225 Funny Charades Ideas

Lights, camera, action! It’s time to play charades, and you and your little ones get to act out and have fun. Charades can be a great way to get kids to practice things they already know how to do, like brushing their teeth or making their bed. It can also be a great game for them to practice things they’ve seen you doing, like mopping the floor or folding the laundry. They also get a chance to practice their motor skills, to be active, and to participate in a fun, social way with friends and family. There’s a reason charades is a classic that has lasted this long. It’s a real win-win for the whole family or classroom! (Scroll down for 225 funny charades ideas).

Kids love charades, too. But sometimes the game can present challenges. What should I act out? Exactly what am I allowed to do? What do the other people around me know? Will I seem silly if I choose a certain activity? Sometimes, these kinds of questions in the minds of a child can stifle their creativity and keep them from having fun.

That’s where College Transition’s list of 225 funny charade ideas for kids comes in. We’ve created a list of 225 fun and playful ideas that you can use with your kids to dive into the fun part: actually playing the game!

Funny Charades Ideas (Continued)

And who knows, with 225 ideas at hand, you and your kiddos might also find inspiration. Creating your own ideas outside of the list might start getting easier the more you come back to our pre-established list.

It’s well-established in the literature of the science of learning that students generally learn through the three Es: explanation, example, and experience. The more we can give our kiddos examples and experience with information and the practices we want them to undertake, the more likely they will be able to master the task at hand.

But how do I play charades?

If it’s been a minute since you’ve actually played charades, let us give you a quicker refresher on how the game works.

The idea of charades is to act out a word or phrase in front of a crowd in complete silence. That’s right! You can’t say a word. This can be one of the toughest things for kids to start to grasp—and sometimes it’s even a challenge for adults, too! But silence is the name of the game with charades. You want the audience to guess what it is you’re doing based on physicality alone.

But how do people choose what they’re going to act out?

Well, one easy way to do this is to have everyone write down several ideas on small slips of paper and then collect them in a hat, shoebox, or empty bowl. Then, when it’s the next person’s turn to act, they come up to the bowl of suggestions, take out a slip, and are at the mercy of chance.

But how do little kids know what to write down? And what if they can’t write? Well, that’s where our 225 ideas come into play. You could easily print out this list and cut it into strips of paper for early readers. Or, if you’ve got an even younger crew of kiddos who want to play charades, you can choose one parent to be the “Master of the List.”

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When the next kid comes up, the “Master of the List” can close their eyes and randomly point to one of the items on the list. This is another reason that it works well to have the ideas printed out and folded up into a bowl. The “Master of the List” or the “Suggestion Master” can simply have the kiddo choose at random from the bowl and then read them the suggestion they’ve chosen.

If there’s one parent who is in charge of the list, they can also help to quietly explain a suggestion to a child if they don’t quite understand. Or, they could help them to pick an entirely new idea (or come up with one on their own) if they don’t like what they chose from the bowl. By paying attention to the ages and skillsets you have in the room, you’ll be able to cater to any and everyone—and make sure they’re all having fun at the same time.

What happens after someone gets a suggestion from the list?

After you get the suggestion or idea that you’re meant to act out, you (or whoever the actor is at that moment) stands in front of the group and starts to act it out.

Older, adult players might be familiar with actions like cupping one hand behind your ear to indicate “sounds like” and then acting out a word. You might also remember holding up fingers for the number of words in the suggestion, and then tapping out the number of syllables in that word on your shoulder or forearm.

Also, you may remember giving your audience several categories such as “book,” “movie,” “tv show,” or “song.” You would indicate the category by choosing an action ahead of time that would signify those categories. For example, we always mimed:

• holding out a book, 
• running an old-fashioned film reel, 
• drawing a square TV in the air, or 
• singing into a microphone for each one of those categories. 

These are all advanced level techniques. And they would work great for a group of adults or kids who want to make the game a little more challenging.

Once you act out your suggestion, you just keep going until your friends and family guess what it is you’re trying to do. You can set a timer to see who can get people to guess in the fastest time. Or, you can simply enjoy trying your darndest to get your loved ones to see your theatrical vision. 

A big part of the fun is just letting yourself be silly and goofy while everyone around you tries to figure out what in the world you want to communicate.

Charades as nonverbal communication

Charades is a great example of nonverbal communication. The old rule used to be that nonverbal communication made up some 93% of what we said to one another. Then they said it was more like 55%. And then there’s even more debate and nuance inside of all those numbers. But the fact remains: nonverbal communication—what we say without our words—makes up a big part of what we say, in general.

