The Holiday Collection
The short answer: christmas charades is the classic acting game with holiday clues: one player silently acts out a word, movie or song, and their team guesses before the timer runs out.
- You need: paper slips, a bowl and a phone timer
- Guess in 60 seconds, then alternate teams
- 120 ideas sorted from easy to hard
- Hand signals and scoring tips below
- Next step: Plan it with the Christmas Budget & Gift Planner ($4.99).
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Christmas charades is the classic acting game with holiday clues: one player silently acts out a Christmas word, movie or song, and their team guesses before the timer runs out. All you need is paper slips, a bowl and a phone timer. Below are 120 Christmas charades ideas sorted from easy to hard, plus rules, hand signals and scoring tips.
In my family, the best part of a holiday night is when everyone pitches in and nobody is on a screen. Charades only needs paper and a bowl, so anyone can start it this year at no cost.
How to play Christmas charades
- Make teams of 2 to 10 players each.
- Fill a bowl with folded slips from the lists below.
- Act it out. The actor draws a slip and acts silently. No talking, mouthing words or pointing at objects in the room.
- Guess in 60 seconds. A correct guess earns 1 point.
- Alternate teams until the slips run out. Highest score wins.
| Signal | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Fingers held up | Number of words in the title |
| Fingers tapped on forearm | Number of syllables |
| Cranking an old movie camera | Movie |
| Hand cupped by mouth, swaying | Song |
| Tugging an earlobe | Sounds like |
| Pinching fingers together | Short or small word |
Easy Christmas charades (great for kids)
- Building a snowman
- Snowball fight
- Sledding
- Ice skating
- Wrapping a present
- Opening presents
- Hanging a stocking
- Decorating the tree
- Putting the star on top
- Baking cookies
- Eating a candy cane
- Drinking hot cocoa
- Reindeer
- Elf
- Santa
- Snowflake falling
- Penguin
- Rudolph's red nose
- Ringing a bell
- Writing a letter to Santa
- Shoveling snow
- Putting on mittens
- Making a snow angel
- Sleeping on Christmas Eve
- Gingerbread man
- Christmas tree
- Ornament
- Jack Frost
- Toy soldier
- Carolers
Medium Christmas charades (families)
- Santa going down the chimney
- Untangling the lights
- Kissing under the mistletoe
- Feeding the reindeer
- Riding in a sleigh
- Elf on the Shelf
- Hanging the wreath
- Roasting chestnuts
- Building a gingerbread house
- Ugly sweater contest
- Putting batteries in a toy
- Watching for Santa
- Shaking a present to guess it
- Jingle Bells
- Frosty the Snowman
- The Grinch
- Nutcracker
- Snow globe
- Making a list and checking it twice
- Leaving cookies for Santa
- Drinking eggnog
- Wearing a Santa hat
- Christmas morning race to the tree
- Hot cocoa mustache
- Caroling door to door
- Ice fishing
- Christmas parade
- Throwing tinsel
- A cat climbing the tree
- Cutting a paper snowflake
Christmas movie charades
- Home Alone
- Elf
- The Polar Express
- A Christmas Story
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- Frosty the Snowman
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- The Santa Clause
- Miracle on 34th Street
- It's a Wonderful Life
- Jingle All the Way
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
- A Charlie Brown Christmas
- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
- The Muppet Christmas Carol
- Klaus
- Arthur Christmas
- White Christmas
- Love Actually
- Four Christmases
Christmas song charades
- Jingle Bells
- Deck the Halls
- Silent Night
- Let It Snow
- Jingle Bell Rock
- Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
- Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
- All I Want for Christmas Is You
- Feliz Navidad
- Here Comes Santa Claus
- Up on the Housetop
- Sleigh Ride
- Winter Wonderland
- Little Drummer Boy
- We Wish You a Merry Christmas
- Blue Christmas
- Last Christmas
- Run Rudolph Run
- Holly Jolly Christmas
- Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
Hard Christmas charades (adults)
- Returning a gift without a receipt
- Regifting a fruitcake
- Assembling a toy at midnight
- Stuck in airport holiday traffic
- Finding the last parking spot at the mall
- The office party
- Burning the Christmas ham
- Waiting in line on Black Friday
- Hiding presents in the closet
- Writing the family Christmas letter
- Taking the family photo with the dog
- Losing the tape while wrapping
- Twelve Days of Christmas
- Partridge in a pear tree
- Three wise men
- Stockings hung by the chimney with care
- Dashing through the snow
- Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
- Visions of sugarplums
- Yule log
Tips for a smoother game
- Sort by bowl. Easy, medium and hard bowls let kids and adults play together fairly.
