60 New Year's Eve Charades Ideas

By Cedar & Ledger

Charades keeps a New Year's Eve party moving until the countdown. These 60 ideas are sorted by difficulty, so little kids can act out "blowing a party horn" while grown-ups try "breaking a resolution on January 2." Write them on slips of paper or read them from your phone.

How to play

1. Split into two teams.
2. A player draws a slip and acts it out with no words or sounds.
3. Their team has 60 seconds to guess.
4. Easy = 1 point, Medium = 2, Hard = 3. Most points wins.

Easy (good for ages 4+)

1. Blowing a party horn
2. Wearing a party hat
3. Throwing confetti
4. Watching fireworks
5. Yawning before midnight
6. Clapping at midnight
7. Popping a balloon
8. Eating party snacks
9. Dancing
10. Hugging someone
11. Waving a sparkler (pretend)
12. Counting down on your fingers
13. Falling asleep on the couch
14. Opening a present
15. Taking a selfie
16. Ringing a bell
17. Toasting with a cup
18. Putting on pajamas
19. Looking at a clock
20. Jumping for joy

Medium (ages 8+)

1. Going to the gym more
2. Eating more vegetables
3. Reading more books
4. Waking up early
5. Learning to cook
6. Saving money in a piggy bank
7. Drinking more water
8. Cleaning your room
9. Learning to play guitar
10. Walking the dog every day
11. Writing in a journal
12. Going to bed on time
13. Watching the ball drop on TV
14. Making a wish at midnight
15. Hanging a new calendar
16. Eating 12 grapes really fast
17. Kissing at midnight (a cheek kiss counts)
18. Getting stuck in party traffic
19. Singing "Auld Lang Syne"
20. Blowing out the old year like a candle

Hard (teens and adults)

1. Breaking a resolution on January 2
2. Trying to stay awake until midnight
3. Missing the countdown because you were in the kitchen
4. Writing the wrong year on a check
5. Signing up for a gym and never going
6. Running a marathon
7. Learning a new language
8. Cutting back on screen time
9. Starting a side hustle
10. Organizing your closet
11. Taking down the Christmas tree
12. Planning a vacation
13. Making a vision board
14. Paying off a credit card
15. Meditating every morning
16. Cleaning up confetti the next morning
17. Texting "Happy New Year" to 50 people
18. Counting down a second too early
19. Waiting for a ride home after the party
20. Making a toast that goes on too long

Variations

• Kids vs grown-ups: kids draw from Easy, grown-ups from Hard.
• Resolution round: the actor's team must guess the resolution, then the actor says whether it's theirs.
• Speed round: 30 seconds per card in the last 10 minutes before midnight.

More ideas: New Year's Eve games for the family and New Year's Eve with kids at home.

Prefer cards you can print and cut? The New Year's Eve Party Games Pack has 36 ready-made resolution charades cards plus trivia with answer keys, a countdown story and a predictions sheet.

Made with AI assistance and reviewed before publishing.

Related template: the nye games pack template. Also see: the nye activity printable template

See all Cedar & Ledger templates

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