Free Printable New Year’s Eve Games for 2023
These free printable New Year’s Eve games for 2023 will help keep your party guests laughing at least until the clock strikes midnight for the Happy New Year toast!
There’s nothing worse than a lull in a party. You know the feeling when you’re at a party and wondering if it’s time to go home?
Start by heading to our article about how to host a great New Year’s Eve Party, including the recipes for the best appetizers, desserts, and cocktails to serve.
Our Cranberry Mimosa is our most viral cocktail and a must on NYE, and this brand new Christmas Punch is sure to be a winner, too!
Once you’ve got your menu set, print out these fun game sheets and add some life back into any gathering! Have last-minute RSVPs? Not to worry! Print as many of these free sheets as you need.
Table of Contents
Why We Love These Printables
A New Year’s Eve celebration is a fun way to say goodbye to the past year, but what do you do besides eat and drink?
Especially when not everyone knows each other, a little friendly competition might be just the ticket to breaking the ice.
Group games are a great way to get people to mingle, and you’ll have four different games to play with these free printables.
You can print as many sheets as you need. If you find you didn’t print enough, simply print more!
You can have Scattagories going on in the kitchen, charades taking place in the dining room, your Pictionary artists in the living room, and a Scavenger Hunt going on throughout the party rooms!
Small groups of people are more inviting as those who don’t know how to play or are more introverted will feel more comfortable. This is a great way to ensure everyone has a great time!
We also ordered a New Year’s Snack Box this year. My kids LOVE anything from Japan and they can’t wait to break into all these delicious snacks!
In fact, TokyoTreat is a subscription box that would be fun to get every month! It’s nice to have something to look forward to!
Discover Japanese snack culture from home! Click here for exclusive snacks you won’t find anywhere else with TokyoTreat! 
Free Printable Games & How To Play
Simply click on the picture of the games you want and print as many copies as you’d like. Directions are under each game. Which will you be playing first?
Scavenger Hunt
At a glance, this classic party game looks so easy, it’s silly. But what if we add a timer? Set a timer and the first person who has everything checked wins a prize!
You’ll need to have each item set up in your house. Try to hide the items the best you can without having guests rummaging through cabinets!
If needed, set a few rules like don’t open my china cabinet or let them know nothing is in bedrooms.
Charades
This is a great game to get people acquainted and so much fun. Everyone has played charades at least once, so this is another easy game that doesn’t need much explanation.
Page two is below.
How you use this sheet is up to you. A great idea is to cut out each topic, fold it up, and have people pick out of a jar.
Participants then act out the topic with no words, only hand signals or body motions, until someone gets the right answer.
This is always a popular game so you might want to come up with more topics! Use the blank sheet in the Pictionary printable below for more.
The correct answer gets a point. Have a set number of points to win the game. It helps to have one person keep score.
Pictionary
Pictionary is the perfect way to discover the artists in your group, but everyone should at least give it a try. In fact, the worse the drawings are, the more fun you’ll have!
Again, if you have the Pictionary game, it is easier to set up for the evening, but we have our DIY version, too.
It’s best to have teams of three or more people, so gather some friends. If your teams have more than five people, make it three groups or more. You must have even teams.
For a DIY version of Pictionary, you’ll need a stopwatch or timer, a large sketchpad or whiteboard (this one comes with markers) for drawing, and something to draw with. Make sure to only use dry-erase markers with a whiteboard!
Print our Pictionary sheet and cut out the topics. Place the topics in a glass or bowl.
Set a winning score, like 10.
Each team will need one person to draw for each round.
Flip a coin to decide which team will start.
Pick a topic out of the bowl. Start the timer for 30 seconds.
The appointed “artist” draws whatever is on the piece of paper. No numbers, letters, or hand gestures are allowed.
The opposite team works together to try to guess what is being drawn.
One point is scored for the right answer. If no answer is given, no points are scored.
Move on and repeat with the other team, taking turns until a score of 10 is reached.
Feel free to use this blank sheet for your own topics!
