Christmas Spin the Wheel: 82 Party Games, Carols and Challenges

Spin for the next game, carol or challenge, and let the results list become the running order for the party.

Christmas Spin the Wheel: 82 Party Games, Carols and Challenges

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Spin 1 · number 32

Sing The Twelve Days of Christmas

English traditional, first printed about 1780 in the children's book Mirth Without Mischief. Give each guest or each desk one day to sing and stand up for.

Each winner leaves the wheel before the next spin.

81 of 82 activities left on the wheel.

Numbers on the wheel

  1. Play Christmas charades
  2. Pass the parcel, one layer per carol
  3. Run a white elephant gift swap
  4. Draw names for Secret Santa
  5. Pull crackers round the table
  6. Hum a carol for the room to guess
  7. Play Christmas bingo
  8. Hook candy canes with a candy cane
  9. Wrap a teammate as a snowman
  10. Play the oven mitt unwrapping game
  11. Play the left-right gift pass
  12. Hold a ten question Christmas quiz
  13. Play the stocking filler memory tray
  14. Toss paper snowballs into a bucket
  15. Run a carol title relay
  16. Play musical Santa hats
  17. Draw a Christmas word for your team
  18. Find the ornament hidden on the tree
  19. Play reindeer antler ring toss
  20. Unscramble ten Christmas words
  21. Name that carol from one line
  22. Play Santa says
  23. Play Christmas twenty questions
  24. Play memory match with old cards
  25. Hunt for hidden candy canes
  26. Guess the carol from its initials
  27. Sing Silent Night
  28. Sing Joy to the World
  29. Sing Jingle Bells
  30. Sing Deck the Halls
  31. Sing O Christmas Tree
  32. Sing The Twelve Days of Christmas
  33. Sing We Wish You a Merry Christmas
  34. Sing Away in a Manger
  35. Sing The First Noel
  36. Sing O Come, All Ye Faithful
  37. Sing Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
  38. Sing God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
  39. Sing Good King Wenceslas
  40. Sing O Little Town of Bethlehem
  41. Sing Angels We Have Heard on High
  42. Sing We Three Kings
  43. Sing Ding Dong Merrily on High
  44. Sing The Holly and the Ivy
  45. Sing Here We Come A-wassailing
  46. Sing Go Tell It on the Mountain
  47. Sing O Holy Night
  48. Sing What Child Is This?
  49. Sing Up on the Housetop
  50. Sing Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
  51. Wrap a gift with one hand each
  52. Name Santa's 8 reindeer in 20 seconds
  53. Recite the twelve days gifts backwards
  54. Say ho ho ho in five different voices
  55. Tell a Christmas cracker joke
  56. Draw a snowman with your eyes closed
  57. Draw a reindeer on a plate on your head
  58. Carry a bauble on a spoon for one lap
  59. Answer only in carol titles for a minute
  60. Waddle like a penguin across the room
  61. Build the tallest gift tower in a minute
  62. Stack 10 cups into a tree, one hand only
  63. Make up a new verse for Jingle Bells
  64. Thank the host in a 30 second speech
  65. Freeze like a snowman for 60 seconds
  66. Guess five Christmas smells, eyes shut
  67. Wear the paper crown until the next spin
  68. List Christmas words from A to J
  69. Read the weather from the North Pole
  70. Hang 5 ornaments wearing oven mitts
  71. Untangle a string of lights on the clock
  72. Sing a carol chorus at double speed
  73. Cut a six-pointed paper snowflake
  74. Add ten links to a paper chain
  75. Decorate a gingerbread person
  76. Build a marshmallow snowman
  77. Make a card for someone in the room
  78. Design an ugly Christmas sweater
  79. Stud an orange with cloves
  80. Thread a popcorn garland
  81. Write a letter to Santa, a line each
  82. Make handprint reindeer antlers

Results

  1. 1. Sing The Twelve Days of Christmas

Tip: the space bar and the Enter key spin the wheel, and so does a tap on the wheel itself. Press again to skip to the result.

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Christmas Spin the Wheel: 82 Party Games, Carols and Challenges: how it works

This Christmas spin the wheel holds 82 party activities: 26 games, 24 traditional carols, 22 quick challenges and 10 crafts. Every result says what you need and how long it takes. Narrow it to Family party, Office party or No props needed.

Run the party from the Christmas wheel spinner

Choose a chip before guests arrive, because 82 segments are too thin to read across a room. The wheel opens in Elimination, so an activity that lands leaves the wheel and the numbered results list becomes the running order. Read the list below the day before and fill one bag: crackers, candy canes, paper plates, oven mitts, a die, a Santa hat and empty wrapped boxes.

