Guide
Christmas and New Year's Eve party games: the photo game that gets the whole table up
A Christmas dinner or a New Year's Eve party lasts five hours, and there is always a moment when some people look at their phones while others clear the table. Clinkpop turns the phone against itself: a photo challenge drops at a surprise time, the whole table gets up, and the next morning the album of the night is ready.
Christmas and New Year's Eve are the most repeated parties of the year, and yet the ones we entertain the least. We take care of the menu, the table, the presents, and for the rest we rely on conversation. That works until the cheese. After that, the teenagers drift to the sofa, the grandparents switch off, and the same three people clear up while the others check the time waiting for midnight. Christmas party games do not need to be a big board game or a quiz prepared over three evenings: you need something that gets everyone up at the same time, works from 7 to 90, and needs nothing prepared on the day.
That is exactly what Clinkpop does. You create the party in five minutes, everyone scans a QR code on the table, and a photo challenge drops at a surprise time on every phone: "two people who had not seen each other for a long time, at the moment they meet again", "your table raises its glasses and lemonades to the family, pulling a face of pure joy", "the most festive jumper worn by a grown-up". Ten minutes to answer, photos are revealed between guests, and the next morning the album of the night is in your inbox. Nothing to install, no account, and no challenge targets children.
Why a photo game works at Christmas and New Year
A festive dinner has three enemies: length, generations that do not talk to each other, and the phone. The photo game takes on all three. It cuts the five hours into small surprise moments that restart the table at the right time, just as conversation runs out of steam. It forces you to go and find someone: "a photo with someone born the same year as you" gets the 17-year-old cousin talking to the aunt he has been avoiding since the start, "all the grandparents here, together in one photo" puts grandma at the centre for two minutes. And it turns the phone, usually the thing that isolates, into an excuse to get up.
The other reason is simpler: it is funny. A table recreating a famous painting with whatever is to hand, an uncle redoing his school photo with the children in front and the tall ones behind, an improvised fashion show in Christmas jumpers: these are the photos you bring out again the following year, and that is exactly what the next morning's album keeps for you.
Christmas with the family or New Year's Eve with friends: what changes
Christmas dinner and Christmas Eve. The family party par excellence: three generations, children, cousins you see once a year, and a meal that stretches from champagne to the log. Choose "family party" when you create it: the challenges are about the family, the table and the meal, and none asks to photograph children. The default rhythm, one challenge every forty-five minutes, works well; for a lunchtime meal, set the end around 6 pm.
New Year's Eve with friends. Later, longer, more on your feet. Create a "birthday" instead, named after the night ("New Year's Eve at Lea and Sam's", no age): the challenges there are festive, built for a night that goes to the end, with the dance floor and the midnight cake. Tighten the rhythm to thirty minutes and set the end at 2 am: Clinkpop understands that an end earlier than the start means the next day.
The party that mixes both. Friends with their children, parents and mates: pick "family party", the most careful catalogue, and add your own challenges for the friends' touch.
How it goes, from 20 December to the next morning
- A few days before: create the party : The name of the night, the date, the time of drinks and the time of the end. The programme of challenges is ready straight away; you can remove the ones that do not feel like you and add up to five of your own: "the family photo in front of the tree, everyone in", "the worst-wrapped present", "the log before the first slice".
- The day before: print the card : One card per table, or a single one on the sideboard. The QR code scans with the phone camera, you type your first name, and that is it. Grandparents manage perfectly well: if one of them has no smartphone, they play with their neighbour, most challenges are done in groups.
- During the party: challenges drop by themselves : At a surprise time, the phones buzz together. Nobody knows when the next one is coming, not even you. If you prefer to keep control, switch to "manual" and launch each challenge yourself, between courses.
- At midnight: the challenge you choose : Write it yourself: "the whole table, the twelve chimes, one frame", and keep it for the end. It is the photo of the year.
- The next morning: the album : The private album arrives by email, sorted by challenge, the guests' favourites first. Download it in one click and share it with a private link with those who were not there. Photos are kept for twelve months, long enough to bring them out at the next party.
