D&D Christmas Adventures and Gifts for Your Holiday Season

With Christmas coming up, what better way is there to celebrate than by adventuring in your favorite tabletop roleplaying game? Dungeons & Dragons (or any TTRPG of your choosing) is a perfect fit for the holiday season, with plenty of ways to get into the festive spirit. Let's make this this year a very merry D&D Christmas!

Christmas is an Opportunity for Amazing Game Sessions

The Christmas season is a great time to break out all of your favorite D&D books and run special DnD One Shots for your friends. It’s an opportunity to get together and have some fun, especially if you don’t usually have the time to commit to a longer RPG campaign. What could be more festive than slaying some winter goblins, or rescuing an elderly, jovial, gift-giver in distress?

Each year, I hold at least one all-day TTRPG event for my gaming group. Many times, this full-length adventure takes place in the days leading up to Christmas as a way to celebrate the season. People often have more downtime during December (or even early January) as well, so it's usually easier to get a full group to play.

There are many ways to make your D&D Christmas game special. You could set it during the Winter Solstice in the world of your campaign, have your characters celebrate Yuletide, or even have some in-game D&D Christmas gift-giving. You can also run a regular adventure with a few simple festive touches, and then give out real-life presents/ have a gift exchange for the party at the end of the session.

D&D Christmas Adventures: Prepared for You!

These one-shot D&D Christmas adventures are fun, holiday-themed, and ready for you to use. They can be completed in a single session, and are great for players of all levels. Careful though, some of these adventures may just end up causing a TPK DnD. If you want something more elaborate than what these adventures provide, you can always string a couple of them together into something like I do for my gaming group – an all-day D&D Christmas mega-dungeon. It's up to you what you want to do!

Note that each of these D&D Christmas quests can be used as a standalone adventure, or you can simply work them into your existing campaign:

1. The Nutcracker, a Retelling

If you've never seen the Nutcracker Suite, it's quite the story, and experience. Probably, you can find a Nutcracker ballet near you during the holiday season. Or, you can try out "The Nutcracker, a Retelling," which is a D&D-themed Nutcracker adventure. See the traditional Nutcracker tale but from the perspective of a hero in the story, seeking to rescue the Queen from the Evil Mouse King.

This D&D Christmas adventure comes as a PDF for under $6, and contains over 50 pages of material for you to use in a three- to four-hour gaming session for Lv.5 characters.

Really, there are few stories as iconic to the Christmas season as the Nutcracker suite. In the adventure, the Queen receives a carved nutcracker on Christmas Eve. She loves the gift, and fawns over its many details and beauties. During the festivities of the evening, the nutcracker breaks, and the Queen leaves the party early, devastated.

The adventure then truly begins when the heroes (and everyone else at the party) hears the Queen scream, as her voice echoes through the palace. Rat swarms attack the guests and staff, and the heroes seek after the missing Queen. They must enter the realm of the Evil Mouse King through the newly opened mouse hole that they find...

2. Solstice Shenanigans: A Wintry One Shot

This wondrous, wintry adventure is more like a series of D&D Christmas events. "Solstice Shenanigans" begins with the heroes waking up in the warm beds of an inn. The heroes aren't sure where they are actually, as this inn is definitely a different place from where they went to sleep. Basically, the heroes have been magically transported to a whimsical fey land of Christmas fun.

While in this new magical world, the heroes participate in a snowball battle, exchange in-game gifts (with magical boons and blessings), combat a giant gingerbread golem, and finally face a druid who isn't pleased with the festivities of chopping down trees for decorations.

The final confrontation finds the heroes fighting the druid, who summons the decorated solstice trees, a chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire elemental, and all of his magical might.

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3. In The Black Midwinter

"In The Black Midwinter" is a festive, $3 PDF adventure, designed for characters of levels two to four. The adventure can be played in one three- to four-hour session. In this module, characters battle an ancient evil threatening a remote village in the subarctic north. Honestly, very much the same as many D&D adventures, only this time it’s Christmas-themed! 