Charades can help you and your kiddos develop more of a capacity for nonverbal communication—while having fun at the same time. When young charades players have success in the game and see that they are able to communicate effectively even without words, they have a sense of positive reinforcement that their body language is working. They’re seeing, in real time, an example—and hopefully multiple examples—of how well they can “talk” to someone without saying a single word.

Not only does that positive reinforcement show them that they can effectively communicate with more than just words, it also indicates to those young learners that they are being listened to and that people really do want to hear and understand what they have to say. So often, children can feel unheard and unseen. But when we take the time to put our focus on what they want to communicate, we demonstrate to them that they are worth our time and effort to understand—even if it takes a minute or two to really get it down.

Funny Charades Ideas (Continued)

The end result is hopefully a positive one. Charades isn’t a magic formula for taking a shy little kid and turning them into a performer, but it is one way to positively reinforce nonverbal communication skills, playfulness, and group interaction. Kids learn how to take turns—and they learn how to listen to others, too. They’ll learn by watching their friends and family: what does it look like when someone wants to pretend to cook a dinner?

What does it look like when someone wants to pretend to fly a kite? These little actions will build up over time and help them develop a lexicon of physical actions that can help them further decode the world around them.

Plus: charades is just a great way to laugh and be silly together.

We’ve also got a ton of other fun ways for you to play together as a family:

• 125 Family Trivia Questions to Make a Long Car Ride Fly By
• 55 Best Family Movies of All Time (+ Where to Stream)
• Disney Trivia for Kids – 125 Questions
• 101 Bible Trivia Questions and Answers for Kids

So, without further ado, dive into our 225 fun and funny charades ideas—and let’s get this game started!

Charades Ideas for Kids: Everyday Fun

If you’re getting your kiddos in the spirit of charades, why not start with some fun, everyday activities that everyone knows how to do? If there’s something on the list they’ve never seen before—no sweat! Just skip to the next one, and keep it moving. They’ll get the hang of it in no time! 

1. Sweeping the floor 
2. Brushing your teeth 
3. Brushing your hair 
4. Waiting for the bus (impatiently) 
5. Blowing a bubble with bubble gum 
6. Tying your shoes 
7. Taking the dog for a walk 
8. Taking a bubble bath 
9. Taking a shower 
10. Playing video games 
11. Reading a book 
12. Setting up a tent 
13. Building a fire 
14. Juggling 
15. Waking up first thing in the morning 
16. Taking a nap 
17. Mowing the lawn 
18. Washing the dishes 
19. Loading and running the dishwasher 
20. Folding and putting away laundry 
21. Playing fetch with the dog

Funny Charades Ideas for Kids: Sports and Game

If you need something a little more active to get your young ones in the game, why not try some sports suggestions?

1. Kicking a soccer ball 
2. Shooting a basketball from the three-point line 
3. Dunking on the basketball hoop 
4. Scoring a touchdown 
5. Throwing a football to someone really far away 
6. Being a cheerleader 
7. Being a figure skater 
8. Sliding into home base 
9. Scoring a home run 
10. Playing tennis 
11. Jumping rope 
12. Rollerskating 
13. Riding a scooter 
14. Riding a bike
15. Swimming 
16. Hiking a mountain 
17. Playing frisbee 
18. Playing catch with a baseball and baseball glove 
19. Diving off a diving board
20. Doing a cannonball 
21. Shooting a hole-in-one in golf 
22. Doing cool tricks on a skateboard 
23. Running a race 
24. Going fishing

Funny Charades Ideas for Kids: Food and Cooking 

Maybe your kid is more culinarily inclined? If so, send them to the kitchen with these food and cooking charade ideas!

1. Rolling sushi 
2. Eating a big bowl of spaghetti 
3. Rolling a big burrito
4. Scooping ice cream 
5. Making an ice cream sundae
6. Making a milkshake in a blender 
7. Peeling a potato 
8. Peeling an orange 
9. Frying French fries at a fast food restaurant 
10. Making a sandwich 
11. Making a big pot of soup 
12. Eating milk and cookies 
13. Eating chips and salsa 
14. Cutting a birthday cake 
15. Making a pie 
16. Making and eating tacos 
17. Flipping pancakes 
18. Baking cookies 
19. Eating an ice cream cone 
20. Eating corn on the cob 
21. Licking a lollipop 
22. Dipping French fries in ketchup 
23. Eating something really spicy 
24. Eating something really hot (in temperature) 
25. Drinking a cold drink that gives you brain freeze

Charades Ideas for Kids: Animals and Wildlife

Try giving your kiddos these fun animals to act out—and let’s see what happens!

