The week between Christmas and New Year is quietly the biggest one-shot week of the year. Everyone’s home, the regular campaign is on hold, the cousins are curious, and somebody says “could we play that game of yours?” This list is for that moment: twenty-four Christmas and midwinter adventures, one for every door of an advent calendar, and exactly half of them, twelve, are free or pay what you want.
Same rules as our Halloween lists: real adventures you can actually buy or download today, levels and running times listed where the publisher gives them, and we tell you when something’s ours. Every price was read off the live product page in September 2026, and DMs Guild prices tend to drop during holiday sales, so treat them as the ceiling.
Free and pay what you want
Twelve adventures where the price starts at zero. If one of them saves your holiday, go back and drop a few dollars in the author’s stocking; that’s the whole idea of the season.
1. Claus for Concern (DMs Guild, by BJ Keeton, pay what you want) Santa has been bamboozled, the workshop is overrun with frosty foes, and a team of escaped elves recruits the party to take it back. Twenty-seven pages, an Adamantine bestseller with nearly a hundred ratings, and the strongest opener in Christmas D&D. Get Claus for Concern.
2. Rolling the Die Hard (DMs Guild, by George Nixon, level 3, pay what you want) Die Hard, but D&D: a winter solstice soiree at a gleaming Baldur’s Gate trade spire, dark forces in motion, and one weary adventurer who just wanted a quiet party. By the author of The Hungering House, and yes, you can crawl through the vents. Get Rolling the Die Hard.
3. Santac’Laus is Coming to Town (DMs Guild, by Dan Williams, pay what you want) In the halfling village of Flodur, Christmas Eve means terror, because the deranged mind flayer Santac’Laus rides down from his mountain lair on a sleigh pulled by eye monsters to eat children’s brains. Nine pages of the best worst idea on this list. Downright Halloween-grade, in a Santa hat. Get Santac’Laus is Coming to Town.
4. How Strahd Stole Christmas! (DMs Guild, by The Raven Post, level 9, pay what you want) Strahd is defeated, Barovia celebrates its first free solstice, and then the Beacon of Argynvost goes missing and the undead crash the party. A 4 to 6 hour epilogue for tables that finished Curse of Strahd and miss him. Get How Strahd Stole Christmas!
5. Gnome for the Holidays (DMs Guild, by Shadow Lab Games, pay what you want) A warm Wintershield festival in Waterdeep with darkness knocking at the edges, from the team behind Gravehurst on our Halloween list. Get Gnome for the Holidays.
6. Gnome for the Holidays 2: Winterfest at Kuldahar (DMs Guild, by Shadow Lab Games, pay what you want) The sequel moves the festival to Kuldahar, the great tree town Icewind Dale players remember, and it was published in December 2024, so odds are your table hasn’t seen it. Get Gnome for the Holidays 2.
7. Save the Last Kristmas (DMs Guild, by samuele, pay what you want) Santa is sick, Kristmas is close, and the party gets deputized as his helpers to save Snowy Country. From the author of The Spookiest Night Ever, with the same comedy-first sensibility. Get Save the Last Kristmas.
8. The Winters Crest (DMs Guild, by Tib Winterfield, level 5, completely free) The dark one: a storm, a scream in the snow, and the Winter King with his list, checking it twice, at CR 10. Eight pages, three maps, four stat blocks, zero dollars. Get The Winters Crest.
9. Nutcracker Ball, Winter Solstice Massacre (DMs Guild, by N3rdm3tal Gaming, pay what you want) An ordinary solstice ball, an assassination attempt, and a festive party that turns into a bloodbath with the party caught in the middle. Thirteen pages of intrigue for tables that like their tinsel with teeth. Get Nutcracker Ball.
10. Krampus at Candlelights (DMs Guild, by Anthony Castillo, pay what you want) Presents are vanishing during Candlelights, the city watch blames the thieves’ guild, the thieves swear innocence, and the truth has horns. Seven pages, one evening, done. Get Krampus at Candlelights.
11. Guardians of Holiday Spirit (DMs Guild, by Hunter Sinclair, levels 3 to 5, pay what you want) Saint Nicholas is in trouble and a band of seasoned adventurers is hired to help, across a surprising sixty-four pages with scaling advice built in. The most adventure per dollar-you-choose on this list. Get Guardians of Holiday Spirit.
12. Frozen Sick (Wizards of the Coast, levels 1 to 3, free) Official and free: the introductory adventure from Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, released free online by Wizards. An ice-borne disease, a trail of frozen bodies, and a trek somewhere very cold. Not Christmas-themed, but it is the best free winter adventure ever printed, and we said more about it in our free one-shots roundup.
Worth the coin
Twelve more, none over five dollars except where noted, and several under two.
13. How The Lich Stole Christmas (DMs Guild, by Wizard Sleeve Studios, all levels, $3.95) The classic, and the rare one-shot with encounter variants for every tier of play, so it works whether your table is level 2 or level 17. The story unfolds in Seussian rhyme, it runs 3 to 4 hours, and it sits in the Guild’s best-sellers year after year for a reason. Get How The Lich Stole Christmas.
