DIY Holiday Ice Breaker Game

Holiday Ice Breaker Game - a fun game idea for everyone, young and old! This is a great game to break that awkward silence early into a holiday gathering. Especially one where not everyone knows each other. It's good, clean, wholesome fun that won't create any awkward moments with guests that are new to the crowd.


It'll help guests get to know one another or family members to learn something new about each other. It's so easy to make that the kids can get involved. Plus it's an inexpensive party game, made with dollar store finds.


A family friendly Holiday Ice Breaker Party Game everyone, young and old, can enjoy that is easy to make and budget-friendly with dollar store finds.

Welcome back to year 6 of our Festive Christmas Event where we team up with a bunch of talented blogging friends to bring you a plethora of creative ways to celebrate your holiday season.


We will be baking some cookie recipes for you, sharing some party games, making some handmade gifts, doing some ornament crafting, and sharing our Christmas movies family fun. There will be breakfast recipes and as always our decorated Christmas Trees which is always a fun tour of homes.


New this year is Gift Guides. We are right there with you shopping from home due to Covid 19 and we understand how hard that can be so we have been busy little Elves doing tons of research to create fabulous Gift Guides to help you with your holiday shopping.


You will find new ideas every Monday and Wednesday between Oct. 19th through Nov. 18th. Scroll all the way down to find all the ideas linked at the end.


Holiday Ideas Shared So far

Coffee Lovers Gift Guide - unique gift ideas for the coffee lover in your life.

Memory Garment Hand Warmers - a warm hug on a winter's day from the one you miss!

Organza DIY Embroidery Hoop Ornaments - made with recycled damask placements!

Holiday Movie Night - An Evening With Ebenezer Scrooge - how to make holiday movie night extra special.

Farmhouse Tabletop Christmas Tree - made with recycled bifold door slats.

Repurposed Cabinet Door Christmas Signs - made with kitchen cabinet door panels.

Easy Mini Cranberry Eggnog Loaves - perfect for gift giving.

Eggnog Crepes With Cranberry Grand Marnier Compote - a festive make-ahead Christmas morning breakfast idea.



Christmas Games - 2020 Festive Christmas Ideas Tour with over 25 bloggers every Monday and Wednesday from October 19 - November 19th.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to make the DIY Christmas Game, all the projects here at Interior Frugalista have step-by-step tutorials so why not get your budget DIY on and subscribe. You can also follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.


Christmas Ice Breaker Game Idea

A family friendly Holiday Ice Breaker Party Game everyone, young and old, can enjoy that is easy to make and budget-friendly with dollar store finds.

What You'll Need To Make This Holiday Game

This post contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend for this project. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.


Holiday Red, Holiday Green, White, and Silver Glitter Acrylic Craft Paint

Jumbo Craft Sticks (tongue depressors) 

Hot Glue Gun

Felt Christmas Stickers 

Large Recycled Food Tin

5/8-inch Black Ribbon

Gold Glitter Foam Sheets

Mod Podge

Sharp Craft Knife

Game Labels (free printable provided)

Color Printer

Scissors or Paper Cutter


A family friendly Holiday Ice Breaker Party Game everyone, young and old, can enjoy that is easy to make and budget-friendly with dollar store finds.

Here's how I made it

So let’s begin...


These are the Dollar Tree supplies I used to make it. Plus you'll need a large food tin for the festive container.


A family friendly Holiday Ice Breaker Party Game everyone, young and old, can enjoy that is easy to make and budget-friendly with dollar store finds.

Festive Holiday Game Container

Dig through your recycle bin for a large food tin to use as a container for the game sticks. Spray paint it a festive red and set aside.


A family friendly Holiday Ice Breaker Party Game everyone, young and old, can enjoy that is easy to make and budget-friendly with dollar store finds.

Cut a 1 1/2-inch square out of a gold glitter foam sheet. Then with a craft knife cut two slits on each side.


A family friendly Holiday Ice Breaker Party Game everyone, young and old, can enjoy that is easy to make and budget-friendly with dollar store finds.

Feed 5/8-inch wide black ribbon through the two slits to make a cute Santa belt to embellish the painted can. I used a glitter ribbon but any black ribbon is just fine.


A family friendly Holiday Ice Breaker Party Game everyone, young and old, can enjoy that is easy to make and budget-friendly with dollar store finds.

Wrap the Santa belt around the middle of the painted can, trim the ribbon, and add a few dabs of hot glue to hold it in place.


