Christmas Movie Drinking Game

Pick a Christmas movie and agree on the rules before you press play. Take a small sip whenever one of the classic holiday clichés happens on screen – from hot cocoa by the fireplace to snow at the very last minute. The list fits almost any holiday film, from cheesy made-for-TV romances to the big-screen classics.

One sip when …

• someone is holding hot cocoa, punch or mulled wine.
• a Christmas market, a tree lot or an ice rink shows up.
• someone wears an ugly Christmas sweater.
• a string of lights won’t work or is hopelessly tangled.
• someone bakes cookies and ends up with flour on their face.
• the lead declines a call from the office back in the big city.
• a kid firmly believes in Santa.
• two people happen to end up under the mistletoe.
• there’s a montage set to Christmas music – picking a tree, baking, a snowball fight.
• someone has to buy a present at the last minute.
• a small town is decorated as if it’s December all year round.

Two sips when …

• a big-city career woman or man gets stranded in a small town – cancelled flight, broken-down car.
• someone openly doubts that Santa exists.
• a big corporation wants to buy up the family business, the inn or the tree farm.
• a high school sweetheart suddenly turns up at the door.
• the family dinner turns into an argument.

Finish your glass (or three sips) when …

• it starts snowing at the very last moment.
• there’s a hint that Santa might be real after all.

Variations

• Light version: only use the two-sip rules and the snow rule. That keeps things relaxed even during a back-to-back TV movie marathon.
• Alcohol-free version: play with mulled apple juice, tea or hot cocoa – it suits the theme anyway.
• Cliché bingo: before the film, everyone writes down five clichés. Whoever spots all five first hands out sips.
• Secret Santa rule: everyone secretly draws one one-sip rule that only applies to them. At the end, guess who had which rule.

Tips

Christmas movies are predictable – that’s the whole point of the game. In formulaic TV movies the clichés come every few minutes, so drop a few rules. Great for a holiday movie night or a flat Christmas party.