Looking for a way to liven up your Christmas party? Minute to Win It games are perfect for getting everyone laughing, competing, and having fun.
These quick challenges are easy to set up, use items you probably already have, and work for all ages.
Whether you’re hosting kids, adults, or a mix of both, these games guarantee nonstop holiday cheer. Ready to see who can beat the clock?
Let’s dive in!
1. Jingle Bell Shake
Attach an empty tissue box to a belt with the opening facing outward. Fill the box with about 10 jingle bells. Players must shake, jump, and twist their hips to get all the bells out of the box in under one minute—no hands allowed!
2. Frosty’s Hat Stack
Give each player 10 plastic cups and set up a flat surface. Players must stack the cups into a pyramid and then unstack them back into a single tower within a minute. If the cups fall, they must start over!
3. Candy Cane Pickup
Place several candy canes in a pile on a table. Each player holds a candy cane in their mouth and uses it like a hook to pick up as many candy canes as possible in one minute. The player with the most candy canes in their pile wins!
4. Marshmallow Snowstorm
Hang a wreath or hula hoop in a doorway. Give each player a handful of large marshmallows and see how many they can throw through the wreath in one minute. You can make it harder by increasing the distance.
5. Rudolph’s Nose
Put Vaseline on each player’s nose and give them a bowl of red pompoms. Players must transfer the pompoms from one bowl to another using only their noses. The person who transfers the most pompoms wins!
6. Gift Wrap Relay
Divide into teams and give each team a box, wrapping paper, tape, and scissors. Players take turns wrapping their box as quickly as possible, then passing it to the next team member. The team with the most neatly wrapped boxes wins.
7. Gingerbread Shuffle
Place a gingerbread cookie on each player’s forehead. They must wiggle their faces to move the cookie down to their mouths without using hands. The first person to eat their cookie wins!
8. Ornament Balance
Hand each player a Popsicle stick and a pile of small ornaments. Players must balance as many ornaments as possible on the end of the stick, held in their mouths. If the ornaments fall, they must start over!
9. Christmas Cookie Face
Give each player a cookie and have them place it on their forehead. Using only their facial muscles, they must slide the cookie down their face and into their mouth. If the cookie drops, they must start over.
10. Peppermint Stack
Give players a bowl of peppermint candies. The goal is to stack as many as possible in one minute. For an extra challenge, players can stack their peppermints on a Popsicle stick held in their mouths.
11. Candy Cane Hunt
Scatter candy canes on a table. Players use another candy cane (held in their mouth) to “fish” them into a bowl. The player with the most candy canes in their bowl after a minute wins!
12. Ice Cube Slide
Place a bowl at one end of the table and give each player an ice cube. Players must slide their ice cubes across the table and into the bowl. The player with the most ice cubes in the bowl wins.
13. Shoveling Snow
Blindfold each player and provide them with a spoon, a bowl of cotton balls, and an empty bowl. Players must use the spoon to transfer as many cotton balls as possible into the empty bowl in one minute. No hands allowed!
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14. Santa’s Beard Toss
Give players small cotton balls and an empty cup. Players must toss the cotton balls into the cup from a few feet away. The player who lands the most cotton balls in the cup wins!
15. Christmas Karaoke
Provide lyrics to popular Christmas songs and give players a pen and paper. Players have one minute to rewrite the lyrics in a funny or creative way. Afterward, each person performs their new version for the group, and everyone votes for the best one.
16. Bow Drop
Set up a bucket on the floor and give each player a handful of bows. Players must stand on a chair or stool and drop the bows into the bucket below. The player with the most bows in the bucket wins!
17. Ornament Bowling
Set up plastic cups as bowling pins. Players roll a Christmas ornament across the floor to knock over as many cups as possible in one minute. Reset the cups after each turn to keep the game moving!
18. Holiday Straw Race
Cut out small paper Christmas tree shapes and give each player a straw. Players must blow the tree shapes across the table to a designated finish line. The player who finishes first wins!
