If you are looking for a Christmas charades game then look no further! This holiday game is perfect for your next Christmas party!
Christmas is the time of year for parties, gatherings, and family get-togethers. What better way to celebrate these large group gatherings than with a fun party game like Christmas charades?
This game requires very little prep work, costs next to nothing, and can be played by both kids and adults.
In this post, you will learn all about the setup and rules for charades and get a huge list of Christmas charade words and phrases for the ultimate holiday party game.
This post is all about Christmas charades.
Christmas Charades
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What You’ll Need For Christmas Charades:
This game requires very minimal supplies.
- Some sort of timer (sand timer, phone, or digital kitchen timer)
- Paper
- Writing utensil for keeping score
- Christmas charades words and phrases
- Bowl or bag for Christmas charades
- Scissors (optional)
- Printer (optional)
Charades Setup
The setup for the Christmas charades game is super simple. If you don’t have a printer, just grab some paper and a writing utensil and write all of the Christmas charade words and phrases you’ll find below.
Otherwise, you can download and print the Christmas charades printable at the bottom of the post. Then, cut out each individual charade card and sort them into three piles based on their points.
The red cards are worth one point, the white cards are worth two points, and the green cards are worth three points.
Once the cards are cut and the piles are sorted place each pile in a bowl or bag. It can be helpful to label the container so players know how much each pile is worth during the game.
Lastly, get a writing utensil for the score card and you are ready to start playing!
Rules for Charades
Before starting your game you’ll want to establish the rules. There are different ways to play, so to ensure there won’t be any disputes over the rules mid-game, it’s best to discuss them before starting.
- First, decide if you want to play Christmas charades individually or split into two teams. If you split into teams make them as even as possible to make it more fun and competitive.
- Next, decide how the winner will be determined. Will you play until all of the cards are gone (with over 100 cards that could be a long game), will you play X amount of rounds, or will you play until a team has X amount of points?
- Then, decide how much time a player will get to act out their card. I recommend anywhere between 1-3 minutes. If you are playing with younger children then I’d go with 3 minutes but if you are playing with just adults then try 1-minute rounds.
- Now, flip a coin to see which team gets to go first. This will be Team 1.
- Team 1 chooses a player to act. This player will draw a 1-point, 2-point, or 3-point Christmas charade card. (The higher the points the harder the card)
- Set a timer.
- When the time begins, Team 1’s player will begin acting out their card using only body gestures and motions for the rest of Team 1 to guess. No vocal sounds are allowed.
- If Team 1 guesses the correct answer before the time runs out then they will receive the amount of points that the card is worth.
- If Team 1 is unable to correctly guess the card before time is up, then Team 2 is allowed one guess to steal the points.
- Play until there is a winner
Playing Christmas Charades With Young Children
If you are playing Christmas charades with kids you may have to adjust the rules, especially if this is their first time playing. You can do this by allowing children extra time to act out.
Depending on their age, you may also want to consider allowing them to use vocal sounds so they don’t get discouraged (it can be very challenging the first time they play).
When it comes to charades sometimes there can be a reading barrier. If you have toddlers and kids who cannot read yet, get some Christmas picture charades so that they can join in on the fun as well.
Because there is no writing, the answer to their card is whatever they think is on it. For example, if the card has a picture of Rudolph on it but they think it’s a reindeer then the answer would be reindeer.
Adding Extra Fun To Your Christmas Charades Game
If you are looking to jazz up your holiday charades game, then try out one of these fun Christmas charades ideas.
1. Team Captains
Have two people be team captains. Do a coin flip and then have them go back and forth picking teams.
2. Festive Team Names
Have each team come up with a fun, festive name.
3. Christmas Charades Trophy
Have a trophy up for grabs that goes to the winning team. You can do new trophies each year or have one trophy passed along yearly.
4. Christmas Charade Prizes
You don’t have to go all out and pick up the most expensive prizes to make it fun. Even when small prizes are at stake the level of competition rises! Here are some some prize ideas you could get for the winning team.
- Christmas Trophy Ornament – You could pick up a pack of mini trophies like these and then tie a ribbon around them to make them into an ornament for the winners.
- Christmas Cookies/Treat – You can’t go wrong with cookies or treats for the winning team.
- Popcorn – The mini popcorn variety packs would be an easy prize to use.
Common Gestures
- To indicate the number of words in your phrase hold the number of fingers in the air at the start of your turn.
- Before acting out a word hold up the finger of the word you will be acting out. For example, in the phrase White Elephant Gift Exchange. Hold up 2 fingers to act out “elephant” then 3 fingers to act out “gift” etc.
- To show a correct guess tap your finger to your nose and then point to the person who guessed correctly.
