14 Virtual Christmas Games To Play That'll Keep The Grinch Vibes Away

Around the holidays, you and your family members may enjoy whipping up delicious drinks with the flavors of the season. In this game, let your tastebuds enjoy each and every one, as you take sips at the cue of the Buzzed cards ($20, Urban Outfitters).

Some of these cards say funny and random things like, "If you like cottage cheese, take a drink." You’ll ultimately learn way too much about your family members while enjoying a sparkling cider or even a festive mocktail.

If you've ever attended a bachelorette party and played "What's In Your Purse?" then you'll be a pro at this game. It works in a similar way and should be played after your family has opened all their gifts.

Essentially, you'll read off a list of items that people may have gotten in their stocking, including a gift card, bag of candy, or tube of toothpaste. Whoever received the item in their stocking gets a point. The person with the most points at the end of the list wins.

To play "Tree Is Company," you and your virtual guests have to gather 10 mugs or cups each. Then, take turns telling the group statements that start with "never have I ever." If you have done what someone else hasn't, you place a mug on your playing surface and begin to form the shape of a tree.

The goal is to have four mugs along the base and work its way up to one. Whoever forms their tree last wins the game.

Nobody knows which reindeer is the fastest, but you and your family can certainly find out by playing "The Reindeer Race." This game requires each player to choose one of Santa's reindeer as their "character," and then complete an obstacle course of holiday-themed activities. These activities could include decorating a cookie, wrapping a present, and putting ornaments on a mini tree. Keep a tally, and the fastest reindeer wins.

Have you recently enjoyed doing puzzles on the weekends? If so, put your newfound passion to the test with "Puzzle Party." During this game, each one of your family members should try to complete as much of an 800-piece puzzle ($49, Jiggy Puzzles) as they can, in a certain amount of time.

Everyone would need to purchase the same puzzle in advance for this one (bonus points if the puzzle is winter, holiday, or even Christmas movie-themed). Then, when the timer goes off, everyone can compare to see how much they got done and what parts really stumped them. Whoever completed the most wins.

"Wrap Battle" doesn't require you to track down your karaoke microphone. Instead, it requires you to gather up all kinds of unique wrapping supplies, including brown paper bags, sprigs from the tree outside your house, and decorative ornaments. All other guests should do the same before logging onto the Zoom or FaceTime event.

Then, two people should go head-to-head at a time, wrapping a present in the most creative way possible in five minutes. As the timer goes off, they must raise their hands to show they're not adding any final touches. At this point, everyone else can judge the packages and pick their favorite, aka the winner.

Treats are a must for your virtual holiday party, and this game ensures that everyone in your group can snack on something sweet. "The Cookie Show" works like this: One person in your group who's quite the chef sets up a cooking show of sorts in their kitchen. They wear an apron and set out the measured ingredients to make their all-time favorite cookie recipe.

When everyone is logged on, the chef begins teaching a class, while every guest can either follow along or simply watch. To spice up this game, have the chef come up with a catch phrase, much like Emeril Lagasse's "Bam!"

Although this game is called "Grinch Opinions," it comes with zero Grinch-like vibes. That's because each guest who wants to play must put together a basic PowerPoint on an unpopular holiday opinion they have. The PowerPoint should include one meme, one compelling argument, and one positive thought to support the opposing side.

The perk of this game is that it gets conversation going and is an easy way to make people smile or laugh. You'll be surprised at how passionate your family feels about certain movies, songs, and traditions.

Not all games have to be competitive or a race against a timer. "Color Me This" knows this, and it’s a chill game you can play as you catch up with your family members. It's simple: Each guest must color a holiday or winter-themed page of a coloring book ($9, Target) while also making some conversation. At the end, each person must display their work to the group as if you're having an art show.

See how well your family knows your holiday decorations with "Ornament To Be." The game puts focus on one person's tree at a time, and asks everyone else to guess the ornaments that are on the tree. If a person guesses correctly, they get a point.

You can take this game to the next level by seeing if people can guess where your ornaments are from. If you're the traveler in your family, this twist can be really interesting and give you a chance to tell your favorite stories.

Some people are definitely better at naming the title and performer of songs than others, but nearly everybody is familiar with Christmas songs, since we’re basically bombarded with them everywhere we go starting the day after Thanksgiving. Put your collective holiday music knowledge to the test by playing a “name that tune” game to see who has really been paying attention.

Start by taking turns picking a Christmas song — everything from classics to new ones — and see who can correctly name the song and artist first while hearing short snippets. You might be surprised who does and doesn’t know just about every seasonal song out there.

This creatively fun game is basically just Shark Tank, holiday edition. In Santa’s Workshop, your virtual guests take on the role of elves pitching toys to Santa for this holiday season.

Played over Zoom, divide the group into teams using breakout rooms, where each team will have a set amount of time to come up with the goofiest, coolest, funniest holiday toy they can. Once they return to the main room, they’ll pitch a panel of judges, who you assign at the beginning of the round. The judges will then weigh the pros and cons of the toys and decide what will get made and what will get left on the cutting room floor of Santa’s workshop.

In case you’re behind on the hype around “hygge,” it’s a Danish word meaning coziness, togetherness, and enjoying the good things in life — basically all of the things that you associate with the holidays. The Hygge Game ($20, Nordstrom) is an engaging party game perfect for virtual get-togethers, as only one person needs the set of cards.

The set comes with more than 300 interesting, thoughtful questions designed to spark cozy conversation amongst whoever is playing. With prompts such as, “Do genius and madness go hand in hand?” and “What makes you blush?” this game will have you and your loved ones getting into the Scandinavian hygge spirit this Christmas.

You can’t go wrong with trivia. Get your virtual party in the festive mood by setting up a game in which they have to identify obscure Christmas movie quotes. Diving deep into IMDb for extra hard trivia is encouraged, as you don’t want the game to be too easy.

Of course, pull from holiday classics such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Elf, A Christmas Story, and Love Actually, but maybe also consider grabbing info from lesser known or new Christmas movies to see who is the real “noel-it-all” when it comes to holiday films.