Now You See It Holiday Party Game

Looking for games to play at holiday parties? Now You See It is a fun game that can be played both at the office and at family gatherings. Known by many names, we call the game the Now You See It Holiday Party Game. Based on the rules of the game, you may have or not have a gift at any given moment (now you see it, now you don’t).

Now You See It Office Party Game

I’ve played this game for many years in the office. Some of the gifts people brought included ornaments, boxes of candy or cookies, scratch off lottery tickets, Christmas towels, soap, movie tickets, and gag gifts. Part of the fun is guessing what’s under the wrapping paper.

Office Party Game Rules

To play this game in the office, church or school, follow these rules:

Set a price limit on the gifts. We usually set the gift price limits at $10.
Each participant brings a wrapped gift without a name tag. All gifts are put under the tree.
Participants draw numbers to decide who goes first, second, third, and so on.
Gifts cannot be opened until all gifts are given out and all participants have selected a gift.

How To Play the Now You See It Holiday Party Game with Co-Workers

To play the game, the first player picks any gift he or she wishes from under the tree, but the gift cannot be opened. The second player has the choice of picking a gift from under the tree or can take the gift from the first player. The first player then chooses another gift. Player number 3 can choose a gift under the tree or take the gift from one of the previous players. The game continues in this order until every player has a gift. All gifts can be opened at this point.

Now Your See It Home Host Party Game

We played this version of the game at my mom’s Christmas party for years and at my annual Halloween party. The party host provides the gifts for this version of the game. I recommend dollar store Christmas items or items found in the Target and Michael’s dollar bins. Remember, you’re buying. Not all players will end up with a gift.

Home Host Party Game Rules

Determine the number of guests/players.
Purchase a couple of gifts less than the number of guests (for example, 15 players = 10 gifts).
Wrap each gift.
Hand out numbers to each player. You will give them 3 to 4 numbers each (the more numbers each player has, the longer the game lasts). For example, if you have 10 players you will need to have 30 numbers (print and cut).
Gifts cannot be opened until all numbers have been called.
Players can end up with more than one gift.

How To Play The Now You See It Holiday Party Game with Friends and Family

To play the game, the host calls the first number. The player chooses a gift from under the tree. The host calls the second number. The player can choose a gift from under the tree or take the first player’s gift. The first player does not get another gift. The host continues calling the numbers until all gifts have been given out. Each player has the choice of picking a gift from under the tree or from another player. At some point, the gifts from under the tree will be given out. The players will have to take gifts from each other as each remaining number is called. The game ends when all numbers have been called. It’s common for one or two players to end up with all of the gifts.

Need more holiday game ideas? Visit the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop for more holiday inspiration!