Christmas Party Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Games

1. Pass the Package

Wrap a small box with little prizes inside for each kid, like candy canes or pencils. Put that box into a larger box and wrap it. Repeat until you have several layers of wrapped boxes. Have the kids sit in a circle, turn up the holiday tunes, and let the kids pass the package around until the music stops. Whoever has the package when the music stops gets to unwrap the top layer. Play round after round until the prizes are found.

2. Snowman

This game is Hangman in reverse, where kids try to guess the secret word before the snowman melts. Make a large paper snowman with parts that are loosely taped on. Have the kids guess a letter in your mystery word or phrase until they can guess the whole word. For every letter guessed wrong, take away one piece of the snowman. The kids will be winners if they guess the word before all the parts melt.

3. Ornament Spoon Race

Have each kid balance an unbreakable tree ornament on a spoon and let them race across the room without the ornament falling off. If space is tight, kids can complete tasks like standing on one foot or turning in a circle without the ornament falling.

4. Snowball Toss

Pick up some inexpensive foam balls (try the dollar store!) or ball up some clean white socks, and see which team can toss the most "snowballs" into gift bags positioned several feet away.

5. Candy Cane Fishing

Secure some dental floss to the stick end of candy canes to make fishing poles. Place other candy canes in holiday cups with the hooks over the rim. Put the cups on the ground and try to use the candy cane fishing poles to hook as many candy canes as you can in a minute. Try not to touch the string!

6. Holiday Song Lyrics Trivia

Say a few lyrics from a holiday song and see who can sing the tune it's from.

7. Pin the Nose on Rudolph

Make a paper reindeer and a bunch of red noses with double-sided tape on the back. Have the kids try to pin the nose on the reindeer while blindfolded.

8. Stocking Stuffers

Put some fun objects like a cookie cutter, a spare Christmas light, a cinnamon stick, and a pine cone deep inside a cloth Christmas stocking. Pass the stocking around and let the kids feel the objects through the stocking, but no peeking! See who can guess what's inside.

9. Hot Chocolate

Arrange some mugs or holiday-colored plastic cups in two lines. Split the kids into two single-file lines and have the line leader stand in front of the first cup. The first cup will be very close to the line leader's feet and the last cup might be about six feet away. Have the kids take turns tossing large marshmallows into the cups, with different point values for the nearest and furthest cups. The team that earns the most points wins.

10. What Do the Browns Want for the Holidays?

Give kids several clues about some funny things that Mr. and Mrs. Brown want for the holidays. See if teams can successfully guess what's on their wish list.

11. Holiday Tic-Tac-Toe

Get some blank paper and draw a large tic-tac-toe board on each one. Pair up the kids and pass out boards and holiday markers like gold coins and peppermints. Play the best of three games, then switch partners.

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Purchase these cute snowman cups on Amazon at the AimFun Store.

12. Snowman Tumble

Draw snowmen on white plastic cups, or buy these adorable snowman snack cups. Stack up a pyramid of snowman cups and see if kids can knock them down with marshmallow or paper "snowballs" from various distances away.

13. Golden Coin Search

Hide gold chocolate coins around the room before the party starts. Go on a hunt to see if the kids can recover all of them. You can also do a sugar-free version with paper coins made from yellow construction paper.

14. Frosty Freeze Dance

Turn up the holiday tunes and play a good old-fashioned game of freeze dance.

15. Trim the Tree

Divide the children into teams and give each group a roll of green crepe paper and stick-on bows. Each team races to see who will be the first to turn a teammate into a Christmas tree by wrapping them in all the crepe paper and bows.

16. Holiday Lights Limbo

Have two people hold a string of glowing Christmas lights and let the kids limbo under the lights, going lower and lower until a winner makes it under without touching the floor.

17. Peppermint Guess

Get some mason jars or bags of different sizes. Fill them with peppermints and have the kids guess how many are inside. The closest guess wins a prize.

18. Frosty Dice

Split the kids into groups, and give each group a die, pencils. and paper. They start by drawing three circles to make the base of a snowman. Then, start the clock and see which team is the first to roll a snowman. They'll need to roll numbers one through six at least once to win. One is a hat, two and three are stick arms, four is the eyes, five is buttons, and six is a scarf.

