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Movie Drinking Game
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Movie Drinking Game
Elf Drinking Game
The **Elf Drinking Game** follows Buddy from Papa Elf's workshop to Gimbels to the sleigh crash in Central Park, and...
You watchElf
You needDrinks + friends
Triggers14 drink rules
Best with2-15 players
The Elf Drinking Game follows Buddy from Papa Elf's workshop to Gimbels to the sleigh crash in Central Park, and Will Ferrell hands you a drink-when list that never stops: syrup on spaghetti, hugging strangers, 'Santa! I know him!', another reminder that he is six-foot-three and not an elf. Agree on the rules while Papa Elf is still narrating, then sip together every time one lands. It is a ninety-seven-minute film, and Buddy hits the sugar rule inside the first act.
Elf is a Christmas-night film, and at just over an hour and a half it fits neatly ahead of Home Alone or after Christmas Vacation in a holiday double bill. The pace is the thing to plan for: Buddy is on screen for nearly the whole runtime, and his outfit, his sincerity and his sugar habit are all rules on the list, so this movie drinking game fires faster per minute than films twice its length.
How to set it up
- Decide the outfit rule first. Buddy is rarely out of the elf suit, so either count it once per scene or leave it off the list and let the sugar and sincerity rules do the work.
- Put someone on Jovie duty. Her singing rule fires in the shower scene and the finale, and in between it is about her refusing to sing - the shy version counts, and it is easy to miss under Buddy's noise.
- Agree how to handle the mailroom. Buddy drinks what he thinks is syrup and ends up drunk and singing with a coworker, stacking sugar, singing, sincerity and slapstick - one sip per rule, not one per moment.
- The North Pole opening is light: a few 'he is a human' beats, the cotton-headed ninny-muggins line, and Buddy's first hug. Pour, settle in, and save your pace for New York.
The rules: drink when…
The heart of the game: 14 triggers. Read them out before you press play, keep the ones your group likes, cut any that would fire every minute, and remember that a "drink" is one sip.
| When this happens… | …you drink |
|---|---|
| Buddy talks to a stranger with total childlike sincerity | Sip |
| Buddy eats sugar - syrup, candy, gum, or a soda | Sip twice |
| Someone reminds Buddy (or us) that he is a human, not an elf | Sip |
| Buddy gets excited about Santa or Christmas | Sip |
| Walter looks annoyed or rubs his forehead in frustration | Sip |
| Buddy mentions the North Pole, elves, or his elf family | Sip |
| Buddy sings or says singing spreads Christmas cheer | Sip twice |
| Buddy hugs someone or says 'I love you' | Sip |
| Buddy has a clumsy slapstick moment - a door, a taxi, or a fall | Sip |
| Jovie sings or is shy about singing | Sip |
| Someone is called naughty or put on a list | Sip |
| Buddy is shown in his yellow-and-green elf outfit | Sip |
| A Christmas song plays or is sung on screen | Sip |
| A grumpy character finally warms up and smiles at Buddy | Drink for 3 seconds |
How to play
Warm up at the North Pole
The opening act tells you Buddy is a human three or four times, gives you Papa Elf and Santa, and sends Buddy off through the seven levels of the Candy Cane Forest. It is the gentlest stretch of the film.
Sip through Buddy's New York
From the Lincoln Tunnel to Gimbels, the sincerity, sugar and slapstick rules fire constantly: the revolving door, the taxi, the gum on the railing, the 'world's best cup of coffee', 'Santa! I know him!'. This is the densest half hour of the film and where the outfit rule proves it needs cutting.
Follow Walter home
The Hobbs apartment and office stretch is where Walter's forehead-rubbing earns its keep, the breakfast delivers the biggest sugar moment, and Michael's snowball fight is the first grump to warm up. Pace normally - the sips are steady but no longer back to back.
Finish in Central Park
The sleigh crash, the Claus-o-meter and the crowd singing 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town' stack the singing, Santa and Christmas-song rules on one scene, and Walter finally joining in is your three-second drink. Take that one and stop counting.
Variations & house rules
Christmas double bill
Elf runs ninety-seven minutes, so pair it with Home Alone or Christmas Vacation. Carry only the Christmas-song rule across both films, keep Buddy's rules for Elf alone, and give the second film its own short list so the two hours after Elf do not feel like a hangover from the sugar rule.
Naughty vs Nice teams
Split the room in two. The Nice team drinks whenever Buddy spreads cheer or hugs someone, the Naughty team drinks whenever Walter or a grump loses their patience. Whichever side the ending favors hands out one last sip.
Buddy's shadow
One player 'is' Buddy for a stretch and drinks every time he eats sugar or says something impossibly sincere. Rotate the role each act so no single player carries all of Buddy's cheer.
Pro tips
The elf-outfit rule is a trap - it is true in almost every frame. Use it only as a once-per-scene sip or the film's ninety-seven minutes turn into one continuous drink.
The Gimbels stretch, from decorating the store overnight to the fake-Santa fight, is where most groups fall behind; the Hobbs family act gives you time to recover.
Keep the sound up - the Christmas-song rule includes background music in the store and on the street, and captions rarely show it.
Drink responsibly: Elf packs its sugar, sincerity and slapstick rules into the Gimbels stretch and the Hobbs breakfast, so the sips bunch up in the middle of a short film rather than spreading over a long one. A movie-length game adds up fast, so keep the pours small, water between drinks, and swap any trigger for a sip of water whenever you like. See our safety guide.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the Elf drinking game last?
The film runs ninety-seven minutes and the rules fire from Papa Elf's opening narration to the crowd singing in Central Park, so plan on about an hour and forty minutes with no natural pause. The middle - Buddy's first day in New York and Gimbels - is the heaviest stretch; the North Pole and the Hobbs family scenes are lighter.
Which Elf scene has the most triggers?
The Hobbs family breakfast, where Buddy pours syrup and candy over spaghetti and hugs everyone at the table - sugar, sincerity, the elf outfit and the human reminder all fire in one scene. The mailroom and the Central Park finale are close behind.
Is the elf outfit rule playable?
Not as written for every frame. Buddy is in the yellow-and-green suit for almost the entire film, so most groups either count it once per new scene or swap it for a rule about his hat coming off. Keep it in only if you want a deliberately fast game.
How do you play Elf at a Christmas party?
Put the film on with the trigger list next to the screen and let people join and leave - the rules repeat so often that anyone can pick them up mid-film without a recap. The 'Santa! I know him!' scene at Gimbels and the Central Park singalong are the two moments that pull the whole room back to the screen.
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