19. Reindeer Antlers
Provide pantyhose and a bag of small balloons to each team. Players blow up balloons and stuff them into the pantyhose legs to create antlers. The team with the most creative antlers wins!
20. Wreath Ring Toss
Place cones or tall bottles on the floor. Players must toss small wreaths (or rings) onto the targets. The player with the most successful tosses wins.
21. Christmas Card Tower
Hand each player a stack of Christmas cards. Players must build the tallest freestanding tower they can in one minute. If the tower collapses, they can start over, but only time matters!
22. Present Stack
Give each player several wrapped boxes of varying sizes. The goal is to stack the boxes into the tallest tower possible within one minute. If the tower falls, players can start over, but only completed stacks count!
23. Snowman Toss
Set up a bucket or box as a target and label it “Snowman’s Hat.” Players must toss marshmallows into the target from a few feet away. The player with the most marshmallows in the hat wins!
24. Frosty’s Blow
Place a ping pong ball on one side of the table and a wreath or hoop at the other. Players must blow the ping pong ball across the table and through the wreath. The player who gets the ball through the wreath the fastest wins!
25. Stocking Fill
Hang Christmas stockings along a wall or doorway. Players stand a few feet back and toss small items, like jingle bells or wrapped candy, into the stockings. The player with the most items in the stockings after one minute wins!
26. Jingle Bell Transfer
Provide chopsticks and bowls filled with jingle bells. Players must transfer as many jingle bells as they can from one bowl to another using only the chopsticks. The player with the most bells transferred wins!
27. Holiday Pie Face
Spread whipped cream on one player’s face while their teammates throw small red pompoms onto it. The team with the most pompoms sticking to their player’s face at the end of one minute wins! Be ready for lots of laughs—and maybe a little mess.
28. Gift Tag Match
Wrap five small gifts and place them on a table. Label the gifts with tags that have clues about what’s inside (e.g., “jingle bells” or “chocolates”). Players must match the gift tags to the correct presents within one minute to win.
29. Holiday Card Blowout
Set up five Christmas cards on a table standing upright. Players must blow on the cards to make them hang halfway off the table without falling off completely. The player who gets the most cards in this position wins!
30. Tree Ornament Race
Set up mini Christmas trees for each player. Hand them several ornaments and have them race to hang as many as possible in one minute. The player with the most ornaments hung wins, but dropped ornaments don’t count!
31. Snowball Toss
Provide players with paper “snowballs” (crumpled white paper) and a bucket. Players must toss the snowballs into the bucket from a set distance. The player with the most successful throws wins.
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32. Elf Hat Ring Toss
Place cone-shaped elf hats on the ground. Players must toss rings (or wreaths) onto the hats from a distance. The person with the most successful tosses wins!
33. Candy Cane Tower
Give each player several candy canes. Players must build the tallest tower possible by stacking the candy canes on top of one another. If the tower falls, they can start over, but only completed stacks count!
34. Red and Green Relay
Give players a mixed bowl of red and green candies (like M&Ms or Skittles). Players must sort the candies into two separate bowls—one for red and one for green. The player who sorts the most candies in one minute wins!
35. Christmas Light Untangle
Provide each player with a strand of tangled Christmas lights. Players must untangle the strand as quickly as possible. The first person to untangle their lights (or the person who untangles the most in one minute) wins.
36. Cookie Stack
Hand each player a set of cookies (e.g., Oreos). Players must stack as many cookies as they can into a tower within one minute. The player with the tallest tower wins, but if the stack falls, they must start over!
37. Santa Hat Toss
Place a cone or hook on the ground. Players must toss Santa hats (or any small hat) onto the target from a set distance. The person with the most successful tosses wins!
Conclusion
Minute to Win It games bring out the best of the holiday spirit—laughter, joy, and a little friendly competition. They’re a great way to keep your guests entertained and make memories that last long after the party is over. With these fun and festive ideas, you’ll be the host everyone remembers. So grab a timer and let the games begin!
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