Christmas Minute to Win It Games: 15 Easy Party Challenges

Christmas Minute to Win It games are quick, silly challenges that each last just 60 seconds. They are perfect for family parties, office parties and classrooms because anyone can play, they need cheap supplies like cups, candy canes and cotton balls, and the countdown makes every round exciting. Here are 15 easy challenges with full rules.

How to play

Play one player against another, team against team, or let everyone try a challenge at the same time. Read the rules, set up the supplies, start a 60 second timer and go. The winner of each challenge gets a point, and the player or team with the most points at the end wins. For a party of an hour, pick 8 to 12 challenges.

15 Christmas Minute to Win It games

Candy Cane Fishing: Hold one candy cane by the straight end. Use its hook to pick up other candy canes from the table and drop them into the mug. To win: Most candy canes in the mug. You need: Candy canes, a mug.
Jingle Bell Shake: Tie the tissue box to your waist with the bells inside. No hands! Shake and wiggle until every bell falls out. To win: All bells out first. You need: Empty tissue box, string or belt, 6 jingle bells.
Christmas Tree Cups: Stack the cups into a tree shape: a row of 6, then 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 on top. Then unstack them back into one pile. To win: Build and unstack in time. You need: 21 plastic cups.
Snowball Scoop: With one hand behind your back, scoop cotton ball 'snowballs' from one bowl to the other bowl. To win: Most snowballs moved. You need: Cotton balls, a spoon, 2 bowls.
Oven Mitt Unwrap: Put on the oven mitts and unwrap the present. The gift inside is your prize if you finish! To win: Fully unwrapped first. You need: Oven mitts, a small wrapped gift.
Cookie Face: Tilt your head back and place the cookie on your forehead. Using only your face, move it down into your mouth. To win: Cookie in mouth, no hands. You need: A sandwich cookie or small cookie.
Snowman Bowling: Set up the 'snowman pins' at the end of a table or hallway. Roll the ball to knock them down. Reset and repeat. To win: Most pins knocked down. You need: 10 plastic cups or bottles, a small ball.
Ornament Toss: Line up the cups. Bounce or toss the balls so each ball lands in a different cup. To win: A ball in every cup. You need: 6 ping pong balls, 6 plastic cups.
Red and Green Sort: Use chopsticks to sort the candies: red ones into one bowl, green ones into the other. To win: Most candies sorted. You need: Red and green candies, chopsticks, 2 bowls.
Partner Gift Wrap: Two players stand side by side. Each player may only use one hand: the left hand of one and the right hand of the other. Wrap the box together. To win: Neatest finished gift. You need: A box, wrapping paper, tape, scissors.
Mitten Stocking Stuff: Wearing mittens, pick up small items one at a time and stuff them into the stocking. To win: Most items in the stocking. You need: Mittens or gloves, a Christmas stocking, small items.
Snowflake Blow: Use the straw to blow the 'snowflake' from one end of the table to the other, without touching it. To win: Across the finish line. You need: Paper snowflakes or cotton balls, a straw.
Peppermint Lift: Using only the straw (suck in to hold), lift peppermints from the plate and drop them into the cup. To win: Most peppermints in the cup. You need: Wrapped peppermints, a straw, a plate, a cup.
Rudolph's Noses: Use the tweezers to pick up the red 'Rudolph noses' one at a time and put them in the bowl. To win: Most noses in the bowl. You need: Red pom-poms, tweezers, a small bowl.
Cookie Tower: Using one hand only, stack cookies into the tallest tower you can. It must stand for 3 seconds. To win: Tallest standing tower. You need: Sandwich cookies.

Supplies to collect before the party

Most challenges use the same few things: plastic cups, candy canes, cotton balls, spoons and bowls, ping pong balls, an empty tissue box, jingle bells, oven mitts, a small wrapped gift, sandwich cookies, red and green candies and chopsticks, wrapped peppermints and straws, red pom-poms and tweezers. Use plastic ornaments only, and keep small candies away from very young children.

Tips for hosts

Show a big countdown timer on a TV so everyone can watch the seconds tick away.
Play upbeat Christmas music during each challenge.
Let teams choose their champion for each round so everyone gets a turn.
Have a few spare challenges ready in case one finishes too quickly.

Get all 25 challenges ready to play

Our Christmas Minute to Win It game has 25 challenges in a PowerPoint with a built-in 60 second timer for each one, an online version with a big countdown and sound, and a PDF with printable challenge cards, a supply checklist and a score sheet.

Christmas Minute to Win It: 25 challenges with a timer

PowerPoint with a 60 second timer on every challenge, an online countdown version and printable challenge cards.

See all Christmas party games

Frequently asked questions

What are good Christmas Minute to Win It games for kids?

Snowball Scoop, Jingle Bell Shake, Candy Cane Fishing and Christmas Tree Cups are easy and safe for kids.

What are good Christmas Minute to Win It games for adults and work parties?

Oven Mitt Unwrap, Partner Gift Wrap, Cookie Face and Christmas Tree Cups get big laughs at office parties.

How many games should I plan?

Plan 8 to 12 challenges for a one hour party, about 3 to 5 minutes each including setup.