Christmas Football Games

Christmas Football Games

Festive Training For Kids

 

December is a tricky time for coaches. Motivating your team can be difficult, which can lead to a drop in attendance. After all, it’s cold, dark, and everyone is just waiting for Christmas. So, it’s easy to see why your players might not be as focused as normal. A festive training session full of Christmas football games is a great way to lift everyone’s mood and increase engagement before the break. We’ve put together a list of themed games that combine fun with skill work. They would be great for most youth teams and can be adapted for different ages or skill levels.

 

Planning a Christmas Training Session

It’s not just the content of the session that you want to think about. There are plenty of other ways to get everyone into the festive spirit. You could consider:

• Festive Dress Code – Ask your players to turn up in fancy dress. Keep it simple and safe, so nothing causes problems during training.
• Christmas Music – Create a Christmas playlist for your warm-up. It will put everyone in a good mood and set the tone for the session.
• Use Themed Team Names – Instead of your usual team names, give them a festive twist.
• Christmas Props on the Pitch – Add festive touches to your equipment. You could wrap tinsel around corner flags, use red & green training bibs, or set up Christmas trees made from football cones.
• Merchandise or Kit Prizes – Hand out small prizes to players for showing positive behaviour. Encourage good sportsmanship, teamwork, and festive spirit.
• Team Christmas Photo – Finish with a festive team photo. Give everyone Santa hats or other festive props. This is great to share with parents and on your social media channel.
• Give Back to the Community – Use the session to promote values like generosity, kindness and teamwork. You could collect donations for a local food bank or charity.
• Christmas Quiz Half-Time Break – Run a quick football and Christmas-themed quiz before training or during a break. You could split everyone into teams and give the winners an advantage later on.

Whatever you do, make the session fun and engaging. But remember, the festive twists should always enhance rather than overshadow the training aspects.

 

Christmas Football Games

One of the easiest ways to get players engaged at this time of year is to introduce festive games and drills. You can give your normal drills more of a festive twist by simply referring to training equipment by different names. For example, footballs can become snowballs, sprouts or Christmas puddings. Alternatively, you can incorporate some new Christmas football games for a festive twist. We’ve got a few fun examples to get you started.

 

Snowball Fight

 

 

Focus: Agility, awareness, team coordination.
Equipment: Foam balls (“snowballs”), cones.
Set-Up: Create a wide rectangular area. One team spreads out along both long sides with foam balls. The other team lines up at one end, ready to run through.

Instructions:

1. Runners attempt to sprint from one end to the other without being hit.
2. Players on the sides throw snowballs to try to hit runners.
3. If a player is hit, they join the throwing team.
4. Continue until one runner remains.
5. Switch roles so everyone has a turn at running.

 

Coaching Points:

• Encourage runners to use feints, zig-zags and pace changes.
• Throwers should communicate and time their throws.
• Keep the tempo high to maintain excitement.

Progression:

• Narrow the channel for runners.
• Add obstacles to run around.
• Give runners a ball to dribble while dodging.
• Introduce a time limit to cross.

 

Santa’s Grotto Grab

 

 

Focus: Spatial awareness, decision making, and protecting the ball.
Equipment: Cones, footballs, bibs.
Set-Up: Mark out a square area. Create four “grottos” in each corner. Split players into four teams and assign each team a grotto. Divide all footballs evenly between the four grottos.

Instructions:

1. The footballs act as presents. Players try to get as many “presents” as possible in their team’s grotto before the time runs out.
2. Players must steal balls from other grottos, but they cannot be challenged while inside another team’s grotto.
3. Once a ball is in the middle, all players can challenge each other for possession.
4. Teams must protect their own presents while also sending players to steal from other teams.
5. When the time is up, each team earns points equal to the number of balls in their grotto.

Coaching Points:

• Encourage teams to plan their tactics — who steals, who protects, and how they organise themselves.
• Players should keep their heads up and stay aware of opponents approaching their grotto.
• Reinforce communication, especially between defenders and attackers.

Progression:

• Add “special presents” (different coloured or branded balls) worth extra points.
• Move the grottos away from the corners, so teams are attacked from multiple angles. This increases pressure and decision-making.

