25 Minute to Win It Christmas games for kids and families

“Minute to Win It” games are tiny challenges that each last 60 seconds. One player (or one team) tries to do something silly and slightly tricky before the timer runs out: stack cups, move cotton balls with a spoon, unwrap a present while wearing oven gloves. They need almost no preparation, they use things you already have in a kitchen drawer or in the Christmas box, and everyone can watch and cheer while one person plays.

That makes them a very good fit for a family Christmas, a class party on the last day of term, or the long hour between lunch and dessert when the children are starting to bounce off the walls. Below you will find 25 Christmas games sorted by age and energy level, a simple scorecard idea and a plan to run a 30-minute tournament.

How to run Minute to Win It games

The timer. A phone timer or a kitchen timer is enough. Say “Ready, set, go!” out loud and let a child shout the last ten seconds.
Teams or solo. With more than six players, split into two or three teams. Each team sends one player per game, and every player must play at least once.
Scoring. The simplest rule: a team that completes the challenge in 60 seconds scores 2 points; a team that gets halfway scores 1 point. For counting games (how many cups, how many sweets), the best result of the round scores 3 points, the second 2 points and everyone else 1 point.
Mixed ages. Give younger players a head start: 90 seconds instead of 60, fewer items, a bigger target. Nobody minds, and it keeps the games close.
Little ones. Children under 6 enjoy the movement more than the scoring. Let them play with a grown-up partner and clap for every attempt.
Safety first. Use plastic or felt baubles, never glass. Keep small items (beads, mini marshmallows, buttons) well away from children under 3, and give runners a clear floor with no rugs to slip on.

Games for little kids (ages 4–6)

1. Snowball scoop

You need: cotton balls, a large spoon, two bowls.

Put a pile of cotton “snowballs” in one bowl. Holding the spoon in one hand, the child scoops snowballs into the second bowl, a few steps away. Count how many arrive in 60 seconds.

Tip: for 4-year-olds, put the bowls side by side.

2. Bauble bowling

You need: 6 empty plastic bottles or paper towel tubes, one shatterproof bauble or a small soft ball.

Stand the “pins” in a triangle and let the child roll the bauble from a line on the floor. How many pins can they knock down in a minute, setting them up again between rolls?

Tip: a grown-up resets the pins so the child keeps rolling.

3. Jingle bell shake

You need: an empty tissue box, a long ribbon, 4 or 5 jingle bells or ping-pong balls.

Tie the box to the child’s waist with the ribbon, open side up and at the back, and put the bells inside. The child has to wiggle and jump until every bell falls out. It is pure giggles for everyone watching.

Tip: bells are small, so keep them out of reach of babies and toddlers after the game.

4. Present stack

You need: 6 to 10 small empty boxes wrapped in paper (cereal boxes, tea boxes, shoe boxes).

The child builds a tower of “presents” that must stand on its own for three seconds. Count the number of boxes in the tallest tower built in a minute.

5. Reindeer antler toss

You need: a paper headband or a hairband, two empty paper towel tubes, tape, 5 small rings made of pipe cleaners or paper plates with the centre cut out.

Tape the tubes to the headband to make antlers. A grown-up wears them and a child throws the rings to “dress” the reindeer. The grown-up may move their head to help.

Tip: the child stands close at first, then takes a step back after each ring.

6. Pom-pom pick-up

You need: large red and white pom-poms (or scrunched balls of paper), a pair of kitchen tongs, a bowl.

Spread the pom-poms on the floor. Using only the tongs, the child picks them up one by one and drops them in the bowl.

Tip: use large pom-poms only for young children; small ones are a choking hazard.

Games for kids (ages 7–12)

7. Candy cane hook

You need: 6 wrapped candy canes, one extra candy cane to hold in the mouth (still wrapped).

Lay six candy canes on the table. Holding one candy cane in the mouth, hands behind the back, the player hooks the others one at a time and moves them into a pile on the other side of the table.

Tip: keep the canes wrapped so nobody ends up sharing sticky sweets.

8. Cup tree

You need: 15 to 21 paper or plastic cups (green if you have them).

Build a pyramid “Christmas tree” of cups: 5 at the bottom, then 4, 3, 2, 1. Then unstack it back into one pile. All in 60 seconds.

Tip: for older kids, add a rule that only one hand may touch the cups.

9. Ornament on a string

You need: shatterproof baubles with hooks or loops, a piece of ribbon tied between two chairs.

The player has to hang five baubles on the ribbon using only one hand, and they must all stay on it until the buzzer.

10. Snowman face

You need: a paper plate, a few sticky notes cut into eyes, nose and buttons, a scarf to use as a blindfold.

Blindfolded, the player sticks the eyes, carrot nose and three buttons onto the paper plate snowman. Teammates may shout directions (“left, left, up!”). The funniest face gets a bonus point.

11. Wrapping race

You need: one small box per player, wrapping paper cut to size, tape, a bow.

Wrap the box neatly, tape it shut and stick a bow on top. A present that would survive under a tree scores full points; a lumpy present counts as halfway.

Tip: give children safety scissors, or cut the paper in advance.

12. Sweet straw transfer

You need: a straw per player, two plates, 15 small paper stars or flat paper snowflakes.

Suck through the straw to pick up a paper star, carry it to the other plate and let it drop. Paper is lighter and safer than sweets for this one.

13. Stocking stuffer

You need: a Christmas stocking (or a long sock), oven gloves, 10 small soft items (socks, wrapped sweets, plastic toys).

Wearing oven gloves, the player stuffs as many items as possible into the stocking in a minute. It is much harder than it sounds.

14. Bauble balance walk

You need: a wooden spoon, a shatterproof bauble, a route through the room.

