Overview: Santa’s Helpers is a fun Christmas team building activity that encourages your participants to get competitive but not to take themselves too seriously. Your group will work together in pairs as they share lots of laughs and compete for the title of Santa’s top helpers. Participants stand side-by-side with their hands tied together as they race to wrap Santa’s gifts. This team building activity will encourage participants to improve their verbal communication as they get into the holiday spirit!
Equipment Required: Each team will need a sealed box or gift, Santa or elf hats, gift wrap, tape, and 2 rolls of ribbon.
Space Required: Medium. Preferably indoors.
Group Size: 6 to 60 people.
Total Time: 30 minutes to 1 hour
- 5 minutes to brief the activity.
- 15-45 minutes to complete the challenge.
- 10 minutes to debrief the activity.
Instructions:
- Divide the group into teams of two people each. If you would like certain people working together (or not working together), strategically create your teams in advance.
- Brief the group on the activity. Let everyone know that they will be competing for the spot of Santa’s #1 Helpers. In order to win, their team will need to wrap the present the fastest. There is one catch, team members can only use one hand each and their other hands must remain tied together throughout the entire activity. As teammates stand side-by-side, the hands that are positioned next to each other should be tied together. They may only use their untied hands to wrap the present. Lastly, they must tie a bow on their wrapped gift. The first team to wrap the gift and tie the bow correctly wins.
- Distribute materials and give the teams 2-5 minutes to get in position.
- Announce that the teams can begin and start a timer to see how long it takes the winning team.
- As the teams work on the challenge, walk around the room and take pictures.
- Once the first team finishes, you can let the activity continue for a few minutes.
- Once most of the teams are finished, debrief the activity and announce the winner. You may also acknowledge a 2nd and 3rd place team.
Learning Outcomes
- Team Cohesion
- Communication
- Cooperation
- Creativity
Suggested Review Questions
- How well did you work as a team? How could you have improved?
- Did your team have a plan before you started?
- Did your plan change? If so, how?
- How well did your team communicate? Was there anything you could have improved?
- What was most challenging about this activity?
- What is one thing that you can take away from this activity?