The adventure includes all the trimmings of a classic Dungeons and Dragons module: deadly traps, dastardly villains, and heroic NPCs. But, with a festive twist! So, if you’re looking for something different to play this holiday season, or want to add a little bit of holiday cheer to your regular game, grab a copy and try it out. I think you’ll find it’s just the thing to get you into the holiday spirit.

4. Saving Christmas

This is an adventure meant for four to six first-level players. Dream Realm Storytellers’ free PDF adventure "Saving Christmas" is a light-hearted adventure game perfect for the whole family. In it, players take control of a party of children tasked with defeating monstrous Christmas trees, cookies, and other holiday monsters. Although these creatures can be tough, they eventually return to their normal forms after taking enough non-lethal damage. As a result, Saving Christmas is a great game for players of all ages and skill levels. In addition, the game’s charming artwork will surely put a smile on everyone’s face.

You also use this adventure as a basis for a more lethal version, if you aren't gaming with a younger audience. For example, keep the monstrous Christmas trees, cookies, etc. but have them animated by a Christmas witch. No lethal damage, in this version, as the players will have to fight for their lives against ice cold magic and the witch's ice cold heart.

5. The Darkest Night

"The Darkest Night" is a "choose what you pay" holiday-themed adventure where players battle an ancient evil to save Kringlefest. This adventure can be used as an outline for any game system, but the specific details are for four first-level adventurers using the Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition rules.

This adventure is designed to provide a short one-shot adventure for inexperienced players, or for anyone who wants to get into the holiday spirit. The quest takes place in the fictional town of Frostford that’s been besieged by an ancient evil known as the Grinch. To save Frostford and Kringlefest, the players must venture into the Grinch’s lair and defeat him.

The adventure is structured around a series of fights with the Grinch and his minions, interspersed with opportunities for the players to roleplay, and explore Frostford. The finale of the adventure is a climactic battle with the Grinch himself. With a little Christmas cheer and teamwork, the players should be able to save Frostford, defeat the Grinch, and restore the joy of the Kringlefest season.

6. Additional DnD Adventure Options

If you want a few more options for your holiday adventures, check out these following resources of mine that I've created to help with DnD Adventures and ongoing campaigns. Any of these articles can be easily customized for holiday gaming:

• DnD Quest Ideas
• DnD Campaign Ideas
• How to Start a DnD Campaign

Merry Christmas DnD! Fun Ways to Add to Your Season

Yes, tabletop games should be enjoyed all year long. But let’s face it: Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the perfect time to get together with friends and family for a memorable gaming session. To make your D&D Christmas session even more festive, here's some ideas on how to have a very merry Christmas with D&D:

D&D Christmas Sweater

What’s more festive than a cozy sweater adorned with your favorite D&D characters? I have an entire section below for you to find the perfect D&D Christmas Sweater. You're probably going to an ugly Christmas sweater event this year anyways, so you may as well go in style. Plus, D&D Christmas sweaters bring more festive and D&D-themed cheer to your tabletop games for the season.

Gift Exchange for Dice and Minis

I've mentioned a couple times that you may consider having a D&D-themed gift exchange at your next holiday gaming session. What better way to show your love for the game and your great friends that game with you than by exchanging gifts? Better yet, why not make this particular gift exchange based around dice and minis?

A white elephant gift exchange is one thing, but a themed gift exchange is on another level. If everyone in your gaming group knows that they're going to walk away with some sweet new dice and minis, the gift-giving event can't help but be a great event for everyone.

Not sure what dice and minis to get? I have a full article on the Best D&D Dice you can check out, and look at the section below for ideas on minis!

Go All-Out with Your Holiday Gaming Session

It can require some upfront effort, but if you go all-out for your holiday gaming session, you'll almost inevitably create an experience that your players will remember forever. For my holiday all-day gaming sessions, I decorate my gaming space (with major help from my girlfriend), make use of candle light for a unique glow, pick out specific minis, and most importantly of all: prepare, prepare, prepare the big adventure.

If you want something super lighthearted and fun, doing a huge holiday gaming event may not be for you. However, I can say with confidence – after hosting all-day events many times – that they are hands-down the best gaming experiences of the year. They are well-worth the effort involved. Your players will love you for them.