Christmas Tree Relay

 

 

Focus: Speed, shooting, finishing.
Equipment: Cones, footballs, a small goal or two cones, goalkeeper (optional).
Set-Up: Set out cones in the shape of a Christmas tree and place a ball at the top. Then place a small goal in front of the tree. Split players into two teams at the bottom of the tree.

Instructions:

1. The first player from each team races up their side of the tree.
2. Whoever reaches the ball first gets the chance to shoot.
3. A goal earns one point for that player’s team.
4. Players return to the start, and the next pair goes.

Coaching Points:

• Emphasise sharp directional changes on the tree path.
• Encourage composed finishes rather than rushed attempts.
• Use strong acceleration on the first few steps.

Progression:

• Add challenges at different stages of the Christmas tree.
• Place multiple balls at the top so both players can shoot.
• Make players perform a skill before shooting.

Grinch Tag

 

 

Focus: Dribbling under pressure, awareness, ball protection.
Equipment: Green bibs, footballs, and cones.
Set-Up: Mark out a rectangular playing area. Choose one player to be “The Grinch” and give them a green bib. All other players stand on one end with a ball each.

Instructions:

1. Players attempt to dribble from one end of the area to the other without losing possession.
2. The Grinch moves inside the area trying to win possession from any player.
3. When a player loses their ball, they also become a Grinch.
4. Play continues until only one player remains.

Coaching Points:

• Encourage players to use quick changes of direction and tight touches.
• Grinches should work together and close down space quickly.
• Highlight shielding and body position for protecting the ball.

Progression:

• Reduce the playing area to increase pressure.
• Players must perform a skill (e.g. scissors, drag back) before crossing the halfway line.

 

Secret Santa Mini Game

 

 

Focus: Teamwork, communication, problem-solving.
Equipment: Footballs, bibs, two goals.
Set-Up: Split players into two teams and prepare a small-sided pitch. Each team secretly selects a “Secret Santa” before play begins.

Instructions:

1. Play a normal game, but any goal scored by the Secret Santa counts for three points.
2. After the set time, pause and gather both teams.
3. Teams try to guess the other side’s Secret Santa.
   • Correct guess: Secret Santa’s goals are cancelled.
   • Incorrect guess: Guessing team loses one point.
4. Restart the game with new Secret Santas.

Coaching Points:

• Teams should think about tactics, so they get as many points as possible without revealing their Santa.
• Highlight good communication and supporting runs.
• Reinforce defensive awareness when guessing.

Progression:

• Add a second Secret Santa worth double points.
• Introduce challenges, such as only first-time finishes counting.
• Make teams swap positions after each round to increase unpredictability.

 

Check With Your Players

Not every player will celebrate Christmas, so it’s important to chat with the team before planning a festive session. If some players celebrate different holidays, it can be a great chance for them to share their traditions with the team if they feel comfortable. This not only helps everyone feel included, but it will also keep the team bonds strong. Ask players and parents if they’re happy to take part and make it clear there is no pressure to join in. You can also ask whether there are ways to adapt the session so that everyone feels included. Maybe consider celebrating or acknowledging a mix of holidays throughout the season. That way, everyone gets to feel included and gets a special moment to celebrate.

If you decide to go ahead with a Christmas-themed session, reassure anyone who doesn’t celebrate that they’re welcome to join as much as they want. If you’re worried, you can tailor any Christmas games to have a more generic winter feel. You can also provide non-Christmas alternatives for anyone who doesn’t want to get involved.

 

Get Players Engaged Before the Break

Organising a Christmas training session is a great idea because it will motivate more players to turn up. That’s just what you need before the Christmas break to ensure your players are still engaged with training. These Christmas football games will be a fun way to keep working on skills while also embracing the season. At the end of the session, you could hand out small gifts for all of their hard work. It’s a positive way to end the session and means they’ll be excited to come back.

Check out more of our football games for kids for ways to keep young players engaged all year round.

 

Tags: Christmas, Christmas training, football games, Football training, youth football