Festive Holiday Game Sticks

Paint 25 craft tongue depressor sticks with acrylic craft paint in a mix of holiday red, holiday green, and white. Once the white sticks are dry, dress them up with festive clear silver or gold glitter paint.


To speed up the drying process use a blow dryer or heat gun set on low. I had all 25 of mine painted with three coats of paint on each side in less than 45 minutes.


A family friendly Holiday Ice Breaker Party Game everyone, young and old, can enjoy that is easy to make and budget-friendly with dollar store finds.

Attach the Dollar Tree felt Christmas stickers onto the top of each painted game stick. They come with self-adhesive dots but with children most likely playing this game too, I erred on the side of caution and secured them with a dab of hot glue.


A family friendly Holiday Ice Breaker Party Game everyone, young and old, can enjoy that is easy to make and budget-friendly with dollar store finds.

Now it's time to add the player question labels to each game stick. I've included a free printable with the readymade game labels for you to print or download.

I've also included the option for blank game labels so you can add your own player questions. Double click your mouse on your preference in the links below for your unwatermarked printable.


A family friendly Holiday Ice Breaker Party Game everyone, young and old, can enjoy that is easy to make and budget-friendly with dollar store finds.

Readymade Game Sticks Printable HERE
Blank Game Sticks Printable HERE

After you've printed the labels, cut them with a paper cutter or sharp craft scissors and decoupage them onto the back of the sticks on the bottom (where they will be hidden when inside the can) with Mod Podge.


A family friendly Holiday Ice Breaker Party Game everyone, young and old, can enjoy that is easy to make and budget-friendly with dollar store finds.

Once dry, brush Mod Podge over the entire stick, both on the front and back, to protect the labels and the paint. Set the sticks inside the Santa tin and you're ready to play the Christmas Ice Breaker Game.


How To Play The Holiday Ice Breaker Game

Playing this game is fairly simple and the goal is to have your guests get to know one another - hence the name ice breaker. It's a great game to play before dinner, during cocktail hour, or between dinner and dessert. If everyone already knows one another then it's a great after-dinner game to learn something new about each other.


Simply pass the Santa container to the person on your left and have them pick one of the festive sticks. Each participant reads the question on the stick out loud and answers the question. Then they pass the Santa can on to the next person. That's it! No skill, no competition, no winner.


One idea though if you'd like to give out prizes is to pick, for example, the funniest answer or the most heart-warming answer - you get the picture. Have fun!


A family friendly Holiday Ice Breaker Party Game everyone, young and old, can enjoy that is easy to make and budget-friendly with dollar store finds.

The Festive Christmas Ideas Event runs every Monday and Wednesday until November 19th so be sure to come back.


I hope you enjoyed this fun DIY Holiday Game Idea and if you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below or the Contact Me tab at the top. I love hearing from you!


If you enjoyed this Christmas Game Idea, I'd be so thankful if you shared it with a friend and pinned it to your Fun Holiday Games or DIY Christmas Ideas board on Pinterest.



A family friendly Holiday Ice Breaker Party Game for everyone, young and old, that everyone can enjoy by Interior Frugalista that is easy to make and budget-friendly with dollar store finds. #diyholidaygame #christmasgameidea #festivechristmasideas

More Holiday Game Ideas

Free Christmas Word Scramble Game Printable - My Pinterventures
Cute Printable Christmas BINGO Game - Intelligent Domestications
Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt - As For Me and My Homestead
Christmas Gift Exchange Game - The Aspiring Home
Christmas White Elephant Gift Exchange With A Twist - Little Vintage Cottage
Christmas Gift Exchange Dice - Coffee With Us 3
Grinch Bingo (A Free Printable) - From House To Home)
Bobbing For Candy Canes Christmas Party Game - Blogghetti
Fun Family Christmas Games - An Alli Event
DIY Holiday Ice Breaker Game - Interior Frugalista
Christmas Movies Word Search - Simply Inspired Meals
Printable Christmas Pictionary Game - Craft Rocker
Christmas Bingo Game With Free Printables - Across The Blvd.
Mix It Up Gift Exchange Game - Polka Dot Poplars
Baking Cookies Christmas Bingo Game for Kids - Pretty DIY Home
How Many Words: Cozy Wool Mittens - Eye Love Knots
Christmas Pictionary - Christmas Tree Lane
The Office Christmas Trivia Printable - Domestically Creative
Ornament Guessing Game - Purple Hues and Me
Christmas White Elephant Game For Families - Mom Home Guide
Christmas Family Feud Game - Creative Cynchrocity
The Best Games for Large Groups - Farm Girl Reformed
Great Family Board Games - Tikkido
Super Fun Snowman Sasquatch Relay Race - Our Sutton Place
Christmas Light Bingo with Free Printable - Domestic Deadline
Switch Steal Unwrap Gift Exchange-The Christmas Game - My Humble Home and Garden

