Good Charades Ideas for Kids to Act Out
If the kids are bored or looking for a fun game to play, charades is a great game option.
Here you will find 127 good charades ideas for kids to act out. With charades, there isn’t much of a mess and everyone can play right from where they are; no running and nobody gets wet.
Charades can be played indoors or out, at home, at camp, or at parties. All you need is a bunch of charades topics and ideas and you’re ready to play.
How to Play Charades
You can prepare the categories and ideas ahead of time or you can let the kids create them when they’re ready to play.
It’s easy, just write the ideas on strips of paper, put them in a basket, bowl, or a hat, and then allow each person to draw one on their turn.
The categories can be anything from objects to people, and if you’re playing with children who can’t read, you can use flash cards with pictures on them.
You can play in teams or alone, but it might be easier with teams when younger children are playing too.
Consider mixing in all age groups to both teams to make it fair play for everyone.
Once your teams are divided, toss all the slips of paper into the basket and shake them up. Be sure you have an even amount of ideas for each team.
Choose the team with the youngest person to go first. If there are several people with the same age you can flip a coin or have them guess a number between 1 and 10 to determine which team should start the game.
Playing the game charades, the traditional way, taking turns, each player draws an idea from the basket and pantomimes using gestures to try and describe the idea to the other teammates.
When the team guesses correctly they receive a point and play is handed over to the other team. Play continues until the team with the most points wins.
(The points or game length should be determined prior to the beginning of the game).
Tips for Playing Charades with Kids
- Use picture flashcards for younger players who can’t read.
- Instead of using hand gestures to describe the category, simply say what it is i.e. an animal, an object, a character, etc.
- Kids easily recognize colors, so instead of referring to the teams as numbers consider making the two teams into colors such as team red and team blue.
- Remind children that pantomime means to describe with gestures and not words.
- Set a timer allowing a certain amount of time to describe the idea and when the time is up, the turn goes to the next team.
- This is a great team building exercise for kids, so encourage them to play in teams rather than as individuals.
Now that you have this game in mind, and you know how to play, you might be wondering what categories and ideas would be good for your group of kids. No worries, we’ve got you covered.
We created a list of categories and ideas to help you get started. You can use these just like they are, you can tweak them a bit to fit the ages of your group, or you can add more to each category.
We came up with animals, objects, actions, places, people, emotions, toys, games, cartoons, and TV shows.
We included things that will be easy to understand, and you can replace each one with a picture card if you choose.
Now, go gather the kids for the best game night ever!
The following is a list of 101 charades ideas for kids:
Animal Charades Ideas for Kids
- Chicken
- Horse
- Dog
- Snake
- Rabbit
- Cat
- Elephant
- Bird
- Cow
- Pig
- Turtle
- Frog
- Kangaroo
- Monkey
- T-Rex
- Tiger
- Lion
- Owl
- Bee
Object Charade Ideas
- Blanket
- Bread
- Stairs
- Tablet
- Shoes
- Grass
- Ice Cream Cone
- Fire Truck
- Chair
- Laptop
- Pillow
- Airplane
- Guitar
- Drums
- Hula Hoop
Actions Charade Ideas
- Swimming
- Singing
- Brushing Your Teeth
- Jumping Rope
- Bouncing a Ball
- Getting Dressed
- Blowing a Kiss
- Reading a Book
- Writing
- Playing Baseball
- Playing Basketball
- Washing Your Hair
- Making Your Bed
- Washing the Dishes
- Watering the Flowers
- Fishing
Places Charades Ideas
- School
- Church
- Home
- McDonald’s
- Amusement Park
- Park
- Arcade
- Zoo
Movies and Characters Charades Ideas for Kids
- Harry Potter
- Frozen
- Cars
- Shrek
- Batman
- Finding Nemo
- Cookie Monster
- Dora the Explorer
- Mickey Mouse
- Hello Kitty
- The Lion King
- The Cat in the Hat
- A Zombie
- Pinocchio
People Charades Ideas
- Mom
- Dad
- Teacher
- Pirate
- Witch
- Grandma
- Grandpa
- Chef
- Doctor
- Soldier
- Fireman
- Pilot
Emotions Charades Ideas
- Surprised
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Scared
- Bored
- Embarrassed
Charades for kids: Food
- Apple
- Ice Cream
- Pie
- Cake
- Taco
- Milk
- Cookies
- Hot dog
- Sandwhich
- Bubble gum
- Lollipop
- Banana
- Orange
- Carrot
- Pasta
- Pizza
- Grapes
- Olives
- Burger
- Eggs
Toys and Games Charades Ideas
- Video Game System
- Board Game
- Swings
- Sliding Board
- Baby Doll
- Trucks and Cars
- Minecraft
- Sonic
- Mario
- Skateboard
- Legos
Cartoons and TV Shows Charades Ideas
- Sponge Bob Square Pants
- Paw Patrol
- Angry Birds
- Girl Meets World
There you have it, 127 good charades ideas for kids to act out. If you need some more fun activities, check out our summer activities for kids and our fun gym games for kids.