- To show your team how many syllables are in the word lay that many fingers on your arm.
- The word “the” is represented by making the letter T with your fingers
- Point to your eye for the word “I”
Christmas Charades List
Here are all of the Christmas charades based on their point value that you will find on the printable.
1 point Christmas Charades
1. Christmas tree
2. Ornaments
3. Star
4. Santa Claus
5. Rudolph
6. Stocking
7. Candy Cane
8. Wreath
9. Mistletoe
10. Gingerbread House
11. Gingerbread man
12. Elf
13. Hot chocolate
14. Sleigh
15. Chimney
16. Ribbon
17. Gift
18. Present
19. Gift Tag
20. Snow globe
21. Jingle bells
22. Lights
23. Music
24. Family
25. Beard
26. Candle
27. Toys
28. Coal
29. Red bow
30. Mrs. Claus
31. Gift box
32. Cookies
33. Milk
34. Fruit cake
35. Tree farm
36. Cookie cutter
37. The Grinch
38. Ham
39. Wrapping paper
40. Santa’s sack
2 point
41. Reindeer flying
42. Ho-ho-ho
43. Tinsel
44. Secret Santa
45. Advent calendar
46. Making Christmas cookies
47. Decorating Christmas cookies
48. Gift exchange
49. Mailing Christmas cards
50. Opening presents
51. Cookie exchange
52. Egg Nog
53. Holiday parade
54. Christmas Eve
55. Christmas morning
56. Nutcracker
57. North Pole
58. Garland
59. Wrapping presents
60. White Christmas
61. Cyber Monday
62. Christmas shopping
63. Scrooge
64. Santa’s workshop
65. Peaking at presents
66. Hanging Christmas lights
67. Merry Christmas
68. Reading Christmas books
69. December 25
70. Cutting down a Christmas tree
71. Singing Christmas carols
72. Elf on the shelf
73. Stringing popcorn
74. Artificial tree
75. Sharing cookie recipes
76. Trimming the tree
77. Peppermint
78. Christmas tree skirt
79. Christmas vacation
80. Eating a candy cane
3 point
81. Putting the star on top of the Christmas tree
82. Hanging Christmas decorations
83. Figgy pudding
84. Donating to a toy drive
85. Wearing matching pajamas
86. Listening to Christmas music
87. Decorating gingerbread houses
88. Wearing an ugly sweater
89. Taking a family picture
90. Going on a sleigh ride
91. Making cookies for Santa
92. Writing a letter to Santa
93. Making a wishlist
94. Taking a picture with Santa
95. Shopping on Black Friday
96. Making a homemade gift
97. Hanging ornaments on the tree
98. Elves making toys
99. Santa going down the chimney
100. White elephant gift exchange
101. Twelve days of Christmas
102. Getting coal for Christmas
103. Riding The Polar Express
104. Eating Christmas dinner
105. Naughty or nice list
106. Yule log
107. Going to a Christmas party
108. Santa checking his list
109. The Grinch stealing presents
110. Up on the rooftop
111. Running out of wrapping paper
112. Watching a Christmas movie marathon
113. Sleeping by the Christmas tree
114. Starting a Christmas tradition
115. Countdown to Christmas
116. Cooking the Christmas feast
117. Waking up early on Christmas morning
118. Traveling over the holidays
119. Untangling Christmas lights
120. Roasting chestnuts
Free Printable Christmas Charades
Here are the free printable holiday charade cards for you to download and print!
Blank Christmas Charades
At the bottom of the printable, there are three blank Christmas charades templates, one of each color. After you have finished playing this holiday charades game, pull out the blank templates and ask everyone to come up with some more Christmas charade ideas.
Decide how many points you think each new idea is worth and write them on the corresponding card. Save these new cards and add them to the mix next year when your family plays Christmas charades.
Other Christmas Ideas You May Enjoy:
Christmas Bingo Game – Looking for another large party game? This bingo game is perfect for a crowd because it comes with 25 unique Christmas bingo cards.
Christmas Scavenger Hunt Clues – This Christmas treasure hunt is SO much fun for kids!
Christmas Would You Rather – These are perfect conversation cards for your holiday gathering. The kids will definitely enjoy these silly would you rather questions.
Christmas Wish List Templates – Check out these adorable templates for your kids to make their Christmas wishlists.
More Charades Games You May Enjoy:
Do you love playing charades? If so, check out some of these other super fun charade games (or you can find them all here).
Family Charades – Here you’ll find over 150 charade ideas for the whole family.
Animal Charades – These animal charade cards have pictures so even the youngest kids can take part in the fun!
Thanksgiving Charades – This is such a fun group game for a Thanksgiving gathering!
This Post Was All About Christmas Charades
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