Add this fun printable birthday charades game for kids to your child’s birthday party game line up. Easy and low-prep this birthday charades game is always loads of fun for kids.
Birthday Charades Game For Kids
We love planning and hosting birthday parties.
From kicking off the birthday celebrations early in the morning with a special birthday breakfast for the birthday boy or girl or hosting a party theme with fun party games like birthday bingo, musical chairs, birthday word search, word scramble, I spy or even pin the nose on the clown we love finding creative and budget friendly birthday party ideas both older and younger children will love.
So, we are extremely excited to add a free printable birthday charades game for kids to our arsenal of free and fun birthday party games that are a good idea for kids of all ages.
Continue reading to find out more information about our free birthday charades game for kids including step by step instructions about creating your own charade cards and tips for making playing this simple game extra fun for kids and party goers.
How Do You Play Charades At A Birthday Party?
Our free printable birthday charades for kids is the perfect game for a small or large group of children at a party.
Charades is a classic party game and as a result we wanted to create a fun and easy birthday themed version that would be a great choice for younger kids.
The principal of playing an old fashion game of charades is simple.
A classic game of charades is a guessing game played by two or more teams. To play, one member from each team picks a charade card or slip of paper at random and then acts out the meaning of that word or phrase for their team to guess in a given time limit.
Players can only use hand gestures and body language – no words, whispering or speaking aloud to help their teammates guess correctly!
The object of the game is to have the other team members guess what their teammate is acting out in order to earn points before time runs out. Small prizes for the winning team are always a great incentive too!
In our version of birthday charades, party guests are divided into teams and players of all ages will enjoy acting out a variety of different birthday themed charades on their piece of paper.
We made our charade cards bright, colorful and easy to understand making them a great choice for younger players and older children alike.
All our birthday charades cards are made up of everyday objects and ideas related to birthdays.
Our goal was to make this popular game challenging enough for older kids yet simple enough for young kids to play too.
It’s important to make sure that even the youngest person in the room is able to play this hilarious game and enjoy your birthday celebrations.
How Do You Play Charades With Kids?
Playing birthday charades with kids is a great way to have loads of fun at a birthday party.
To play with kids we suggest dividing children into a small team or small group to make the game more manageable and a great time for young players.
Create teams by counting off in twos, threes or fours until all the guests have been split into smaller groups.
Each team should have an equal amount of members. We suggest 2-4 players per team but this can vary depending on your guest list.
Once teams are created, each group picks one person to be their ‘chosen actor’.
This ‘chosen actor’ will be the one that acts out a charade card for their team to guess.
Each “actor” should draw a card and then act out the word or phrase on the card without using any words or sounds – just hand gestures, body language and facial expressions!
The rest of the team members must guess the word or phrase being acted out within a set time limit. The team with the most points at the end wins.
Remember to make this game enjoyable for everyone by allowing players of all ages to take part in guessing and acting out charades – it’s always great fun when you get kids and adults of all ages involved. A great option is to rotate the actor after each round.
The team with the most points at the end of the game is declared the winner!
What Are Some Good Charades Ideas?
The great thing about charades is that they can be played with almost any word or phrase, making them an ideal choice for birthday parties.
When playing charades at a birthday party it’s important to include words and phrases that are fun, age appropriate, and not too difficult – as younger kids will be taking part.
Classic charades are often inspired by tv shows, songs, movies or books. In our version of birthday charades we have taken classic charades and made them birthday themed.
Our birthday charades for kids includes the following word list:
- pin the tail on the donkey
- frost a birthday cake
- gifts
- sing happy birthday
- eat birthday cake
- pinata
- limbo
- clown
- balloon animal
- confetti
- dancing
- birthday balloons
- duck duck goose
- ice cream
- juggling
- candy
- party games
- fun
- bowling
- swimming
- candles
- party hat
- invite
- pizza
Tips & Tricks For Playing Charades With Kids
To make playing with our free printable birthday charades game for kids as fun as possible here are some of our favorite tips and tricks.
Balance the teams
If you have kids in different age groups, try to make sure that each team has about the same amount of kids from each group. This way the skill level of each group is balanced and each team has a fair chance of winning.
Set a time limit
It’s helpful to have a set time limit for each round (30 seconds or 1 minute usually works best). This keeps the game moving along and avoids any frustrations for the younger players.
Rotate Actors
If you’re playing in teams, have each team rotate their ‘actor’ after every round. This way everyone gets a chance to act and help their teams guess the charade they’re acting out.