19. Holiday Pictionary

Use a whiteboard and let the kids draw holiday objects for the group to guess, such as a gift, a candy cane, a tree, a menorah, or a sleigh.

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A sock snowman makes for a fun craft and a great party favor. Photo by Ally Noel

Christmas Party Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Crafts

20. Sock Snowmen

Make no-sew sock snowmen in three easy steps out of rubber bands, socks, and rice.

21. Homemade Cards

Put out folded pieces of cardstock, holiday stickers, and stamps, and let the kids go to town making holiday cards. Bonus if you donate the completed cards to a local senior center or nursing home to spread some holiday joy.

22. Cookie Decorating

Bake a tray of sugar or gingerbread cookies ahead of the party and let the kids decorate them with icing and sprinkles—and then eat them! Try one of these 10 Christmas cookie recipes.

23. Gingerbread Person

Trace some large gingerbread people on brown construction paper and have the kids glue on decorations like pom-poms, buttons, googly eyes, stickers, and more.

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How adorable are these thumbprint snowmen? Photo by Ally Noel

24. Thumbprint Snowmen

Do a little “thumb painting” to make thumbprint snowman pictures. Learn how in our thumbprint holiday cards kids craft.

25. Personalized Gift Tags

Have the kids make and decorate homemade gift tags.

26. Paper Plate Wreaths

Turn paper plates into wreaths with some simple paper cut-outs and glue.

27. No-Mess Painted Ornaments

Take the cap off clear plastic globe ornaments and help kids squirt colorful paint into the ornament. Swirl the paint around the inside and create a beautiful marble ornament.

28. Hand-Trace Reindeer

Spread out kids' fingers and trace their handprint. Turn it upside down and color it to look like a reindeer with four fingers for legs and a thumb for a head.

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Paper snowflakes can be used later as festive decor. Photo by Ginny via Flickr 2.0

29. Paper Snowflakes

Pass out the safety scissors and paper and make paper snowflakes.

30. Homemade Snow Globe

Make your own snow globe by pasting a figure, photo, or puffball snow to a round piece of paper. Glue down an inverted clear plastic cup over it to make the globe.

31. Sugar Cube Igloo

Make sweet igloos out of sugar cubes, powdered sugar, water, paper plates, and wooden craft sticks.

32. Gingerbread Houses

Keep it simple by buying pre-built gingerbread houses. Let kids decorate them with frosting and candy.

Christmas Party Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Snacks

33. Doughnut Hole Snowmen

Use a toothpick or skewer to attach two powdered doughnut holes. Use a little melted chocolate to make the eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons.

34. Hot Chocolate Bar

Make a hot chocolate station with toppings like crushed peppermints, whipped cream, chocolate chips, and sprinkles. If you’re worried about steamy beverages, chocolate milk works great, too!

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Hot chocolate bombs are unique and delicious. Photo by Ally Noel

35. Hot Chocolate Bombs

For a fun and crafty twist on hot chocolate, have the kids help make these hot chocolate bombs in five easy steps.

36. Red and Green Fruit

Keep it simple and put out platters of red and green fruit like apples, grapes, strawberries. and melons. Arrange them in red and green “stripes.”

37. Christmas Cupcakes

Whip up a batch of cupcakes topped with holiday colored frosting and sprinkles.

38. Holiday Pretzels

Drizzle holiday-colored candy melt over pretzels rods. Add sprinkles for an extra-festive touch.

39. Sandwich-Cookie Pops

Stick a wooden skewer into an Oreo cookie. Dip a side into holiday-colored candy melt and decorate with sprinkles. Or use white and make a snowman face.

40. Reindeer Munch

Prep snack bags of "reindeer munch," which can be things like trail mix, granola, and Chex Mix.

More Christmas Party Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers

41. Christmas Jokes and Holiday Riddles

Tell some funny holiday jokes and riddles while the kids enjoy their snacks.

42. Holiday Storytime

Read the kids a magical holiday book, like The Polar Express or How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

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The Muppet Christmas Carol is a great holiday movie for kids. Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures and Jim Henson Productions

43. Christmas Movie

Wrap up the fun by winding down in front of a holiday flick from our list of kids' holiday movies to watch this holiday season.

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