Carry the bauble on the spoon around a short course (round the chair, past the sofa, back to the start) without touching it. Drop it, and you go back to the start.

Family and mixed-age team games

These games work best with pairs or teams that mix a grown-up and a child, or an older and a younger child.

15. Mummy the snowman

You need: one roll of toilet paper per team.

One team member is the snowman, the others wrap them from shoulders to knees in toilet paper. The best snowman (most covered, still standing) wins. Add a paper hat for style.

16. Pass the present

You need: a wrapped box, music.

Everyone sits in a circle. Pass the present around while the music plays; when it stops, the player holding it gets a quick 20-second challenge (sing a carol line, name three reindeer, hop on one foot). Keep going until the minute ends.

Tip: young children can always pick a challenge from a list of easy ones.

17. Tinsel tied together

You need: a length of tinsel or ribbon about 1.5 m long.

Two players stand back to back, tied loosely at the waist with tinsel. Together they must walk to the other side of the room, pick up a cushion and come back without the tinsel falling.

18. Christmas word chain

You need: nothing, just a timer.

Teams take turns saying a Christmas word (“star”, “reindeer”, “ribbon”…). Each new word must start with the last letter of the previous word. A team that hesitates for five seconds loses the round.

Tip: let the youngest players say any Christmas word, without the letter rule.

19. Elf relay

You need: a Santa hat, a scarf and a pair of big gloves.

The first player puts on the hat, scarf and gloves, runs to a chair and back, then hands everything to the next player. The team that dresses all its elves in 60 seconds (or the most elves for big teams) wins.

20. Ribbon untangle

You need: four ribbons of different patterns, each about 1 m long.

A grown-up knots the ribbons together loosely in a bundle. The team has to untangle them into four separate ribbons in a minute. Patterns, not just colours, make it easy to tell the ribbons apart.

21. Gingerbread build

You need: for each team, 10 plain biscuits or crackers, a little frosting in a bowl, a spoon.

Each team builds the tallest gingerbread-style tower they can, using a little frosting as glue. The tower must stand for five seconds when the timer stops.

Tip: check for allergies before any game with food.

Quiet games for after dinner

When everyone is full and sleepy, switch to sitting-down games. They still last a minute, but there is no running.

22. Santa’s list

You need: a sheet of paper and a pencil per team.

In 60 seconds, list as many things as possible that you might find in Santa’s sack. Score one point for each item that no other team wrote down.

23. Spot what changed

You need: a tray with 10 Christmas objects (bauble, ribbon, pine cone, candy cane, bell…), a tea towel.

Players look at the tray for 30 seconds. Cover it, remove or swap one object, and uncover it again. The first player to say what changed scores.

You need: paper, pencils, a paper plate held above the hand like a roof.

With the plate held over the drawing hand so they cannot see the page, players draw a Christmas tree with a star, presents and a snowman in 60 seconds. Everyone votes for the best (and the funniest) picture.

25. Christmas riddle round

You need: a list of riddles, read aloud.

Read riddles one after another; the first team to answer each one wins a point. You can use our free printable Christmas riddle cards, which come with the answers.

A printable scorecard

You can draw a scorecard in two minutes on a sheet of A4 or Letter paper:

one column per team, with the team name at the top (children love to invent names: “The Jolly Elves”, “Team Snowball”);
one row per game, numbered so you can tick them off;
a large “TOTAL” box at the bottom.

Write the points with a pencil after each game and let a child be the official score keeper. Use symbols, not colours, to mark winners (a star for first place, a circle for second), so the sheet stays clear even printed in black and white. For a class party, pin the scorecard to the board so everyone can follow.

How to run a 30-minute tournament

Before the guests arrive (10 minutes). Choose 8 games that fit your space and the ages of the children. Put the items for each game in a bag or a box, with the game number written on it.
Minutes 0–3. Split the players into teams, choose team names and explain the scoring.
Minutes 3–20. Play six fast games, about two and a half minutes each: one minute of play, plus the time to explain and set up. Alternate an active game and a calmer one.
Minutes 20–27. Play two “final” games worth double points, so every team still has a chance at the end.
Minutes 27–30. Add up the points, announce the winning team and give everyone a small prize (a sticker, a candy cane, the honour of placing the star on top of the tree).

A longer game for later in the day

Minute to Win It is perfect for short bursts of energy. If you would like a calmer activity that lasts longer, our Christmas escape room is a printable mystery that children play around the house. On Christmas Eve, the golden star has vanished from the top of the tree: the children solve a puzzle on each hidden case card, follow the Detective Map to the next hiding place, collect three pieces of evidence and work out who took the star. It comes in two levels of the same adventure, Junior (6–7) and Expert (8–10), and we estimate about 15 minutes of setup and 30 to 45 minutes of play. For something even quicker, our free printable Christmas riddle cards slip easily between two games.

FAQ

What are Minute to Win It games?

They are short challenges that each last 60 seconds and use everyday objects such as cups, cotton balls, ribbon or wrapping paper. The player or team has one minute to finish the task, and the fun comes from watching and cheering.

How many games do I need for a Christmas party?

For a party of one to two hours, 8 to 10 games are plenty. Plan about two and a half minutes per game, including the explanation and the setup, and keep a couple of quiet games in reserve for the end.

Can young children play Minute to Win It games?

Yes. Children aged 4 to 6 can play the simpler games, such as the snowball scoop, bauble bowling or the present stack. Give them more time, fewer items and a grown-up partner, and avoid small objects with children under 3.

What can I use as prizes?

Keep prizes small and the same for everyone: stickers, candy canes, a paper medal, or a special job such as placing the star on the tree or choosing the next game.