A great Christmas party for a sports team needs three things: a clear running order, games everyone joins in, and a moment when you look back on the year together. Here you will find Christmas party ideas for sports teams: for children's teams, adult teams and a party for the whole club, plus tips on the date, venue and costs.
How a children's team Christmas party works
For children, two to three hours in the afternoon or early evening is enough. Alternate between running around and calmer moments, and put the food in the middle, and the mood will last to the end.
- Arrival. A relaxed game until everyone is there, such as keepy-uppy or Who am I.
- Games. Two or three games from the list below, in mixed groups rather than the usual line-up.
- Food. The parents bring a buffet. A list in the group chat stops everyone bringing pasta salad and sorts out allergies.
- Look back. Photos and short clips from the year on the TV or a projector, plus a few words from the coach.
- Something for every child. A little award or certificate so nobody goes home empty-handed. You will find award ideas in our end-of-season party ideas.
- Wrap-up. A group photo, then the parents pick up.
Christmas party ideas for sports teams: games for a kids' football team
These games work in a sports hall or the clubhouse and are easy to adapt for handball, hockey or any other sport.
Bauble shoot-out
Put shatterproof Christmas baubles on cones and let the children knock them off with the ball. Whoever hits one hangs their bauble on the club tree.
Present relay
Two groups dribble around cones carrying an empty wrapped parcel under one arm. If it falls, that child starts again from the beginning.
The chocolate game
Take turns rolling a dice. Whoever rolls a six puts on a hat, scarf and gloves and eats a bar of chocolate with a knife and fork until someone else rolls a six. Ask about allergies first.
Season quiz: children against parents
Questions like ‘Who did we beat for our first win?’ or ‘Who was in goal at the indoor tournament?’. The children usually know better, and that is exactly the fun of it.
Who am I, with football words
Notes on everyone's forehead say words like corner flag, goalkeeper glove or penalty, and the children guess by asking questions that can only be answered yes or no. For the youngest, animals or things from the Christmas market work too.
A club Christmas party: games that mix young and old
When the whole club celebrates together, the youngest sit next to the veterans' team and the committee next to the groundskeeper. Good games mix the groups instead of leaving each team at its own table. Honours for long-standing members and helpers belong at the start, while everyone is still listening.
Club bingo
Everyone gets a sheet with squares like ‘has played in goal’, ‘has been in the club for more than ten years’ or ‘helped at the last work day’. For each square you need the signature of someone it applies to. The first to complete a row wins.
Goal celebration charades
Each team acts out a celebration, a famous one or their own, and the others guess. It makes even the youngest laugh and costs nothing.
Guessing game
How many balls fit in the ball bag, how many biscuits are in the jar? Whoever is closest wins. It runs in the background all evening.
Programme for an adult team Christmas party
For adult teams, it is less about a packed programme and more about an evening you will still be talking about in the changing room. One or two fixed highlights are enough.
Junk Secret Santa
Everyone brings something useless from their own cellar, nicely wrapped. Take turns rolling a dice to decide who has to take or swap a parcel. The stranger the gift, the better.
The season in numbers
The team council presents the statistics nobody else keeps: the most excuses for missing training, the longest journey to training, the most pointless yellow card. Add a few photos on the projector.
Awards of the year by vote
Vote in the group chat beforehand and announce the winners at the party: comeback of the year, changing room DJ, best driver to away games. Small certificates are enough.
Ice stock sport as an outing
Outdoors, in teams and with hot punch: ice stock sport (Eisstockschießen), a game a lot like curling, suits the winter and needs no experience. Ask early whether there are lanes in your area that you can book as a group.
Date, venue and costs of the Christmas party
Date. Ideally in the last training week before the break, while everyone is still around. Fix the date in the autumn, before the December weekends fill up.
Venue. The clubhouse, the sports hall or a pub. Ask the club or the local council early about hall time outside training.
Costs. A fair split: drinks from the team kitty, the buffet from the parents, and everyone pays for bigger costs like the pub themselves. Announce the costs in advance so nobody gets a surprise.
Supervision and photos. With children, make sure enough parents stay. If you share photos of the party in the group chat, ask the parents first. Find out more under photo consent form for clubs. If not every child celebrates Christmas, simply call it an end-of-year party.
Gifts at the Christmas party
The party is the best moment to hand over gifts, to the children and to the coach. You will find ideas in our guides to Christmas gifts for sports teams and Christmas gifts for coaches, and for football teams under Christmas gifts for football teams.
If you want to hand out a Flashbook at the party, count back from the date: first everyone fills in the questionnaire on their phone, then the books arrive 5 to 7 working days after the last answers and payments. So start about six weeks before the party, to leave time for latecomers.
Christmas 2026: If you order by 10 December 2026 and have all questionnaires in by then, the books will arrive in time for Christmas. That deadline is for Christmas, not for a party in early December. Printing starts as soon as all books are paid for.