Scattergories
We’ve made our own printable sheet for categories so that it fits with the theme of a New Year’s Eve party. If you have the Scattergories game, it’s a bit easier to play, but this works fine if you don’t.
Scattergories is a timed game, so each player will get a copy of the sheet and have to come up with words in the categories listed that start with a specific letter, usually generated from a roll of the dice that comes with the game.
For our printable game, we’re using the letters in YEAR at the top of the sheet, so the first column is for words starting with “Y”, the second with “E”, etc.
Example: The first person might list “yawn” for a New Year’s Eve activity that starts with “Y”, but let’s hope not! Let’s hope they list “yell” for yelling Happy New Year at the stroke of midnight!
Fill in words for the New Year’s Eve Activity that starts with each letter. Feel free to change the letter at the top for another round!
Start the timer for one minute. Once everyone has their words for the first topic, go around the group and give each person a turn to give their words.
For each unique answer (it hasn’t been shared before) participants get one point. Obviously, it pays to go first, so draw straws or find a way to decide the order of participants.
Check out this article about playing Scattergories with instructions and rules for more information.
More New Year’s Game Ideas
We adore these printable cards with Highlights of the Year. You might discover some things new things about your friends and neighbors, too!
Mad Libs are always fun, and there’s a family-friendly version as well as an adult version!
Some of my favorite games are OK Boomer (adults only) and Beat That, which is a fun party game that’s also family friendly.
You could also create a free printable word search with your choice of New Year’s themed words.
Play collect the (Hershey’s) Kisses. I saw this one on Southern Living and thought it was so fun. Hide a bunch of individual Hershey’s Kisses around the rooms where guests will be. The guest who finds the most at the end of the night wins a prize.
Prize Suggestions
Of course, the sky’s the limit when it comes to prizes. If you’re only purchasing a small amount, you can pay a little more. Below are a few of our favorites in the $5-$10 range:
For under $5, we think these are fun prizes that people will actually use!
Craft Mix Variety Pack (12 skinny cocktail mixers)
To save money, head to your local dollar store. You can buy candles, coffee mugs, pampering items, and more for a couple of dollars or less.
You could also give winners a tin of homemade cookies, soup mix, or Lavender Bath Salts, which just might get you into the holiday spirit of gift-making as these would double as great gifts for friends and neighbors.
More Fun New Year’s Eve Activities
This tabletop mini bowling game and Hook & Ring Game are both easy and fun for the whole family after the party, so it’s a purchase you’ll use all year long.
If you wanted to get a bit more serious, you could have a conversation about New Year’s resolutions. Ask anyone who would like to share.
Take lots of photos! In the coming days, you could send photos to your friends, thanking them for joining your soirée!
FAQs
It’s really easy to celebrate with friends and not spend a bundle of money. Simply ask everyone to bring a dish to share and a bottle of what they are drinking. Make a big bowl of punch (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) for everyone to share. Your local dollar store will have cheap decorations, too.
If it’s an adults-only party, I would suggest between 8-9 pm. Remember, if it starts at 8, guests will be there for at least 4 hours.
A family friendly party with young kids should start early, perhaps around 7 p.m. Consider having a “fake-midnight” around 10 p.m. for the littles so families can get them home to bed. Or, you could have a slumber party set up for the kiddos so they can watch a movie and fall asleep while parents continue to enjoy adult time. Pay a babysitter to hang out with the kids so you don’t have to check on them every few minutes!
Top Tips
Put up decorations in advance so you can have fun!
Ask guests to bring something so the entire party isn’t on you.
Make sure all games for a family-friendly party are appropriate.
Always serve food when serving alcohol and make sure everyone is drinking responsibly.
Call an Uber for guests or ask someone to drive them home if you have any thoughts they’re not safe to drive.
Have a Happy New Year!
More Delicious Party Appetizers
40 Easy Appetizers for a Crowd
Please note these free New Year’s Eve Printables are for your personal use only and not to be sold online.