Challenges for the whole table, from 7 to 90
The family party challenges were reviewed with one simple rule: the grandmother alone with her phone must understand and be able to play, and no challenge may ask to photograph other people's children. Here is what the drinks-time ones look like:
Six challenges from the family party programme, as they land on the phones:
- "Two people who had not seen each other for ages, at the moment they meet again"
- "Your table raises its glasses and lemonades to the family, with a joyful face"
- "The most festive jumper, shirt or hat worn by a grown-up"
- "A photo with someone born the same year as you"
- "All the grandparents here, together in one photo"
- "The long table, seen from its far end"
And the programme carries on through the meal ("the long table, seen from the end", "the family dish everyone asks the recipe for"), dessert ("the most successful home-made dessert", "the sparklers, candles or fireworks of the dessert") and the evening ("the photo to bring out at the next family gathering"). In all, more than thirty ready-made challenges for a family party, and as many for a birthday night.
What you need, and what you do not
You need a signal in the room (4G is enough, home Wi-Fi is a bonus) and one phone for every two or three people. That is all. You do not need an app to install, an account to create, any equipment or a games master: the night runs itself, and you are at the table with the others instead of hosting.
If there is a television in the room, plug the room screen into it: it announces each challenge and shows the photos as the night goes on. At Christmas, it is often the screen that sets off the biggest laughs, when the next table's photo appears full size.
Three mistakes to avoid
Starting the game at dessert. The best moment for the first challenge is drinks: people are standing, nobody is settled in their corner yet, and the game sets the tone of the night. Set the start of the game to the arrival time.
Too many challenges. One challenge every forty-five minutes over five hours makes six or seven challenges: plenty of laughs without ever cutting the meal. For a New Year's Eve that runs until 3 am, the thirty-minute rhythm works because the night is on its feet.
Forgetting to warn people. Two lines in the invitation message are enough: "we will play a little photo game during the meal, nothing to install, remember to charge your phones". And remind everyone that they can remove a photo they do not like, at any time.
Photos, children and consent
Christmas means family photos, so photos of children. Clinkpop applies strict rules: no ready-made challenge targets children, the table card reminds everyone not to photograph other people's children without their parents' agreement, every guest sees before their first photo who it will be visible to, and "remove my photo" is always possible and permanent. Nothing is public, links are secret, photos are hosted in the European Union and deleted twelve months after the party. We never use your photos for anything other than your album.
For weddings as for family parties, our guide to photo consent at an event answers the questions that come up most. And if your New Year's Eve is also a birthday, the birthday page and our surprise party ideas complete the programme.
What it costs
Every party held before 1 February 2027 is free: Christmas, New Year's Eve, the January get-together, with unlimited guests and the album included. It is our launch season, and we would rather have successful parties than a price list. After that, a single payment per party, €59 for up to 150 guests, with no subscription and no photo limit.
Frequently asked questions
What games can the whole family play at Christmas?
Something that gets the whole table up at the same time, works from 7 to 90 and needs nothing prepared on the day. A surprise-time photo game ticks all three boxes: challenges drop on phones between drinks and midnight, everyone answers in groups, and the album arrives the next morning.
Does it work for New Year's Eve with friends?
Yes. Create a "birthday" named after the night instead, with no age: the challenges are festive, built for a whole night, with the dance floor and the midnight cake. Tighten the rhythm to thirty minutes and set the end at 2 am.
Will the grandparents manage?
Yes, and they are often the stars of the night. They scan the QR code with the camera, type their first name, and play with the others: most challenges are done in groups, one phone between two is enough.
Do we need to install an app?
No. Everything happens in the phone's browser, on iPhone and Android alike, with no account or password. The phone buzzes at each challenge once notifications are allowed.
What about the children?
No ready-made challenge targets children, and the table card reminds everyone not to photograph other people's children without their parents' agreement. Children can play with a grown-up's phone, photographing the table, the tree or the dessert.
Can we write our own challenges?
Yes, up to five: the photo in front of the tree, the worst-wrapped present, the table at the twelfth chime. You can also remove the challenges that do not feel like you.
How long are the photos kept?
Twelve months after the party, in a private album that only the organisers and the people they give the link to can see. Everyone can remove their own at any time.