Christmas Day Games After Dinner: 18 For A Full, Sleepy Room

Three o'clock on Christmas Day: everyone has eaten too much, the table is still covered in crackers, and someone is about to suggest the telly. This is the window where a good game saves the afternoon.

These all start from the table, need almost nothing, and work with a room where the ages run from four to ninety.

Straight from the table, nobody moves

• The name game - everyone writes three famous names on cracker paper, fold into a bowl, three rounds: describe, one word, mime. The best game of the day, every year.
• Who am I - a cracker toy or a name written on a scrap, stuck to each forehead with a bit of tape.
• Christmas charades using the film titles list - no board, no timer needed, just a phone stopwatch.
• Call My Bluff with words out of the dictionary someone got as a present.
• Yes/no game for a minute per person - no yes, no no, no nodding. Dad never lasts thirty seconds.

Games with the stuff already on the table

• Cracker joke competition - everyone reads theirs, best and worst both win a chocolate.
• Build the tallest tower out of cracker toys, boxes and napkin rings. Two teams, three minutes.
• Guess the weight of the Christmas pudding, or how many sprouts were cooked.
• Chocolate game: hat, scarf, gloves, knife and fork, a six on the dice, one square at a time.
• Pass the orange under the chin round the table - do it before everyone's had another drink.

When people need to move

• Wrapping paper relay - wrap a volunteer in leftover paper, best-dressed wins.
• Musical statues to the Christmas number ones, adults included.
• Reindeer antlers - throw tinsel rings onto a partner's headband.
• Hunt the sprout - one sprout hidden in the room, first to find it gets the last mince pie.
• A quick walk round the block and back as a scavenger hunt: find something red, something prickly, something someone has clearly thrown away.

Winding it down towards the evening

• A read-aloud Christmas quiz with the answers written down, no teams needed.
• The memory round - each person shares one Christmas they remember. It gets emotional and nobody minds.
• Cards: Newmarket with a jar of coppers, or Rummy for whoever is still awake.

Shop Christmas cards

How to write it so it lands

• Write the name-game slips during dinner, not after.
• Keep rounds under ten minutes - full stomachs have short attention spans.
• Let someone who isn't cooking or hosting run the game.

Where to shop next

• Christmas gift ideas hub
• Christmas games for the whole family
• Christmas Eve games and traditions
• Christmas party games for adults
• Christmas games for two people
• Secret Santa and gift swap games
• The left right Christmas story game
• Christmas charades and Pictionary word lists
• Christmas Day quiz
• Christmas morning games for kids
• Twelve games of Christmas
• New Year's Eve party games
• Boxing Day walk and outdoor games
• Christmas board games
• Boxing Day games
• Board games hub
• Secret Santa gift ideas
• Free feel good tools
• Shop Christmas cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Funny Father's Day cards
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What games can you play after Christmas dinner?

Seated games with short rounds work best when everyone's full: the name game, charades, who am I, the chocolate game and a read-aloud quiz. Save anything that needs standing up until at least an hour after the pudding.

What's the best Christmas Day game for a big family?

The name game. Everyone writes three names on scraps of paper, you play three rounds with the same names, and it works with six people or twenty, from about age eight upwards.

What Christmas games need no equipment?

Charades, who am I, the yes/no game, twenty questions and the memory round. Cracker paper and a pen covers everything else.

How do you get everyone to join in on Christmas Day?

Start while people are still at the table, before anyone moves to the sofa. Once the telly goes on, the afternoon is decided.

Do you sell games or party supplies?

No - we make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. The games here need little or nothing to run, and the only products on this page are our own cards.