The 24 carols and why these ones

All 24 are traditional carols and hymns that a mixed room can sing from memory; songs from films and the pop charts are left off on purpose. Each line gives the writer and year where they are known. Some are older than they look: Deck the Halls borrows a sixteenth century Welsh New Year tune, Nos Galan, and Ding Dong Merrily on High sets words from 1924 to a dance tune printed in 1589.

Tips

  • For a spin the wheel Christmas party, set one house rule before the first spin: anyone may pass, and the wheel is spun again.
  • Alternate loud and quiet. After Run a carol title relay, switch to the Carols chip; The Holly and the Ivy settles a room.
  • At a family party, change to Normal mode, because Play musical Santa hats is rarely wanted only once.

Questions and answers

Can the wheel set the order for a gift exchange?

Yes. Choose My list, type one guest per line and spin in Elimination until the wheel is empty. The numbered results list is the order for opening presents, or the turn order for a white elephant swap. Names stay in this browser.

Which games work for 20 people in an office?

Pick the ones that play in teams or all at once: Hold a ten question Christmas quiz, Name that carol from one line, Play Christmas bingo and Play the left-right gift pass keep all 20 busy. Turn-by-turn games such as Play the oven mitt unwrapping game leave most of the room watching, so split into two circles.

Which activities suit a party with small children?

Family party holds 31 that work with children in the room, run by an adult. Three involve food: Build a marshmallow snowman, Hunt for hidden candy canes and Decorate a gingerbread person. The American Academy of Pediatrics lists marshmallows and hard candy as choking risks for children under 4, so ask about allergies and keep those for older ones.

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All 82 activities

Crafts and makes 10

  • Add ten links to a paper chain Strips of colored paper about 2 by 20 centimeters, glue or a stapler. Every guest adds to the same chain.
  • Build a marshmallow snowman Three marshmallows, pretzel sticks for arms and a dab of icing as glue. 3 minutes. An adult runs this one: whole marshmallows are a choking risk for children under 4, and ask about allergies before anyone eats.
  • Cut a six-pointed paper snowflake Fold a paper square in half, then in thirds, and snip the edges. Real snow crystals have six sides too.
  • Decorate a gingerbread person Plain gingerbread biscuits, icing and sweets. Decorate it as someone in the room and let them guess who. Ask about allergies before anyone eats.
  • Design an ugly Christmas sweater Draw a sweater outline and fill it in. The most over-the-top design wins by a show of hands.
  • Make a card for someone in the room Folded paper and pens, 5 minutes. Hand it over before the night ends.
  • Make handprint reindeer antlers Trace both hands on brown paper, cut them out and tape them to a paper headband.
  • Stud an orange with cloves A pomander: push whole cloves into the peel in lines or a star. It scents the room for days.
  • Thread a popcorn garland Plain popped corn, a blunt needle and strong thread. Ages 8 and up, with an adult nearby. Popcorn is a choking risk for children under 4, so keep the bowl out of their reach.
  • Write a letter to Santa, a line each Pass one page round the room. Each person adds a sentence without reading the ones before.

Quick challenges 22

  • Answer only in carol titles for a minute The room fires questions at you. Anything that is not a carol title ends the run. Time it.
  • Build the tallest gift tower in a minute Empty wrapped boxes of mixed sizes. Tallest free-standing tower after 60 seconds wins.
  • Carry a bauble on a spoon for one lap A shatterproof bauble, a tablespoon and one lap of the room. Drop it and you start again.
  • Draw a reindeer on a plate on your head Hold a paper plate on top of your head and draw with a felt pen for 60 seconds. Antlers score double.
  • Draw a snowman with your eyes closed Pen and paper, 30 seconds, then add the hat without peeking. The room votes for the best.
  • Freeze like a snowman for 60 seconds The others may pull faces and tell jokes but may not touch you. A smile melts the snowman.
  • Guess five Christmas smells, eyes shut Cinnamon, orange peel, pine needles, cloves and peppermint in covered cups. Smell only, no tasting.
  • Hang 5 ornaments wearing oven mitts Shatterproof ornaments with loop hangers and one pair of oven mitts. Fastest time of the night wins.
  • List Christmas words from A to J One word for each letter, angel to jingle, inside 45 seconds. The room calls out any repeat.
  • Make up a new verse for Jingle Bells Four lines that rhyme and kindly mention someone in the room. 2 minutes to write, then sing it.
  • Name Santa's 8 reindeer in 20 seconds The poem A Visit from St. Nicholas names eight: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen, in today's usual spellings.
  • Read the weather from the North Pole 30 seconds in your best newsreader voice. Mention snowfall, sleigh traffic and the reindeer.
  • Recite the twelve days gifts backwards From twelve drummers drumming down to a partridge in a pear tree. A pause longer than 3 seconds ends the attempt.
  • Say ho ho ho in five different voices Tiny elf, opera singer, robot, sleepy Santa, sports commentator. The room scores each one out of 5.
  • Sing a carol chorus at double speed Any carol from this wheel. The room joins in on the second time through.
  • Stack 10 cups into a tree, one hand only Plastic cups in rows of 4, 3, 2 and 1. Build it and take it down inside 30 seconds.
  • Tell a Christmas cracker joke A cracker typically holds a paper hat, a small gift and a joke. You supply the joke; a loud groan counts as a pass.
  • Thank the host in a 30 second speech Stand up, name three things about the evening, finish with a round of applause.
  • Untangle a string of lights on the clock Unplugged lights, knotted on purpose by the last player. Fastest untangle of the night wins.
  • Waddle like a penguin across the room Hold a rolled pair of socks or a soft ball between your knees and cross the room without dropping it. Race in pairs.
  • Wear the paper crown until the next spin Cracker hats are usually worn at Christmas dinner. If yours tears, borrow one.
  • Wrap a gift with one hand each Pairs, each with one hand behind their back. One box, paper, tape and a ribbon, 3 minutes.

