Deck the Halls dance steps, in order

Before you learn the routine

• A partner. The routine is built for two, side by side; it works alone too.
• The sound: on TikTok, open a take you like and use its sound, DJ Izzy Duzzit’s "Deck the Halls x Blow the Whistle".
• A phone on a stand or a shelf at about waist height, a few steps back, so both of you are in frame from head to toe.
• Room to swing your hips without hitting each other: about an arm’s length apart.
• Optional: matching pajama pants, the look of most takes.

The Deck the Halls dance, step by step

1. 1

   The greeting (0 to 2 s). Stand side-on to the camera, facing each other. Shake hands once, firmly, and turn together to face the lens.

2. 2

   The stare (2 to 4.5 s). Shoulder to shoulder, arms down, no smile. Bounce a little on the beat. This is the part that sells the joke.

3. 3

   The hips (4.5 to 6.5 s). Hands on your waist, swing your hips left, right, left, right, both of you in time.

4. 4

   The knees (6.5 to 8.5 s). Keep your hands on your hips and lift one knee, then the other. In the take, the dancer on the left goes a beat before the one on the right.

5. 5

   The break (8.5 to 10.5 s). Both hands up over your face, laugh behind them and hop on the spot, as if you cannot believe you are doing this.

6. 6

   The arms and the spin (10.5 to 13 s). Fists up in front of your chest, roll your arms, then spin once on the spot.

7. 7

   The finish (13 to 15 s). Face the camera again and keep the arms rolling until the music cuts.

Learn the Deck the Halls dance in four run-throughs

1. 1

   Sound off: walk through the seven moves slowly, saying each one out loud.

2. 2

   Sound on: play the mashup at full speed and mark the moves with your hands only, standing still.

3. 3

   Full run side by side, phone recording, without stopping for mistakes.

4. 4

   Watch it back together, fix where the two of you drift apart (usually the hips), then film the take you post.

Mistakes that give a beginner away

• Smiling in the stare. The straight face in the first seconds is what makes the hands-over-face laugh land.
• A camera that is too low or too close: feet and knees fall out of the frame in the knee lifts.
• Starting late. Count yourselves in from the first note, and have the handshake ready before the beat drops.
• Different speeds. Rehearse the hips together a few times; that is where two people drift apart.
• A busy background. A tree, a plain wall or string lights read best; people walking behind you steal the shot.

How to film the Deck the Halls dance on TikTok

Keep the phone still, vertical and wide enough for both of you with room above your heads. Film three or four takes in a row while the energy is up and post the cleanest one. Natural light from a window or warm lamps around a tree looks better than a ceiling light straight above you. Most takes are a single shot with no cuts, so do not edit it into pieces.

TikTok

TikTok

Variations people post

• Alone: do the handshake with yourself, or skip it and start on the stare, as in the solo take above.
• Three or four people in a line: the greeting becomes a row of handshakes.
• Dressed up: the routine reads just as well in wedding clothes or a work uniform as in pajamas.
• Outdoors at night: string lights or street lamps behind you instead of a tree.

Skip the practice: the Deck the Halls dance with AI

If one of you is far away, or neither of you dances, Christmas Dance AI puts the two of you into a real take of this routine: one photo each, 15 seconds for 24 credits at 480p, and a free 2-second preview comes first. Your faces, hair and clothes come from the photos, and the Deck the Halls mashup is on the video. The studio at the top of this page opens on it.

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