Christmas Charades
Act out Christmas characters, traditions, songs and festive activities while your teammates race to guess the answer.
- Players
- 4+
- Ages
- 6+
- Time
- about 20 min
Play Christmas Charades
Pass the phone to whoever is acting. Tap to see the prompt, act it out, then move on — no timer, no scoring, nothing to print.
Playing Christmas Charades yourself
The deck above hands you the prompts. If you would rather run a full game with teams and scoring, these are the rules it is built on.
What it is
Christmas Charades turns the classic acting game into an easy Christmas party activity. Players take turns silently acting out festive prompts while their teammates try to guess what they are portraying before the turn ends.
It works especially well with families, groups of friends and office Christmas parties because the rules take seconds to learn and the prompts can be adapted to almost any age group. All you need are some Christmas-themed ideas, slips of paper and people willing to perform.
Setting up
Write Christmas-themed prompts on small slips of paper, fold them and place them in a bowl or container. Divide the group into two teams and decide how long each acting turn will last; about one minute works well. Mix familiar prompts such as decorating a Christmas tree or building a snowman with characters, traditions and other festive ideas appropriate for your group.
How to play
- Divide the group into two teams and place all of the folded Christmas prompts in a bowl or container.
- Choose one player from the first team to act and have them draw a prompt without showing it to anyone else.
- The actor silently performs the prompt while their teammates try to guess the answer.
- When the team guesses correctly, award one point. If time remains, the actor may draw another prompt and continue.
- When time runs out, switch teams and choose a new actor.
- Continue taking turns until everyone has had a chance to act or the group has played the agreed number of rounds.
- Add up the points at the end of the game. The team with the most points wins.
Rules
- Actors may use gestures and body movements but may not speak, mouth words or make sound effects.
- Actors may not spell words in the air, point to written words or letters, or use nearby objects to reveal the answer directly.
- Teammates may make as many guesses as they like while the turn is active.
- A prompt counts only when the team identifies the intended answer before time runs out.
- Use prompts that are appropriate for everyone playing, especially with children or coworkers.
Winning
Each correctly guessed prompt earns one point. After the final round, the team with the most points wins. If the scores are tied, give each team one final prompt; the team that guesses its prompt in the shortest time wins.
Variations
- Family Charades: Use simple prompts that children and adults can recognize and let younger players act with a partner if they prefer.
- Christmas Movie Charades: Use only characters, titles and memorable situations from Christmas movies and television specials.
- Christmas Song Charades: Act out the title or idea of a Christmas song without singing, humming or quoting lyrics.
- No-Score Charades: Skip teams and points entirely. Take turns acting while the whole group guesses, making the game more relaxed and less competitive.