Carols to sing 24

  • Sing Angels We Have Heard on High From the French carol Les Anges dans nos campagnes, with English words by James Chadwick, 1862. Breathe before the long Gloria.
  • Sing Away in a Manger First published in 1882; nobody knows who wrote the first two verses. The usual tune differs between the US and the UK.
  • Sing Deck the Halls The Welsh tune Nos Galan, from the sixteenth century, with English words by Thomas Oliphant, 1862. Split the room: one side sings the lines, the other the fa la las.
  • Sing Ding Dong Merrily on High Words by George Ratcliffe Woodward, 1924, set to a French dance tune, Branle de l'Official, printed in 1589.
  • Sing Go Tell It on the Mountain An African American spiritual; the earliest known printed version dates from 1909. Clap on beats two and four.
  • Sing God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen English traditional, author unknown, first printed about 1760. It is in a minor key, so take it briskly.
  • Sing Good King Wenceslas John Mason Neale and Thomas Helmore, 1853. Split the verses: one voice for the king, one for the page.
  • Sing Hark! The Herald Angels Sing Words by Charles Wesley, 1739, to a Felix Mendelssohn tune adapted by William H. Cummings in 1855.
  • Sing Here We Come A-wassailing English traditional, sung since at least the middle of the nineteenth century. It is a door-to-door song, so sing it on the doorstep as guests arrive.
  • Sing Jingle Bells James Lord Pierpont, 1857, first published as One Horse Open Sleigh. Hand out keys to shake as bells.
  • Sing Jolly Old Saint Nicholas From an 1865 poem by Emily Huntington Miller; the music is generally credited to James R. Murray, 1874.
  • Sing Joy to the World Words by Isaac Watts, 1719, based on Psalm 98. Short and loud: a good opener.
  • Sing O Christmas Tree The English version of the German carol O Tannenbaum, whose best-known words are by Ernst Anschütz, 1824. Sing it facing the tree.
  • Sing O Come, All Ye Faithful Also known by its Latin title, Adeste Fideles. The English translation is by Frederick Oakeley, 1841.
  • Sing O Holy Night Music by Adolphe Adam, 1847, with English words by John Sullivan Dwight, 1855. Hand the high note to the bravest singer.
  • Sing O Little Town of Bethlehem Words by Phillips Brooks, 1868. The US tune is by Lewis Redner; the UK sings it to Forest Green.
  • Sing Silent Night Music by Franz Xaver Gruber, words by Joseph Mohr. First sung on Christmas Eve 1818 in Oberndorf, Austria.
  • Sing The First Noel A traditional Cornish carol, first published in 1823. Let the whole room take the Noel chorus.
  • Sing The Holly and the Ivy English traditional, author unknown. The words were sold on printed sheets in the early nineteenth century, and Cecil Sharp collected today's tune in 1909. A calm one to follow a noisy game.
  • Sing The Twelve Days of Christmas English traditional, first printed about 1780 in the children's book Mirth Without Mischief. Give each guest or each desk one day to sing and stand up for.
  • Sing Up on the Housetop Benjamin Hanby, 1864. Let the room invent an action for the reindeer landing on the roof.
  • Sing We Three Kings John Henry Hopkins wrote it in 1857 for a Christmas pageant in New York and published it in 1863. Three soloists can take one king's verse each.
  • Sing We Wish You a Merry Christmas From the English West Country; Arthur Warrell's 1935 arrangement made it widely known. The singers refuse to leave without figgy pudding.
  • Sing What Child Is This? Words by William Chatterton Dix, 1865, sung to the much older tune Greensleeves.