1. Lion 
2. Tiger
3. Bear 
4. Giraffe 
5. Monkey 
6. Cat 
7. Dog 
8. Eagle 
9. Chicken 
10. Wolf 
11. Fish 
12. Dolphin 
13. Bunny 
14. Kangaroo 
15. Sloth 
16. Cow
17. Horse 
18. Pig 
19. Elephant 
20. Penguin 
21. Snake 
22. Bee
23. Butterfly 
24. Octopus 
25. Bull 
26. Peacock 
27. Turkey 
28. Alligator 
29. Meerkat 
30. Chipmunk 
31. Squirrel 
32. Shark 
33. Hippo

Jobs and Professions

Does your child have a good idea of what people do when they do a specific job? These suggestions might be a little more challenging, but so fun!

1. Crossing guard 
2. School teacher 
3. Police officer 
4. Chef 
5. Pilot 
6. Yoga teacher 
7. Ballerina 
8. Doctor 
9. Racecar driver 
10. Firefighter
11. Construction worker 
12. Barista 
13. Mail carrier 
14. Opera singer 
15. Butcher 
16. Painter 
17. Plumber 
18. Soldier 
19. Writer 
20. Musician 
21. Nurse 
22. Train driver 
23. Janitor 
24. Farmer 
25. Cashier
26. Computer engineer 
27. Professional wrestler 
28. Hair stylist 
29. Lumberjack 
30. Mechanic 
31. Astronaut
32. Florist 
33. Baker 
34. Waiter/waitress 
35. Lifeguard 
36. Famous actor/actress 
37. Lawyer 
38. Orchestra conductor

Charades Ideas for Kids and Adults: Funny Ideas

When you’re ready to take your charades game up a notch, try these funny ideas that work well for adults and kids. 

1. Getting a suntan 
2. Snorkeling 
3. Hunting for buried treasure 
4. Salsa dancing 
5. Throwing horseshoes with old men 
6. Waterskiing 
7. Snowboarding down a big mountain 
8. Bowling
9. Playing pool 
10. Shooting a bow and arrow 
11. Olympic breakdancing 
12. Playing a tough game of corn hole 
13. Walking on water 
14. Going down a slide 
15. Picking a cucumber off a prickly plant 
16. Digging a big hole in the dirt 
17. Climbing up a ladder
18. Going down the escalator 
19. Rolling meatballs 
20. Flying a kite 
21. Building a sandcastle 
22. Riding a rollercoaster 
23. Icing a cake 
24. Catching a fish 
25. Hunting in the woods 
26. Knitting a blanket 
27. Feeding a baby 
28. Protecting the house against a big storm 
29. Walking around in the dark with a candle 
30. Skydiving 
31. Printing a newspaper 
32. Making sausage 
33. Performing in a rock band 
34. Crowdsurfing

Funny Charades Ideas: Books, Movies, and Entertainment  

These last set of suggestions are the most advanced. If you have a shared set of books and movies that you know everyone is familiar with, start there. These ideas can help you get going. It’s super fun to try to imitate a famous person in whatever way you can! 

1. 1. Harry Potter 
   2. Ron
   3. Hermione 
   4. Snape
   5. Dumbledore 
   6. Beyoncé 
   7. Taylor Swift 
   8. Travis Kelce 
   9. Die Hard 
   10. Kermit the Frog
   11. Miss Piggy 
   12. Twilight 
   13. Spongebob Squarepants
   14. Patrick Starfish 
   15. Squidward 
   16. Mr. Krabs 
   17. Peppa Pig 
   18. Bluey 
   19. Veggie Tales 
   20. Lady Gaga 
   21. Chappell Roan 
   22. Martha Stewart 
   23. Snoop Dogg 
   24. Adele 
   25. Jackie Chan 
   26. The Substance 
   27. Wall-E 

• Moana

1. 1. Lilo and Stitch 
   2. Encanto 
   3. Joker 
   4. Toy Story 
   5. The Incredibles 
   6. Lion King 
   7. The Little Mermaid 
   8. Wicked 
   9. Despicable Me 
   10. The Minions 
   11. Boss Baby 
   12. Aladdin 
   13. Inside Out 
   14. Trolls
   15. The Lego Movie 
   16. Star Wars 
   17. Happy Feet 
   18. West Side Story 
   19. Spiderman 
   20. Captain America 
   21. Avatar
   22. Cast Away

Additional Resources

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