D&D Christmas Sweater Selections

No D&D Christmas guide would be complete without a D&D Christmas sweater selection. I know, I know. These D&D Christmas sweaters are the ugliest. They're the worst. Therefore, they're the best. I hope you enjoy ever moment of purchasing them, waiting with eager anticipation for their arrival, and wearing them, full glory, in front of your gaming group. 

Also, if you happen to be looking for a D&D Christmas present for someone special in your life, I have one of the largest online collections of DnD Gifts available anywhere. If you happen to be looking for a Christmas present for your dungeon master, take a look at the Dungeon Master Gifts guide.

Merry Critmas: D&D Christmas Sweater

If you want to go for something that still says you love those Crits, but also shows some traditional colors and festive cheer, this sweater is a good in-between. The design is by Tronic Tees and looks great when you’re ready to score a critical hit during gameplay. The shirt matches your 20-sided dice and is available in a variety of colors.

This D&D Christmas sweater may not win any ugly sweater contests, but it is warm, fashionable for gaming, and may (unconfirmed) even increase your chances of rolling a 20 in-game.

Chaotic Naughty: D&D Christmas Sweater

For those more chaotic naughty of you, there's no shame in expressing who and what you are. Anyone who's ever played D&D will immediately pick up on the reference to being Chaotic Neutral, and will enjoy the humor. This sweater also comes in a variety of colors, and fits for any holiday-themed party, or D&D Christmas gaming event.

D&D Christmas Gifts

Just in case you're interested in some other great D&D Christmas gifts, here's a few other fun options that are great picks for any D&D enthusiast:

D&D Minis

As I mentioned above with the idea to have a specifically dice and minis gift exchange for your D&D Christmas session, minis are always a welcome gift. Basically, no matter how many minis someone has, there's almost always room for something more. Especially if that mini is the dragon of doom, Tiamat.

Of course, you don't have to splurge a lot on minis in order to gift a great present. There are tons of less-expensive options available that still make for great gifts. However, if you want to splurge a little on someone special, something like this Tiamat figure is the way to go.

Dragon Dice Tower

Dice towers allow you to drop dice at the top, and then they "roll for you," into the bottom of the tower. They're great if you're only rolling one – or a couple – dice at a time. This particular dice tower is unique because 1) the way the dragon has been crafted looks terrifying, and 2) dice actually roll out from the dragon's maw. Very cool idea.

I actually like the look of this dice tower a lot more up-close (the main image of this does not do it justice). However, if you're looking for D&D Christmas gifts, this one I would definitely recommend.

Blue Fire Dragon Dice Tray

Dice are essential to any tabletop RPG, but they can be difficult to keep track of during a game. This octagon dice tray is a great option if you’re looking for a dice tray that will both prevent your dice from rolling off the table, and help you stay organized. Most dice trays do not also store dice, like this one does. In general, they only provide a rolling surface for dice, which is why I really like the combo provided with this tray.

The tray features a raised dice staging area that can accommodate up to five sets of dice. The padded walls to help keep your dice in place, and in good condition.

Give the Gift of a New TTRPG

Christmas is a time for family, friends, and enjoyable downtime. What could be more fun than spending Christmas with your friends, diving into your favorite roleplaying game? TTRPGs provide hours of entertainment for players of all ages, and there are plenty of ways to enjoy the game during the holiday season.

If you know someone who doesn’t yet play tabletop RPGs, why not introduce them to the hobby this Christmas? It’s the perfect time to get them started, and they’ll be hooked. You can, of course, buy them Dungeons and Dragons, but for new players, why not get them a game that's easier to start playing right away?

Eternity TTRPG has our own tabletop roleplaying game which is very new-person-friendly, easy to get started playing, and features some (dare we say) terrific game mechanics. In Eternity TTRPG you can both play as a dungeon master and roleplay your own character: it's a game where everyone builds the gaming world and adds to its story.

No matter what game you play though, dive into some new adventures, pick up an ugly sweater, and have a very merry tabletop gaming Christmas!