60 Christmas Charades Ideas for Kids and Adults

By Cedar & Ledger

Christmas charades needs no board, no batteries and no prep beyond a bowl of paper slips. Below are 60 ideas sorted by difficulty, plus simple rules so a mixed group of kids and grown-ups can play in five minutes. Every idea is a generic holiday action or thing, so anyone can act it out.

Easy (good for little kids)

1. Building a snowman
2. Wrapping a present
3. Opening a present
4. Hanging a stocking
5. Ice skating
6. Making a snow angel
7. Throwing a snowball
8. Drinking hot cocoa
9. Decorating the tree
10. Reindeer
11. Penguin
12. Sledding
13. Eating a candy cane
14. Brushing snow off a car
15. Shivering in the cold

Medium (ages 8 and up)

1. Untangling Christmas lights
2. Baking cookies
3. Putting a star on top of the tree
4. Writing a letter to Santa
5. Caroling door to door
6. Shoveling the driveway
7. Leaving cookies and milk out
8. Wrapping a gift that won't stay shut
9. Hiding presents from the kids
10. Elf making toys
11. Sneaking downstairs on Christmas morning
12. Kissing under the mistletoe
13. Lighting a fireplace
14. Waiting in a long checkout line
15. Getting socks as a gift (and pretending to love them)
16. A sleigh ride
17. Snow globe being shaken
18. Gingerbread house falling apart
19. Nutcracker
20. Toy soldier marching

Hard (teens and adults)

1. Assembling a toy with no instructions
2. Re-gifting a present
3. Finding a dried-out tree in January
4. Taking a family photo where no one looks at the camera
5. Carving a holiday ham
6. Trying to find the end of the tape roll
7. Ugly sweater contest
8. Last-minute shopping on Christmas Eve
9. Burning the cookies
10. Opening a gift card
11. Fixing a single dead bulb on a light string
12. Reindeer landing on a roof
13. White elephant gift being stolen
14. Falling asleep after dinner
15. Snowed in

Team round (two players act together)

1. Pulling a Christmas cracker
2. Carrying a huge tree through a door
3. Dancing at the office party
4. Putting up outdoor lights on a ladder
5. Having a snowball fight
6. Exchanging secret gifts
7. Reindeer pulling a sleigh
8. Wrapping someone up like a present
9. Singing a duet carol
10. Building a gingerbread house

Quick rules

1. Write each idea on a slip, fold it and drop it in a bowl.
2. Split into two teams. A player draws a slip and acts it out with no words or sounds.
3. Set a 60-second timer on a phone. If the team guesses, they get a point.
4. Easy slips are 1 point, medium 2, hard 3. First team to 15 wins.

Tip for mixed ages: let kids under 7 draw only from the easy pile, and let them whisper to an adult partner if they can't read the slip.

More holiday party games

Want games ready to print? Our Christmas Holiday Games pack has no-prep party games, and Christmas Bingo works for big groups. For table talk, try our free list of Christmas would you rather questions. For a drawing round, use our free Christmas drawing game words, or print the Christmas Charades & Drawing Game with 108 ready-made cards. More ideas: Christmas party games for kids.

Related template: the christmas would you rather template. Also see: Christmas Charades & Drawing Game · the holiday games template · the christmas bingo printable template

See all Cedar & Ledger templates

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