- Pair little ones with an older partner who can whisper the clue.
- Use a visible timer so nobody argues about time.
- Skip rule: allow one skip per turn so nobody gets stuck.
- Small prize: a candy cane or first pick of dessert is plenty.
Games are an easy way to pull a crowd together. The U.S. Surgeon General's advisory on social connection links strong relationships with better health, and in the American Psychological Association's holiday stress poll, 84% of adults said the season creates a sense of togetherness.
Want more for the same night? Try our Christmas party games, Christmas trivia or Christmas bingo. Doing gifts too? The left right Christmas game gets everyone laughing.
Drawing instead of acting? Try Christmas Pictionary, or browse more Christmas party games.
Plan game night without overspending
- Christmas Budget & Gift Planner, $4.99. Menu, to-do and budget pages for party night, plus a gift list for everyone on yours.
- Meal Planner & Grocery List, $3.99. Plan game-night snacks and shop in one trip.
- Holiday Season Bundle, $15.99 (regularly $25.94 for the six items bought separately). The gift planner plus a meal planner, cleaning schedule and savings trackers.
Browse the Holiday shop or all our Printables. The free Holiday Budget Starter Kit is 3 US Letter pages, emailed after you join the list.
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The Christmas Budget & Gift Planner adds up every list for you: a budget for each person, a log of each purchase and the amount left to spend, plus printable gift, card, menu and to-do pages.
- Spreadsheet for Excel and Google Sheets
- 11 printable pages, US Letter + A4
- Instant download, 14-day fix-or-refund promise
Planning the whole season? See the holiday sets from $7, with early prices through Cyber Monday
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Christmas charades? To play Christmas charades, split into two teams. One player draws a slip with a Christmas word or title and acts it out without talking while their team guesses. If the team guesses before the timer runs out, usually 60 seconds, they score a point. Teams take turns until the slips run out.
What are good Christmas charades ideas? Good Christmas charades ideas are things everyone recognizes and can act out: wrapping a present, building a snowman, ice skating, Santa going down the chimney, Rudolph, Home Alone and Jingle Bells. Mix easy actions with harder movie and song titles.
What are easy Christmas charades for kids? Easy ideas for kids are single actions and characters: snowball fight, reindeer, elf, opening presents, sledding, decorating the tree, eating cookies and hanging a stocking. Let young kids whisper with a grown-up partner before acting.
What are Christmas charades for adults? Adults enjoy harder clues like Christmas movie titles, song titles and holiday situations: untangling the lights, returning a gift, getting stuck at the airport, regifting a fruitcake and assembling a toy at midnight.
What are the hand signals for charades? Common signals are holding up fingers for the number of words, tapping fingers on your arm for syllables, cranking an old movie camera for a movie, cupping your hand near your mouth to mean song, and tugging your ear to mean 'sounds like.'
How long should each charades turn be? Sixty seconds works well for most groups. Give kids 90 seconds and make adult movie or song titles 45 seconds for a faster game.
How many people do you need for charades? You need at least four people for two teams of two. Charades works well up to about 20. With bigger groups, run two games or play everyone-guesses with no teams.
Can you play Christmas charades on a video call? Yes, you can play Christmas charades on a video call. Send each actor their clue in a private message, have them move close to the camera, and let everyone else guess out loud or in the chat.
How do you keep score in charades? Give one point per correct guess and play until every slip is used or a set number of rounds is done. For a twist, award two points for hard clues so teams can choose their risk.
What's the difference between charades and Pictionary? In charades you have to act out the clue silently, while in Pictionary you draw it. Both use the same kinds of word lists, so you can alternate rounds at the same party.
How do I make charades slips fast? Copy the lists below onto paper, cut them into slips and fold them into three bowls labeled easy, medium and hard. Players can pick a bowl for their turn.
How do I plan a Christmas game night on a budget? Choose games that need only paper and a timer, like charades, then plan simple snacks and one small prize. The Christmas Budget & Gift Planner ($4.99) keeps the party menu, to-do list and spending on one set of printable pages.
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A one-page holiday budget, a gift list with a spending limit for every person, and a 6-week countdown so December stays calm and paid for. You'll also get our weekly HomeBase email with simple holiday planning, budgeting and hosting tips.
