20 or songs with “snow” in the title. Go around the circle with one answer per person. Instead of eliminating someone who pauses, let the group use one “help” per round.

5. Office Ornament Hunt

Best for: movement without chaos • Time: 10 minutes • Supplies: 10 paper ornaments. Hide numbered paper ornaments in shared office areas, never in drawers or private workspaces. Teams collect the numbers they spot and report locations without removing the ornaments.

6. Festive This-or-That Line

Best for: quick icebreaker • Time: 6 minutes • Supplies: none. Mark two sides of the room and call choices: real tree or artificial, hot chocolate or coffee, gift bags or wrapping paper. People move to a side, then one volunteer from each explains their choice.

7. Guess the Coworker’s Holiday Fact

Best for: teams that know each other • Time: 12 minutes • Supplies: slips of paper. Before the event, ask everyone for one light, workplace-safe holiday fact. Read facts anonymously and let teams guess the coworker. People may opt out or submit a fictional festive preference.

8. Paper Snowball Target

Best for: active break • Time: 8 minutes • Supplies: scrap paper and three bins. Crumple reused paper into soft snowballs. Label bins one, two and three points and place them at different distances. Each person gets three throws; add team totals.

9. Holiday Commercial Charades

Best for: confident groups • Time: 10 minutes • Supplies: prompt cards. Players silently act out a familiar holiday object or situation while their team guesses. Use workplace-safe prompts such as wrapping a difficult gift, untangling lights or carrying too many shopping bags.

10. One-Sentence Christmas Story

Best for: inclusive creativity • Time: 8 minutes • Supplies: none. One person begins a workplace holiday story with a single sentence. Each colleague adds exactly one sentence. A facilitator keeps the story moving and closes it after every person has contributed.

11. Reindeer Route Planner

Best for: problem solvers • Time: 12 minutes • Supplies: printed or drawn grid. Give teams a simple map with eight delivery stops and obstacles. They must choose the shortest route and explain their logic. Create different grids if teams sit close enough to copy.

12. Holiday Tune Humming

Best for: music lovers • Time: 10 minutes • Supplies: song list. A volunteer hums a familiar seasonal tune while teammates guess. Allow tapping the rhythm as an alternative. Mix Christmas songs with neutral winter songs to keep the activity inclusive.

13. Five-Word Festive Review

Best for: reflective teams • Time: 6 minutes • Supplies: sticky notes. Everyone describes the work year in exactly five positive or constructive words. Read selected notes aloud, then arrange them into a simple word wall. No one has to attach their name.

14. Wrap the Box Relay—Seated Edition

Best for: small meeting rooms • Time: 10 minutes • Supplies: one empty box, paper and tape per team. Seated teammates take turns completing one action: measure paper, cut, fold one side, tape and add a paper bow. The cleanest finished parcel wins.

15. Holiday Memory Tray

Best for: calm competition • Time: 8 minutes • Supplies: tray and 12 office or festive items. Show the tray for 30 seconds, cover it, and let teams list everything they remember. Add one unusual item to make the reveal more entertaining.

16. Compliment Garland

Best for: team appreciation • Time: 12 minutes • Supplies: paper strips and stapler or tape. Each person writes a specific, work-related appreciation for a teammate. Connect the strips into a paper garland. A facilitator checks that everyone receives at least one message.

17. The 20-Minute Mini Tournament

Best for: groups wanting structure • Time: 20 minutes • Supplies: paper, cups and timer. Run four fast rounds: paper snowball target, Christmas categories, emoji decoder and desk-tree build. Award one point for each round and one bonus point for best teamwork.

A ready-to-run 45-minute office party plan

0–5 minutes: Welcome everyone with Festive This-or-That. It creates easy conversation without asking for personal disclosures.

5–15 minutes: Run Holiday Emoji Decoder in small teams. Put people from different departments together if the aim is cross-team connection.

15–27 minutes: Play Two-Minute Desk Tree. Include setup and a quick gallery walk in the 12-minute block.

27–37 minutes: Choose Paper Snowball Target for energy or Holiday Memory Tray for a quieter group.

37–45 minutes: End with Compliment Garland or Five-Word Festive Review. A positive closing makes the event feel intentional instead of simply stopping after the score.

How to keep office Christmas games inclusive

• Use “holiday” or “winter” language alongside Christmas when your workplace includes different traditions.
• Make performance optional. People can act as scorekeeper, timer, clue reader or photographer instead of taking a spotlight role.
• Avoid questions about religion, family plans, finances, alcohol or gift budgets.
• Never use jokes based on age, culture, appearance, job level or relationship status.
• Keep physical games low-impact and provide a seated version.
• Do not make employees pay to participate. Use office supplies or a small approved event budget.
• Tell everyone the approximate finish time and allow normal breaks.

Simple prizes that do not create awkwardness

Small teams do not need expensive prizes. Try first choice of snacks, a traveling desk trophy, control of the office playlist for an hour, a premium tea or coffee sachet, or a team photo in a paper frame. If company policy permits gift cards, keep the value modest and award teamwork or creativity as well as winning.

Start the event with these Christmas icebreaker questions for work, including inclusive prompts for remote and mixed teams.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best Christmas office games for a team of ten?

Holiday Emoji Decoder, Two-Minute Desk Tree, Guess the Coworker’s Holiday Fact and Holiday Memory Tray all work well with ten people. Use two teams of five so everyone has a role.

How many games fit into a one-hour office party?

Plan three main games plus a short opener and closer. Allow extra minutes for explaining rules, changing teams and taking photos. Four rushed games usually feel less enjoyable than three well-run activities.

What if some coworkers do not celebrate Christmas?

Use winter imagery, neutral music and optional participation. Replace Christmas-specific prompts with year-end, food, travel, gratitude or cozy-weather categories. The structure of every game above still works.

Can these games work in a restaurant?

Yes. Choose seated activities such as Emoji Decoder, Christmas Categories, Holiday Memory Tray and Five-Word Festive Review. Ask the venue before bringing tape, confetti or outside food.

What are good no-supply office Christmas games?

Festive This-or-That, Christmas Categories Countdown and One-Sentence Christmas Story require no materials. You can also adapt ideas from our Christmas party games for adults with no supplies.

Featured photo credit: Vitaly Gariev via Unsplash.

Planning for 20–100+ coworkers? See these Christmas office games for large teams and departments.