Use a timer
A countdown timer or egg timer is great to help keep track of the time limit. We love this cube game timer available via Amazon.
Give Away Prizes
Small prizes are a great way to add an extra element of fun and excitement. Prizes can be given out for the winning team, funniest charades guessers or actors – it’s totally up to you!
Laminate your cards
If you plan to reuse our birthday charades game for kids we suggest laminating to make the cards more durable resistant to use.
Have fun
Most importantly, just have lots of fun with this hilarious game and enjoy your birthday celebrations.
Recommend Supplies
To create our free printable birthday charades game for kids we recommend the following supplies.
- Free printable birthday charades card game for kids (download link available below)
- 4 pages extra thick card stock (we love using colorful Astrobrites for this project)
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Paper bag
Setting Up Your Birthday Charades Game For Kids
Step 1: Download & Print Your Charade Cards
The first step is to download a copy of our birthday charades game for kids. The download link is available below. Each birthday charades game for kids pdf file contains 4 sheets. We highly recommend printing our birthday charades game for kids in color because it was designed to be bright and colorful.
Step 2: Cut Your Slips of Papers
Once you’ve printed your birthday charades game for kids cut each charade card along the dotted lines. In total you will have 24 slips of paper.
Step 3: Cut Your Backing Cards
Using a ruler divide each of your colorful pieces of cardstock into 6 even rectangles. Cut each piece of card stock into 6 rectangles. In total you will need 24 small cardstock rectangles.
Step 4: Glue Your Slips of Paper To Their Backing
Using a glue stick glue each slip of paper to a card stock backing to create your birthday charades card.
Step 5: Place Your Birthday Charades Game For Kids in A Paper Bag
We suggest using a paper bag to hold your birthday charades game for kids. Shake the bag to randomize the cards and let children pick a birthday charades card at random without peaking to play the game.
Download Links
Download Link | Birthday charades game for kids PDF
Final Thoughts
Playing a birthday charades game for kids at a birthday party is one of the best ways to have lots of fun and laughs at your party.
With our free printable birthday charades game for kids you’ll be sure to get the party started!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this guide on how to play charades at a birthday party and that it’s made your planning a little easier!
Have fun playing our version of birthday charades and make sure to share any photos with us using the hashtag #birthdaycharadesgame on social media.
We can’t wait to see what fun you have!
P.S Find us on Facebook & Pinterest to keep up with all our new printables and freebies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have any other birthday party ideas for kids?
We sure do! We have created a large selection of party game ideas perfect for just about any age group of kids.
Check out these printable games: birthday bingo, I Spy, word search or word scramble, pin the nose on the clown.
If you’re looking for even more birthday party games for kids we suggest red rover, hot potato, a relay race, Simon says, musical chairs, pass the plastic wrap prize, an obstacle course, bucket toss, marco polo, water balloon fights, red light green light, a round of hide and seek or tossing bean bags.
Can I modify your birthday charades game for kids?
No. All our free printable games and activities are created for personal use only.
This means that you may not reproduce, sell, redistribute, or modify the material in any way. Read our privacy policy and terms of use for more information.
Do I have to print this birthday charades game for kids in color?
No it isn’t mandatory. Having said that we created our free printable birthday charades game for kids in vibrant and fun colors to add to the birthday festivities. So, we highly suggest printing them in color. But, printing in black and white works fine too and will not influence game play in any way.
Can I use this Birthday charades game for kids in other ways?
Sure. You can use our birthday charades game for kids in a variety of different ways. It’s a fun game to use for family game night or as an icebreaker at a party.
You can even use it to provide entertainment between activities during kids’ sleepovers or play dates. Charades is a fun game the whole family will enjoy.
Still have a question, leave us a comment down below with a valid email address that we can use to get in touch with you.
What game prizes do your recommend?
We love giving small game prizes at parties.
Some of our favorite game prizes for party games include:
- coloring books
- play doh, slime, kinetic sand
- fidget toys
- novelty items
- books
More Kid’s Birthday Ideas
- Birthday bingo: a classic favorite birthday bingo is a great game choice for birthday parties (most popular)
- Word scramble: a great low key birthday game option
- Birthday countdown calendar: help the kids count down to their special day with these cute birthday advent calendars
- Word search: a great low-prep activity for kids who love word puzzles
- I Spy birthday: host an I spy relay with this cute birthday themed I spy game
- Pin the nose on the clown: a twist on an old classic this fun free printable is a hit with very young children