Christmas charades game

Ideas for Your Christmas Charades Game

Christmas charades is the no-cost, no-batteries game that turns a quiet living room into a roomful of laughing people pretending to be reindeer. All you need is a list of festive words, two teams, and the rule that nobody is allowed to talk. This page gives you more than 150 Christmas charades ideas — sorted for little kids, the whole family, and grown-ups — along with the rules, some funny prompts, and a few tricks that make the game run smoothly.

If you’d rather not write anything down, scroll up and use our free Christmas Charades Generator — it draws random festive words for you, has a built-in timer and team scoreboard, and even prints cut-out cards. But if you like having a list in hand, here are all the ideas you need.

How to Play Christmas Charades

The rules are simple enough for a five-year-old and flexible enough for a houseful of adults.

The basic rules

• Split everyone into two teams.
• One player from the acting team draws a Christmas charade word (from our generator, a bowl of paper slips, or the lists below) and keeps it secret.
• That player acts it out with no talking, no pointing at objects in the room, no mouthing words, and no sound effects.
• Their team tries to guess before the timer runs out — 60 seconds is the classic limit.
• Guess correctly and the team scores a point. Then it’s the other team’s turn.
• First team to an agreed score (10 is a good target) wins.

Helpful secret signals

Charades has a few traditional signals that speed up guessing, and they’re worth teaching before you start:

• Movie: pretend to crank an old-fashioned film camera.
• Song: open your arms and pretend to sing.
• Number of words: hold up that many fingers.
• Which word you’re acting: hold up fingers again (one finger for the first word, two for the second).
• “Sounds like”: tug your earlobe, then act out a rhyming word.
• “The whole thing”: sweep your arms in a big circle.

For very young children, drop the signals and let a grown-up act alongside them. The goal is giggles, not a rulebook.

Christmas Charades Ideas for Kids

Little ones do best with single, familiar objects they can become with their whole body. These easy Christmas charades words are perfect for children’s parties, classrooms, and family game night with toddlers in the mix.

• Santa Claus
• Snowman
• Reindeer
• Christmas tree
• Present
• Star
• Candy cane
• Elf
• Sleigh
• Stocking
• Snowflake
• Gingerbread man
• Angel
• Penguin
• Polar bear
• Snowball
• Christmas bell
• Rudolph
• Christmas lights
• Igloo

Tip: for the youngest players, whisper the word in their ear and act it out with them the first few rounds so they learn the game without the pressure.

Christmas Charades Ideas for the Whole Family

Once kids are a little older, you can move from single objects to festive actions and short phrases. These work brilliantly when grandparents, parents, and children are all playing together, because everyone can picture them.

• Decorating the Christmas tree
• Wrapping presents
• Building a snowman
• Hanging stockings by the fireplace
• Singing carols
• Opening presents on Christmas morning
• Throwing a snowball
• Making gingerbread cookies
• Riding in a sleigh
• Putting the star on top of the tree
• Roasting marshmallows
• Ice skating
• Sledding down a hill
• Pulling a Christmas cracker
• Untangling the Christmas lights
• Wearing an ugly Christmas sweater
• Leaving cookies and milk out for Santa
• Carving the turkey
• Making a snow angel
• Counting down to midnight

Funny Christmas Charades Ideas

If your crowd loves to ham it up, hand out the funny prompts. These silly Christmas charades words guarantee laughs and are great icebreakers at an office party or a big family gathering.

• Santa stuck in the chimney
• A reindeer with a cold
• Tripping over the Christmas lights
• A snowman melting in the sun
• Eating way too much Christmas dinner
• Getting tangled in tinsel
• A dog stealing the turkey off the table
• Opening socks as a present (and faking a smile)
• Singing carols badly off-key
• Falling off the ladder while hanging lights
• Re-gifting last year’s fruitcake
• An elf on the shelf trying to hide
• Wrapping the cat by accident
• Sneaking a peek at the presents

Christmas Charades Ideas for Adults

For a grown-up game night, raise the difficulty with abstract ideas, traditions, and clever phrases. These harder Christmas words make great charades because they can’t just be mimed in one move — they make the actor work.

• Mistletoe
• The Nutcracker ballet
• Secret Santa
• Eggnog
• A partridge in a pear tree
• Scrooge
• The naughty list
• Advent calendar
• Boxing Day
• Mulled wine
• The Three Wise Men
• Last-minute shopping
• A food coma after dinner
• Winter solstice
• The Twelve Days of Christmas
• Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
• A lump of coal
• The North Pole

Christmas Movie Charades Ideas

A round of movie charades is a Christmas tradition in its own right. Remember the signal — crank that imaginary camera — then act out the title. These festive films range from easy for kids to trickier for film buffs.

• Elf
• Home Alone
• The Polar Express
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• A Christmas Carol
• Frozen
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Frosty the Snowman
• The Santa Clause
• It’s a Wonderful Life
• Miracle on 34th Street
• Jingle All the Way
• Klaus
• Arthur Christmas

Christmas Song and Carol Charades Ideas

Song charades are a joy because the whole room can sing the answer once it’s guessed. Use the “song” signal, then mime the words of the title. These Christmas carols and songs are widely known, so almost everyone can join in.

• Jingle Bells
• Silent Night
• Deck the Halls
• Frosty the Snowman
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas
• Let It Snow
• Winter Wonderland
• Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
• O Christmas Tree
• Joy to the World
• Feliz Navidad
• Sleigh Ride
• The Little Drummer Boy
• Carol of the Bells

Winter and Holiday Charades Ideas

If your party stretches beyond Christmas Day or you want a more general winter theme, these holiday charades ideas keep the snowy fun going all season — perfect for New Year gatherings too.

• Skiing
• Snowboarding
• A blizzard
• Icicles
• A penguin waddling
• Slipping on ice
• A snowball fight
• Building a snow fort
• Shivering in the cold
• A cozy fire on a snowy night
• Catching a snowflake on your tongue
• Wearing a giant winter coat
• A scarf and woolly hat
• Hot soup on a cold day

Turn Your Ideas Into a Pictionary Game Too

Every word on this page works just as well for Christmas Pictionary — instead of acting, the player draws. A Christmas Pictionary word list and a charades list are basically the same thing, so keep these ideas handy for both games. Drawing favors objects (snowman, candy cane, sleigh), while acting favors actions and movies, so mix and match to suit the game.

Make It a Printable Christmas Charades Game

Want something the kids can prepare themselves? Use the printable cut-out cards button in our generator above to make a free printable Christmas charades game: pick your categories, print the sheet, cut along the dashed lines, fold each slip, and drop them in a bowl or a spare stocking. It’s a lovely low-screen activity, and a great way to keep little hands busy on Christmas Eve.

A Few Tips for the Best Christmas Charades Game

• Match the words to the players. Mixing easy kid words with harder adult ideas keeps everyone included.
• Use a timer. A 60-second limit adds friendly pressure and keeps turns moving.
• Keep teams small. Four to six players per team means everyone gets a turn to act.
• Let little ones partner up. A grown-up acting beside a small child takes away the stage fright.
• Save the funny ones for last. End the game on big laughs and people will ask to play again next year.

However you play, the secret to a great Christmas charades game is a good supply of ideas — and now you have more than 150. Grab the generator above for instant random words, or print this list and let the acting begin. Merry Christmas, and may the best mime win.