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Comments

  1. Well this is just cool! I love this idea!!

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  2. Marie, this is such a clever and fun Ice Breaker game. I think my family would enjoy playing this one too just for the sake of 'you didn't know that about me'. Lots of laughs.

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    1. Thanks Shirley 😀 Right! I'm anxious to learn some things about mine too - especially my kids. LOL

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  3. What a fun (and super cute!) ice breaker game. I love this idea!

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    1. Thanks Alli, I'm looking forward to playing this with my kids to learn what they liked and didn't like in their childhood. LOL

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  4. What a great way to do a Christmas ice breaker, Marie! I'll have to try this :)

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    1. Thank you Wanda, I'm glad you like it and feel inspired to play the game!

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  5. Love the Santa tin, what a great idea for a senior center for decorations. Safe and reasonable. Cute ideas to fill it too! I'm thinking reindeer rice crispy treats on a stick, lol. Too, Cute! Sandi

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    1. Using the tin for edible treats is a good use for it too. Cheap and easy to make!

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  6. I love this idea. Not only is it a fun game to break the ice, but it's can be holiday table decor too. Pinned.

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    1. Right! I'm thinking when the game isn't in use that I'll use it as a candy cane dish.

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  7. Just darling! I love everything about this. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm planning a trip to the Dollar Store tomorrow and this will be on my list.

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    1. Awesome! I hope you find everything I did to make it. Have fun!

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  8. Very clever, Marie! What a cute use for those little felt stickers, too!

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    1. Thank you very much, Debra! As I was perusing the aisles at Dollar Tree the game kind of came together. Love when that happens!

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  9. My goodness Marie- what a wonderful treasure chest of ideas! I've pinned this and would certainly love to try it! Thank you so much for sharing!

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    1. So glad you like this game idea, Maya! I'm looking forward to playing it this holiday season and I hope you do too.

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  10. What a great idea for an Ice Breaker Game! Thank you for sharing.

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  11. I must be missing something, how do you play this ICE BREAKER GAME?

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    1. I assumed it was self-explanatory, my apologies, April. I have since revised the post to include game instructions. Thank you for pointing out that I hadn't done that!

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  12. Such a cute craft and game idea Marie! I never realized the adhesive felt stickers were so nice --- thinking of using them also for homemade gift tags and cards. Appreciate the free download too!

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    1. They would make lovely homemade gift tags, Debbee! I got a little excited when I came across these at Dollar Tree, I'm not going to lie. LOL

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  13. Hey Marilyn, thanks so much for featuring my game! xo

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  14. What a smart idea Marie !! When we were growing up, we used to have Bingo nights for everyone and it used to be so much fun. However with the advent of smart phones - all the kids prefer being cooped up with their screens rather than ACTUALLY COMMUNICATING with other kids at get-togethers.
    Thank you for sharing with us at Meraki Link Party.
    Much love
    Naush

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    1. Thanks Naush, glad you like this game idea! Isn't the phone behaviour so sad? I'm going to make everyone put their phones in a basket before playing this game.

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  15. This is such a fun game idea, Marie! I've featured it at the TFT party. Thanks for sharing it!

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    1. So glad you like my holiday game idea, Pam, and thank you so much for featuring it! xo

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  16. Marie,
    I liked this game so much, I've already made it. I used red and black felt to cover my can and put a glittery gold buckle on it. I made my little signs with pictures I decuoupaged onto const paper, laminated, then glued onto my craft sticks! Love the little "conversation starters" I copied from yours. Thank so much!

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    1. You just made my day! Great ideas for your version of the game. I would love to hear how your guests/family enjoyed playing it.

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  17. Oh, this is a great game! I love the adorable little toppers, the fact that this can be done with all dollar store supplies, and really a fun way that friends and family can interact.

    Alexandra
    EyeLoveKnots.com

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    1. Thanks Alexandra, I'm looking forward to playing with family via Zoom on Christmas day.

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