10 Non-Christmas Games to Get You in the Holiday Spirit

Just in Time for Your Christmas Break

This year has gone by in the blink of an eye and we’re rapidly approaching the end of it. While most of us are probably happy about that fact, it is at this time of year that we should slow down and enjoy the holiday season while it lasts. Need a good game to get you in the Christmas spirit? Well, here is a list, in no particular order, of games with Christmas themed sections, levels, or plot lines. While Home Alone for NES and The Grinch for PS1 are absolute classics, we aren’t going to be looking at Christmas games in this list, just games that have a little touch of the holiday in them.

10) Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing is consistently changing with the seasons. You may have played during the Bunny Day update earlier this spring, or the Halloween update in October. Well, now the Winter update is out and includes a variety of Christmas themed celebrations. The latest update includes new Christmas themed clothing such as the Santa suit, new Christmas gift items to craft, Christmas decorations, and more. Don’t forget to play on Christmas Eve aka Toy Day as it is known in the game. While we specifically chose to mention New Horizons in this list, every Animal Crossing game has a festive update in December–even the older titles in the franchise.

9) Saints Row IV: How the Saints Save Christmas

Nothing says Christmas like killing Santa Claus. No, seriously, who could have expected a Christmas themed mission pack in a unapologetic third person shooter like Saints Row. The plot is simple, the game’s main antagonist Zinyak has had Santa locked up for decades and well, he ain’t quite as jolly anymore. Santa has slowly lost his mind in isolation and if he doesn’t get saved quickly, he’s going to put everyone on the naughty list–and trust us, you do not want to be on the naughty list. 

The DLC is short but takes you through Christmas themed levels where you will have to kill gingerbread men, nut crackers, and an evil Santa mech in hopes of saving Christmas. You don’t actually kill Santa Claus–in fact, he makes a great ally. The real enemy is Clawz, the monster that Santa will become if not stopped. It also adds a few new activities including one that requires you to deliver presents across Steelport. 

8) Banjo-Kazooie – Freezeezy Peak

Super Mario 64 has a couple of great winter themed levels but neither one tackles the Christmas theme like Banjo-Kazooie’s Freezeezy Peak. Freezeezy Peak may appear to just be another snow level at first glance, but when you get into the thick of it you’ll realize that this is in fact a Christmas level. There is a giant Christmas tree, and stacks of Christmas presents. You even get to act as Santa as you search the level for Boggy’s missing Christmas presents for his kids–he’ll even give you a jiggy for doing it. 

7) Kingdom Hearts II – Halloween Town

I know the name Halloween Town doesn’t really sound like a Christmas level, and you’re half right. Since the release of The Nightmare Before Christmas in 1993, there has been much debate about whether or not the Tim Burton classic is a Christmas movie, a Halloween movie, or both. While I won’t get into the debate here (it’s both), there is no debating that there is a Christmas aspect to the film, and accordingly, to the Halloween Town world in Kingdom Hearts II. You get to fight alongside Jack Skellington in a Santa suit, what more could you ask for?

6) Borderlands 2 – How Marcus Saved Mercenary Day

I know, I know, it’s about Mercenary Day, not Christmas, but considering the fact that Mercenary Day is not real and is very much a parody of Christmas–this counts. The DLC requires you to fight your way through the evil Snowman of Gingertown to try and find Marcus’ missing shipment of guns. Similar to the activity in How the Saints Save Christmas and the jiggy in Banjo-Kazooie, there is even a side mission requiring you to gather and deliver presents. Hope you like pretending to be Santa in games cause there’s a lot of it.