14. DDAL00-05 Winter’s Splendor (Wizards of the Coast, levels 1 to 4, $4.99) The official one: a two-hour mystery at a Midwinter Gala in Waterdeep, written for Adventurers League, which means tight timing and clean structure. The one to run when you have exactly one evening and low-level characters. Get Winter’s Splendor.
15. The Fey Express (DMs Guild, by Shaeomar, $4.99) The Polar Express through the Feywild: pajamas, magical cocoa, bumper donuts, and a scorned fey called Grinchess hired by the courts to teach Kringle a lesson. Maximum whimsy, and nothing on this list suits a mixed table of adults and kids better. Get The Fey Express.
16. Danger In A Midwinter Wonderland (DMs Guild, by Asa Wheatley, levels 4 to 5, $2.99) A single-session rescue: Krampus has taken Winter’s Father, and the party sails to the Noel Isles to get him back. Get Danger In A Midwinter Wonderland.
17. Krampus: A Nacht to Remember (DMs Guild, by Ammon Hansen, $2.95) An audience with Lord Klaus, a night gone wrong, and Krampus loose until dawn. Around three hours, with enough supplementary material to stretch it if the table is having fun. Get Krampus: A Nacht to Remember.
18. Santa Squad (DMs Guild, by Matthew Ashcraft, $2.00) The Suicide Squad of Christmas: imprisoned antiheroes offered early release if they deliver the one and only gift addressed to the Underdark this year. Two dollars for the best elevator pitch of the season. Get Santa Squad.
19. Santa’s Helpers (DMs Guild, by Redcap Press, $4.95) An all-gnome party working inside this year’s sleigh, which is a coal-powered machine the size of a warship, when redcaps hijack it mid-flight on Christmas Eve. Published December 2024, so it’s new to almost everyone. Get Santa’s Helpers.
20. The Yule Lads (DMs Guild, by Peter Leet and Dave Aspall, levels 5 to 7, $2.99) Folk horror built on the actual Icelandic Yule Lads and their mother Grýla, who eats children. A full Dread Domain, a 6 to 8 hour adventure to save the kidnapped kids from becoming the feast, and seventeen new monsters. Run it the same week as your Halloween leftovers. Get The Yule Lads.
21. Where’s Father Winter? (DMs Guild, by Antonio Zaninetti, level 1, $1.95) Brand new, published December 2025: the beloved Father Winter vanishes during Waterdeep’s Solstice festivities and a level 1 party goes looking. A clean first-ever-session pick for the holiday break. Get Where’s Father Winter?
22. Odyssey of the Magi (DMs Guild, by J R Eyre Evans, $1.99) The wise men’s journey as a family-friendly one-shot: load the camels, follow the star, one minute of prep. Half of gross proceeds go to charity, which fits the season better than anything else here. Get Odyssey of the Magi.
23. Christmas Starlight (DMs Guild, by Alasdair Hill, $1.99) Written by a dad for his six-year-old, and it reads exactly like that, which is the recommendation. It’s the sequel to his A Yuletide Surprise, and the pair make a ready-made tradition for a table of kids. Get Christmas Starlight.
24. 12 Christmas Slays (DMs Guild, $4.95) The last door is a toybox rather than a single adventure: a book of Christmas creatures, each with lore and adventure hooks, from a benevolent spell-slinging Santa with a candy cane staff to a sorrowful Radiant Reindeer. Build your own Christmas one-shot around any two of them. From the crew behind 13 Horrors of Halloween. Get 12 Christmas Slays.
Which one this year?
One evening, mixed family table: The Fey Express or Odyssey of the Magi. Kids at the table: Christmas Starlight. Your regular group, feeling silly: Santa Squad or Rolling the Die Hard. Your regular group, feeling brave: The Yule Lads or The Winters Crest. Zero budget: start at door number one and you won’t run out before the new year.
And when the holidays end and the table asks for “another one of those short ones” in January, that’s exactly what the Big Book of Little Adventures is for: 200+ short adventures, one for every week the cousins come back. The PDF is $9.99 and delivers instantly, which matters on December 24th.
Sources
- All DMs Guild titles, prices, authors, level ranges, page counts, and catalog dates verified against the live product pages on September 6, 2026: Claus for Concern, Rolling the Die Hard, Santac’Laus is Coming to Town, How Strahd Stole Christmas!, Gnome for the Holidays 1 and 2, Save the Last Kristmas, The Winters Crest, Nutcracker Ball, Krampus at Candlelights, Guardians of Holiday Spirit, How The Lich Stole Christmas, DDAL00-05 Winter’s Splendor, The Fey Express, Danger In A Midwinter Wonderland, Krampus: A Nacht to Remember, Santa Squad, Santa’s Helpers, The Yule Lads, Where’s Father Winter?, Odyssey of the Magi, Christmas Starlight, and 12 Christmas Slays.
- Frozen Sick: introductory adventure from Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount, Wizards of the Coast, 2020, released free online by Wizards of the Coast.
- Prices checked September 2026; DMs Guild prices change often during seasonal sales, and pay-what-you-want status can end.
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