Party games 26

  • Draw a Christmas word for your team Sleigh, mistletoe, figgy pudding. No letters, no talking, 60 seconds on a big sheet of paper.
  • Draw names for Secret Santa Fold every name into a hat and draw one each. Redraw if you pick yourself. Agree the price limit before anyone shops.
  • Find the ornament hidden on the tree Hide one small ornament deep in the branches while nobody looks. First to spot it without touching the tree picks the next game.
  • Guess the carol from its initials Say or write only the initials: S N, J T T W, D T H. Teams of 2, ten carols, one point each.
  • Hold a ten question Christmas quiz Teams of 2 to 4 and one quizmaster. Mix carols, traditions and winter nature. Swap papers to mark.
  • Hook candy canes with a candy cane Pile candy canes on a table with the hooks hanging over the edge. Lift as many as you can in 60 seconds with one cane held in one hand.
  • Hum a carol for the room to guess No words, no mouthing. Filter to Carols and spin in secret to choose the tune. First right answer hums next.
  • Hunt for hidden candy canes Hide 20 candy canes round one room before guests arrive. 5 minutes to find them; the youngest gets a head start. Count all 20 back in: hard candy is a choking risk for children under 4.
  • Name that carol from one line Read a line from the middle of a carol, never the first. Teams answer by shouting ho ho ho. First to 5 wins.
  • Pass the parcel, one layer per carol Wrap a small gift in many layers. Pass it while a carol plays; whoever holds it when the music stops takes off one layer.
  • Play Christmas bingo Hand-drawn 3 by 3 cards of festive words such as holly, sleigh and star. A caller draws the words from a bowl.
  • Play Christmas charades Act a carol title or a Christmas tradition without a word. 4 or more players, two teams, 60 seconds a turn.
  • Play Christmas twenty questions Think of something Christmassy, such as a robin or the star on the tree. The room gets 20 yes or no questions.
  • Play memory match with old cards Cut 12 old Christmas cards in half and lay the 24 pieces face down. Turn two per go and keep each matching pair.
  • Play musical Santa hats Pass one Santa hat round the circle, on and off each head, while a carol plays. Wearing it when the music stops puts you out.
  • Play reindeer antler ring toss One player wears headband antlers. The rest throw rings cut from paper plates, 5 throws each from 2 meters.
  • Play Santa says Simon says in a red hat: Santa says stamp the snow off your boots. Move without Santa says and you sit down.
  • Play the left-right gift pass Sit in a circle holding one wrapped gift each. A reader tells a story packed with the words left and right, and gifts move one seat each time.
  • Play the oven mitt unwrapping game One player in oven mitts attacks a well-taped gift while the next player rolls a die. A 6 passes the mitts on.
  • Play the stocking filler memory tray Lay 12 stocking fillers on a tray: a satsuma, a bauble, a walnut, a candy cane. Look for 60 seconds, cover the tray, then write down all you can recall.
  • Pull crackers round the table One cracker per guest, pulled with a neighbor. In one version of the custom the larger end keeps what is inside, so agree the rule before the first bang. Read every joke aloud.
  • Run a carol title relay Two teams, one sheet of paper each across the room. Each runner writes one carol title and runs back. No repeats; most titles after 3 minutes wins.
  • Run a white elephant gift swap Everyone brings one wrapped gift. On your turn, open a new gift or steal an open one. A gift is commonly locked after two steals.
  • Toss paper snowballs into a bucket Scrunched white paper, a bucket 2 meters away, 5 throws each. Step back one pace for a tie-break.
  • Unscramble ten Christmas words Write scrambles such as LETINS, HELGIS and YOLHL on one sheet per team. 5 minutes. Answers: tinsel, sleigh, holly.
  • Wrap a teammate as a snowman Teams of 3, one roll of white paper each, 3 minutes. Finish with a scarf and a paper carrot nose.

How this list was compiled: Original list written for this site on 2026-09-18 and corrected on 2026-09-19 after review. Every carol credit was checked on 2026-09-19 against that carol's own article on en.wikipedia.org, all 24 of them, reached from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christmas_carols (for example en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Night, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deck_the_Halls, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Three_Kings and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holly_and_the_Ivy). All 24 are traditional carols or hymns; none comes from a film or a chart recording. A line gives the writer and year where they are known and says traditional where they are not. Not every carol was in print before 1900: Go Tell It on the Mountain was first printed in 1909, the words of Ding Dong Merrily on High date from 1924, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas became widely known through a 1935 arrangement. The gift swap rules follow en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant_gift_exchange (checked 2026-09-18) and the cracker facts follow en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cracker (checked 2026-09-19). The choking notes on marshmallows, hard candy and popcorn follow the American Academy of Pediatrics choking prevention page (healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/injuries-emergencies/Pages/Choking-Prevention.aspx, last updated 2/27/2026, checked 2026-09-19), which says to keep those foods from children until 4 years or older and that balloons are a choking risk up to 8 years; for that reason no activity here uses a balloon. Player counts, times and distances are this site's own suggestions. No film, recording artist, toy or brand is named. Licence: own work