A good December challenge is small enough to survive the busiest month of the year: 10 minutes of movement a day, a walk after every big meal, an Advent kindness calendar or ten quiet minutes each evening. Pick one, do it with a friend or a small group, and you reach January with a streak instead of a fresh start.
Below are 25 December challenge ideas in four groups (fitness, Advent, healthy holidays, calm and money), a 31-day calendar you can copy, and the rules that keep a group going through parties and travel.
How to pick a December challenge
Choose the smallest version you would still do on December 24. December has parties, travel, short days and a lot of food, so the challenge that wins is the one that takes ten minutes, not an hour. Ambitious plans belong in January; December is about not losing the thread.
A few dates to plan around in 2026: December 1 is a Tuesday, Christmas Day is a Friday and December 31 is a Thursday, so a full 31-day challenge runs Tuesday to Thursday. Advent starts on Sunday, November 29, and most Advent calendars run December 1 to 24.
Three rules make any December challenge easier:
- One habit, not five. A single daily check-in is something you can keep at your in-laws' house.
- Decide the travel days now. If you know you'll be on a plane on the 23rd, agree with your group in advance what counts that day, or plan a pause.
- Do it with someone. A friend who also has to do their squats tonight is worth more than a perfect plan.
December fitness challenges
The best December fitness challenges are short and daily: 10 to 25 minutes, no gym needed, easy to do anywhere you are. Daily matters more than hard. A plank on December 19 counts for more than an ambitious program you dropped on the 8th.
1. The 10-20-30 challenge
Ten minutes of something calm, twenty minutes of movement, every day for thirty days. It's one of the most shared December formats because it covers body and head in half an hour. As a group, everyone checks in once both parts are done.
2. Run or walk every day in December
The Marcothon, a running tradition that started in Scotland, asks you to run every day in December, at least 5k or 25 minutes. Walkers can do the same with 30 minutes. Agree on the minimum as a group, so a 26-minute run in the rain still counts.
3. 12 days of fitness
One exercise added each day for twelve days (day 1: 10 squats, day 2: add 10 push-ups, and so on), then repeat the full set. Start on December 13 to finish on Christmas Eve. Good for a work team or a family group chat.
4. A holiday step challenge
Pick a daily step target everyone can hit, like 8,000, rather than a race for the most steps. Races are won by whoever already walks the most; a shared target keeps everyone in it. For the setup, see our step challenge with friends page.
5. Walk after the big meal
Fifteen minutes outside after the main meal of the day. It's the easiest December habit to keep because the moment is built in, and it's something to do with whoever you're visiting.
6. 31 days of plank
Start at 20 seconds and add 5 seconds a day, or hold a fixed minute every day. It takes less time than brushing your teeth and works in a hotel room.
7. Ten push-ups before your first coffee
Attach the habit to something you already do every day. Ten push-ups (knees are fine) before the kettle boils, every morning in December.
8. Stretch for ten minutes before bed
The gentle option for people who sit more in December: travel, films, long dinners. Ten minutes of stretching each night, checked in before lights out.
For bigger group fitness formats, see our fitness challenges with friends.
Advent challenges
An Advent challenge gives each of the 24 days before Christmas one small act: a kindness, a page, a prayer or a gift for someone else. It suits families, church groups and friends who want December to be about more than shopping. Most start on December 1 and finish on Christmas Eve.
9. Reverse Advent calendar
Instead of opening a chocolate each day, put one item in a box: canned food, toiletries, warm socks. On December 24 the box goes to a food bank or shelter. Doing it as a group gives you a bigger donation and a reason to meet up.
10. Advent of kindness
One small kind act a day: a message to someone you haven't spoken to in a while, a coffee for a colleague, a thank-you note. Share one line in the group chat each evening.
11. Advent reading plan
A chapter a day for 24 days. Church groups often read through the Christmas story in Luke or Isaiah; others pick a novel with 24 chapters. Our guide to the men's accountability group covers how faith groups use a daily reading season like this.
12. 24 days of decluttering
One thing out of the house each day: a drawer, a shelf, a bag of clothes. By Christmas Eve there's space for whatever comes in.
13. Advent letters
Write one short letter or card a day to 24 different people. It turns the Christmas card list into a habit instead of a panic on the 20th.
14. Advent prayer or quiet time
Ten minutes of prayer or reflection each morning of Advent. If you want a Christian group to do this together, see our Christian accountability app guide.
Healthy holiday challenges
Healthy holiday challenges don't ban the food; they add one guardrail you keep every day, like water between drinks or vegetables first. All-or-nothing rules break at the first office party. One small rule survives the whole month.
15. Water before every drink
One glass of water before each alcoholic drink. It slows the evening down without making you the person who isn't drinking.
16. Two alcohol-free days a week
Pick the two days now (say Monday and Tuesday) and keep them all month. It's a warm-up for January: if you want to go further, try a 30-day no alcohol challenge or Dry January with friends.
