Holiday Party Games: Christmas Charades and Pictionary Ideas
Use these Christmas-themed lists to run a drawing round or a charades round without searching for ideas during the party. Separate columns suit younger children and older players, and the rules can be adjusted for mixed ages.
About these lists
Every word and title in the tables below was picked for this article. They are not part of the RandoCue generators, which have no holiday category. A few seasonal cards do turn up in the generators: snowman, reindeer and gingerbread man in the drawing game, and Santa Claus, elf and The Polar Express in the acting game.
The easiest way to use the lists is to have the host keep this page open on one phone and read a card quietly to each player. If you prefer slips of paper, copy a list, cut it up and drop the slips into a bowl or a hat. Either way, mix holiday rounds with regular ones from the Charades Generator and the Pictionary Word Generator so the night does not run out of ideas.
Christmas charades for families
Younger kids do best with things they can show with their whole body. Older kids and adults like a card that needs a small scene.
| Category | For younger kids | For older kids and adults |
|---|---|---|
| Actions | decorating the tree, opening a present, building a snowman, throwing a snowball | untangling the lights, hanging lights on the roof, sledding down a steep hill, carrying a tower of presents |
| Characters | Santa Claus, an elf, a reindeer, a snowman | a nutcracker, a toy soldier, a gingerbread man running away, Santa stuck in a chimney |
| Things | candy cane, stocking, sleigh, mitten | advent calendar, wreath on the door, ice skates, a snow globe being shaken |
| Moments | waking up on Christmas morning, leaving cookies out, writing a letter to Santa | wrapping a present with no tape, the last cookie on the plate, waiting for the oven timer |
For very young players, relax the rules. Let them make sounds, give them a partner to act with, and count any guess that is close.
Christmas movie charades
Movie titles are the classic charades card. Start with the category signal, cranking an old movie camera, then show the number of words. These are well-known family titles: films, TV specials and one ballet.
| Title | Good for | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| Home Alone | All ages | Act one word at a time: home, then alone |
| The Polar Express | Kids | A train whistle with no sound, then a polar bear |
| Frosty the Snowman | Kids | Shiver for frosty, then build a snowman |
| Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer | Kids | Point to a glowing nose, then antlers |
| How the Grinch Stole Christmas | All ages | A grumpy face, then tiptoe away with a sack |
| A Christmas Carol | Older kids and adults | Carol singing with no sound, then a grumpy old man counting coins |
| The Nutcracker | All ages | Crack a nut, then dance like a ballerina |
| Elf | Older kids and adults | One word: act a very tall elf in a tiny workshop |
Christmas Pictionary words
For a drawing game, a good card is something with a clear shape. Holiday words are full of them, which makes Christmas Pictionary easier than the regular game. Push older players to the Hard column.
| Level | Words to draw |
|---|---|
| Easy | star, bell, candy cane, stocking, present, mitten, Christmas tree, snowflake |
| Medium | gingerbread house, sleigh, wreath, fireplace, snow angel, hot chocolate, ornament, ice skates |
| Hard | snowed in, cookie swap, holiday traffic, family photo, last-minute shopping, wrapping paper everywhere, a lost reindeer, the night before Christmas |
Hard holiday cards work like the sayings in the regular game: the drawer has to build a little scene. For snowed in, draw a house with snow up to the windows and a sad face looking out.
Games for families with young kids
Holiday drawing relay. Two teams, one big sheet each. The host whispers the same word to the first player of each team. They draw for 20 seconds, then pass the marker to the next player, who keeps adding to the same picture. The first team to guess the word scores.
Partner charades. Pair each young child with an older player. The pair acts the card together, which takes the pressure off and keeps the youngest players from freezing up.
Snowman race. Everyone draws a snowman in 30 seconds with their eyes closed. No points, just a good laugh and a reset between rounds.
Keep each round to 10 or 15 minutes with young kids, and stop while they still want more.
Ideas for a grown-up holiday party
Office parties and friends-only gatherings can take harder, funnier cards. These are still family-friendly, just written for adults:
- assembling a toy with missing instructions
- pretending to love a gift
- the awkward office party slow dance
- returning a sweater the day after Christmas
- carrying a turkey that is too heavy
- falling asleep during the holiday movie
- parallel parking at the mall in December
- a cat climbing the Christmas tree
Between holiday rounds, switch the generators to the Adults audience for regular cards. Teams of four to six keep everyone involved, and a 45-second timer keeps a busy room moving.
Write your own family cards
The best holiday cards are the ones only your family understands. As guests arrive, hand everyone two slips of paper and ask for one memory from past holidays that could be acted out, like the year the tree fell over or the time the dog ate the roast. Fold the slips into a bowl and keep them for the last round.
Read each slip before it goes in, and leave out anything that would embarrass someone who is in the room. Family cards often get the biggest laughs of the night.
Hosting tips
- Not every guest celebrates Christmas. Mix in winter cards like snowball fight, ice skating or hot chocolate so nobody feels left out.
- Use the TV display in either generator to show the timer on a big screen while the cards stay private on the host's phone.
- Small prizes help with kids: a candy cane for every correct guess keeps them watching other teams too.
- Write the scores where everyone can see them, and announce the standings before the last round.
FAQ
Are these words in the RandoCue generators?
No. The lists on this page were picked for this article. The generators have no holiday category, though a few seasonal cards like snowman and Santa Claus appear in them.
What ages is Christmas charades good for?
From about age four with a partner and relaxed rules, and for any age after that. Use the younger kids column for the first round.
Do close guesses count?
Agree before the first round. A common house rule is that the exact word counts, and the player can nod through a small slip, like snowmen for snowman or a candy stick for a candy cane.
How many cards do we need for an evening?
About one card per player per round. For ten players and three rounds, 30 cards is plenty, and you can fill gaps from the generators.