Christmas charades is one of my family's favorite traditions. It's a great way to get everyone laughing and enjoying each other's company. It is such a fun family game that people of all ages will enjoy playing.

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To play, you'll need a few supplies:

• Timer
• Pen
• Some slips of paper
• Christmas hat

Magnetic Digital TimersChristmas Santa HatChristmas Gel Ink Pens

The set up of this game is simple, just write down a list of Christmas-themed activities on the slips of paper, fold them up, and put them in the hat. Then have each player take turns drawing out a slip of paper and acting out the activity without speaking.

Each player is given 1-2 minutes to act out their activity and the other players must guess what the activity is. The first player to correctly guess the activity gets a point. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins! Christmas charades is a fun and festive way to get everyone in the holiday spirit!

Rules for Christmas Charades

There are a few rules that should be followed in order to make this game fair and enjoyable for everyone.

• You must choose your charade at random from the Santa Hat
• You are not allowed to talk while acting out your word or phrase
• All players should take turns acting out words or phrases. This will prevent one person from hogging the spotlight and dominate the game.
• Younger players are allowed to ask for help with any difficult words or phrases. These could be acted out by the young player and one other person of their choice. This will give everyone a chance to get involved and have some fun.

So remember these simple rules the next time you play charades and you're sure to have a great time.

Charade Clues or Gestures

There are some common gestures that are well known when playing charades to help people guess the word or phrase.

• A Book: Hold your hands together like you are holding a book. Open and close the book a few times.
• A Movie: Hold your hands out in front of you and pretend to be using one of the old fashioned movie projectors
• A Song: Pretend to sing into a microphone
• A Location: Draw a circle in the air to represent the world and pretend to point to a place on the world.
• A TV Show: Hold your hand up like you are holding a remote control and change the channels on an imaginary TV. Or draw a rectangle in the air
• A Quote or Phrase: Make 'quote marks' in the air with your index and middle finger

Help with words

• How many words? To advise how many words are in your phrase, hold up that amount of fingers at the beginning of your turn
• Short word: To indicate a short word, hold your index finger and thumb close together
• Long Word: To indicate a long word hold your index finger and thumb far apart
• Sounds Like: To show that your word sounds like another word, pull on your ear
• How many Syllables? To show how many syllables, hold that number of fingers against your forearm

Important Actions

If you can't remember the above gestures, then just make sure you know these important actions.

• You are Correct: Put your index finger on your nose and with your other hand, point to the person who guessed correctly. Use this action to show that someone has guessed something correctly. Whether it is the number of words in your phrase, one of the words or even if guessed the entire phrase correctly.
• Getting Warmer: These are two ways to show they are getting close to guessing the correct word or phrase. Either use your hands to pretend to wipe sweat away from your forehead or gesture with both hands in small circles that they should continue.
• Getting Colder: To indicate they are not close to the right answer you can fold your arms and pretend to shiver

Christmas Charades List

There are so many great ideas for Christmas charades, it can be hard to choose which ones to use. To help you out, here are some of the best Christmas charades ideas:

Christmas Character Charades

• Santa Claus
• Mrs Claus
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Frosty the Snowman
• The Grinch
• Elves
• Gingerbread Man
• Three Wise Men
• Scrooge
• The Nutcracker
• The Drummer Boy

Christmas Actions for Charades

• Decorating the Christmas tree
• Wrapping presents
• Singing carols
• Eating Christmas cookies
• Drinking eggnog
• Visiting Santa's workshop
• Making a gingerbread house
• Baking cookies
• Eating fruitcake
• Opening presents
• Snowball fight
• Building a snowman
• Lighting a candle
• Christmas Shopping
• Sledding

Christmas Decorations

• Jingle Bells
• A Christmas Tree
• Santa's Sleigh
• Christmas Stocking
• Candy Canes
• Mistletoe
• Shining Star
• Ugly Sweater
• Christmas Wreath
• Lump of Coal
• Snow Angel
• Santa's Workshop
• Christmas Card

Christmas Movie Charades

• Elf
• The Polar Express
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• A Christmas Story
• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
• Love Actually
• Miracle on 34th Street
• Home Alone
• Bad Santa
• White Christmas
• Charlie Brown Christmas
• The Nightmare Before Christmas

Christmas Carols and Songs Charades

• Jingle Bells
• Silent Night
• Deck the Halls
• O Christmas Tree
• Joy to the World
• The First Noel
• Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
• O Come, All Ye Faithful
• Angels We Have Heard on High
• All I Want for Christmas is You
• Last Christmas
• Do You Want to Build a Snowman?
• Baby, It's Cold Outside
• Santa Tell Me
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
• Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
• The 12 days of Christmas
• Walking in a Winter Wonderland

The Christmas season is a time for family, friends, and fun. What better way to enjoy the holiday than by playing charades? Charades is a great game for all ages and can be played with as few as two people. So pull out a pen and paper, gather your friends and family, and get ready to have some Holiday fun!

More Fun Christmas Game Ideas:

Christmas is a time when friends and family get together. If you are looking for some fun Group Christmas Games that are perfect for groups of all size, we have you covered.From classic games like charades to newer favorites, there's something here for everyone. So gather your friends and family and get ready to have some festive fun!

Here are some Printable Christmas Games for the Whole Family! These festive printable games will keep everyone entertained for hours on end. Print them out now and be ready for game night!