Charades and amateur theatricals were a common Victorian party entertainment. For Christmas, the children of the family might plan an elaborate holiday performance, complete with dialogue, songs, and elaborate sets and costumes. Adults and children alike might perform such charades or performances at house parties and other social gatherings. Another Victorian "performance" often seen at parties was "tableaux vivant" or "living pictures." According to Wikipedia, these were "sometimes used to recreate artworks on stage, based on an etching or sketch of a painting." They might also be used to stage a picture of an event or an idea (such as a virtue). Laura Ingalls Wilder writes of townfolk performing tableaux vivants at a town social in Little Town on the Prairie.

The Charade (Illustrated London Almanack, 1853)

Juvenile Department: Tableaux and Fireside Games(monthly) (Godey's, 1863)

How to Act a Charade, by George Manville Fenn (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1878)

"HMS Pinafore" for Amateurs, by Arthur Penn (Scribner's, 1879A)

Tips on putting on an amateur performance of the Pinafore.

How to Manage Home Plays (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1879)

Parlor Plays, by Arthur Penn (Scribner's, 1879B)

The Magic Pen, by E.S. Brooks (St. Nicholas, 1882)

An operetta for children.

An Orchestra in the Home, by Frederick Crowest (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1886)

Amateur Theatricals, by Gustav Kobbe (Century Magazine, 1889A)

Tableaux Vivants (The Strand, 1891B)

Tips on the popular pastime of creating live, posed scenes from history and literature. (This might be done indoors or outdoors.)

How We Did Our Living Pictures for 4/8-1/2 (Girl's Own Paper, 1895)

"In several leading charitable institutions of the town where...concerts, readings, and even sales of work had been nearly played out, 'living pictures' had been tried as the latest novelty."

• See Christmas Games & Entertainments for a selection of holiday theatricals and games.