Games with Words

New day, new post, but the same Christmas spirit.

If you’re a teacher, trainer, facilitator or anyone looking for fun games you can play in your class, workshops, or team sessions, look no further.

Above is the list of Christmas vocab I used throughout the years in my lessons and sessions, and below is the list of games in which I recycled it.

You can download them here.

The best way to use the list is to cut it out as cards, but you can also use it as a checklist, a fill-in-the-missing-letters exercise, scrambled words, and so on.

The list contains two parts, general and religious vocabulary, so you choose either or both.

All the games can be played individually, in pairs, or in groups, depending on group size and preferences.

You can also keep score or play just for fun.

#1 Charades

This classic game is ideal for honing team spirit and practicing your non-verbal communication.

#2 Pictionary

Another classic that brings a lot of fun to the collective and sharpens your visual thinking.

#3 Storytelling Games

Storytelling is by far my favorite skill to practice, so obviously, everyone must suffer accordingly.

You can use pre-given topic, titles, characters, as well as genres, or make them up on the spot.

I have a long list of storytelling twists (giggle giggle), so here are a few.

Use the snowball technique to build a story as a group or in pairs. Lay out the words, and let everyone choose the next one as they go, or turn them face down for an extra blind storytelling kick.

A simplified version of blind storytelling in this case can be a word-from-the-box game, or more precisely, a gift box.

You can also hand all the words out, so everyone has their own set to help build the story, either sentence by sentence, or as a full paragraph/section. Alternatively, everyone builds their own story using the given words.

And the list goes on… but the space does not, so let’s continue.

#4 Guess the Word

This is a classic guessing game where each participant describes a word, and the others must guess it.

The words can be pre-given or drawn from the said gift box.

#5 Movie Pitch

The words are randomly handed out, and the participants must use them to make a 5-minute pitch for a Christmas movie.

For an extra kick, assign the genre, title, characters, or any other element in advance.

#6 10 Questions

This is a twist on the classic 10 Questions game where everyone must guess the target word using only yes/no questions.

#7 That’s Not It

Explain the words by describing what they are not.

You can also introduce additional constraints, such as a sentence number or time limit.

#8 TED Talk

Use the pre-given words in a motivational, Christmassy TED talk.

You can tailor the talk to specific topics, like next years’ team expectations, designing a new product, a product launch, a Christmas marketing campaign, and so on.

#9 It’s Official

Assing an official role to each word in your office/class, working environment, branch, or even the entire industry.

#10 Best Fit

Make a fill-in-the-blanks exercise with the pre-given words and then solve exercises created by others.

For an additional challenge, make a word search or a crossword.

And last but not least, here’s a…

Bonus: Wrong Answers Only

If you like to keep up with trends, play Wrong Answers Only – everyone else is!

Well, that’s it. I hope you enjoyed my selection of Christmas vocab games.

What’s your favorite?