17. Vegetables first
Start every main meal with vegetables or salad. Nothing is forbidden; you just eat the vegetables before the rest.
18. No added sugar on weekdays
Save sweets for weekends and holidays. A weekday rule is easier to keep in December than a full no sugar challenge, and it sets you up for one in January.
19. In bed by 11
Late nights stack up in December. Agree on a lights-out time and check in when you hit it. Sleep makes every other habit easier.
20. Ten minutes of daylight
Get outside for ten minutes before noon. The days are at their shortest, and a morning walk is one of the simplest ways to feel more awake.
Calm and money challenges for December
The calmest December challenges protect a few minutes a day for yourself and keep spending visible. These are good if your December is already full of movement, or if what usually goes wrong is stress, not food.
21. Ten minutes of calm
Ten quiet minutes a day: breathing, a walk without your phone, sitting with a coffee. It's the December pick in our monthly challenge ideas, because it's achievable in the worst week of the year.
22. One line of gratitude
Write one thing you're grateful for each night. At the end of December you have 31 lines to read on New Year's Eve.
23. A gift budget you check daily
Set a budget for gifts and track it every day. As a couple or a family, this is the challenge that prevents the January bank statement.
24. Phone-free dinners
Phones go in another room for the evening meal, every day in December. Easy to agree on with the people you live with, and they keep each other honest.
25. Choose your word for 2027
Spend December choosing one word for the year ahead. Our word of the year ideas has 100 to pick from, and a group can share theirs on New Year's Eve.
A 31-day December challenge calendar
Copy this into the group chat and tick off each day. It works for any idea above: every number is one check-in. The focus column tells you what to plan for each week, because December's hard days are predictable.
| Week | Days | Plan for |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Tue 1 to Sun 6 | Agree on the rules and the minimum version |
| Week 2 | Mon 7 to Sun 13 | The first work party: decide in advance how you'll fit it in |
| Week 3 | Mon 14 to Sun 20 | Shopping and late nights: do it first thing in the morning |
| Week 4 | Mon 21 to Sun 27 | Travel and Christmas: use the minimum version or a planned pause |
| Finish | Mon 28 to Thu 31 | Finish strong and choose your January challenge |
If you'd like it on paper, our free habit tracker printable has a sheet for every month.
Why do your December challenge with friends
December is when solo challenges quietly stop, because nobody notices when you skip a day at a party or on a trip. A friend doing the same challenge notices, and that's usually enough. It also makes the hard days social: the walk after the meal becomes a walk with someone.
In Daily Pact's own app data, habits shared with one or two friends got 5.9 check-in days in the first month, against 1.7 for habits done alone (Daily Pact app data (Mar-Oct 2026, 3,723 habits)). Different habits, same pattern: people keep going when someone else can see.
Good December partners are people you'll talk to anyway this month: a sibling, a partner, a friend in the same group chat, a team at work. If you don't have one yet, read what an accountability partner is.
Does holiday weight gain really add up to 5 pounds?
No. In a well-known study of 195 adults, the average gain over the holidays was about 0.37 kg, under one pound, far less than the 5 pounds often quoted. The catch: most people didn't lose it again later in the year, so small holiday gains can add up over many Decembers (Yanovski et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2000).
That's a good argument for the small challenges above. You don't need a strict diet in December. A daily walk, water between drinks and vegetables first are enough to keep the month from setting you back.
From December to January
The best time to choose your January challenge is during December, with the same friends. If your December challenge works, keep it running into January instead of starting over. If it didn't, you now know which days broke it.
For January, our January challenge is one habit with one friend from January 1 to 31. For more ideas to do together, see our fun challenges with friends, and read about Quitter's Day to know when resolutions usually fade (January 8 in 2027). Choosing the goal itself? Start with our goals for the new year.
Frequently asked questions
What is a December challenge?
A December challenge is one small habit you do every day in December, usually from December 1 to 31 or through Advent from December 1 to 24. Popular ones are daily movement, an Advent kindness calendar, a walk after meals and ten minutes of calm.
What are good monthly challenges?
Good monthly challenges are one daily habit that takes 10 to 30 minutes and fits the month: movement in January, reading in the summer, calm in December. See our monthly challenge ideas for one per month.
What is a good 30-day workout challenge for December?
A daily 20-minute walk or run, a plank challenge that adds 5 seconds a day, or ten push-ups each morning. They need no gym and work while travelling.
How do you stay healthy over the holidays?
Pick one or two small rules you keep every day, like a walk after the main meal and a glass of water before each drink, rather than a strict diet. Doing them with a friend makes it far more likely you'll keep going.
What is a reverse Advent calendar?
Instead of taking something out each day, you put one item in a box, like canned food or toiletries, from December 1 to 24. On Christmas Eve the box goes to a food bank or shelter.