Quick answer: Run a holiday step challenge as four Monday-to-Sunday rounds: a practice round from Monday 7 to Sunday 13 December 2026, then 14 to 20 December, the Christmas week of 21 to 27 December, and 28 December to 3 January. Count steps from each person’s own phone, which works across homes and trips, and agree one deadline for everyone.
The December 2026 plan
December is when families are most spread out: different homes, long drives, a week at someone else’s place. A step challenge works well here because nobody has to be in the same spot. Each person counts the steps their own phone or watch records, and the group compares totals once a week.
- Practice round, 7 to 13 December: most steps. Everyone checks that their steps show up and that they can post a total on time. It doesn’t count toward the holiday title, so nobody minds a slow start.
- Round 1, 14 to 20 December: most steps. The highest weekly total wins. Most people still have their normal routine, so this is the open race.
- Round 2, 21 to 27 December: most consistent days. Whoever walks on the most days wins. Travel and visits make long walks hard, but a short walk after dinner still counts.
- Round 3, 28 December to 3 January: best balance. The highest daily average wins, with each day capped at 5,000 steps. One long walk on New Year’s Day can’t decide the week.
The holiday title goes to whoever wins the most of rounds 1 to 3. If that’s a tie, the person with the most walking days across those three weeks takes it. On Monday 4 January the New Year step challenge starts, so the group can roll straight into January.
Copy the invite
Send it in the last week of November, before calendars fill up. Ask for replies by Sunday 6 December so the group is set for the practice round.
Holiday step challenge? Four weekly rounds, Monday to Sunday: a practice round from 7 to 13 December, then 14 to 20 December, Christmas week from 21 to 27 December, and 28 December to 3 January. Everyone counts the steps their own phone or watch records, wherever you are that week. Post your totals here by Sunday 20:00. Reply by 6 December if you’re in.
Two to eight people works well. With a bigger family, make two groups, for example one per household, and compare the winners on 3 January.
Rules for travel and time zones
Agree these before anyone leaves. Changing a rule halfway through the Christmas week is how a friendly game turns into an argument.
- One deadline, one time zone. Write it down, for example “Sunday 20:00, Amsterdam time”. Someone abroad posts by that moment in their own local time.
- A day is the day on your phone. Each person posts the totals their health app shows for each date. A long flight may make one day shorter or longer; let it go.
- Late is not zero. If a total hasn’t synced yet, mark it as late and fill it in once it appears, up to Monday 12:00.
- The traveller chooses. Keep playing as normal, post a provisional total and confirm it later, or sit out one round and rejoin the next. All three are fine.
- No proof of where you were. Nobody needs to share a route, an address or flight details to back up a step total.
Anyone travelling can send this before they go:
I’m travelling during this round. I’m still in, but a day’s total may arrive late. I’ll check my phone’s health app and post my steps by Sunday 20:00. If it hasn’t updated by then, mark it as late and I’ll fill it in on Monday.
If a total stays stuck, the step sync guide covers the usual causes on iPhone and Android.
Run it in a group chat now
Open the four-week family brief in the challenge generator, copy it into the family chat and post the new rule each Monday. One person keeps the tally on Sunday evening. For best balance, count each day up to 5,000 steps, add the days and divide by seven.
Run it in MovePeeps from launch
The MovePeeps app is planned for 1 December 2026 on iPhone and Android, free at launch. The practice round from Monday 7 to Sunday 13 December 2026 is the first full week after launch, which makes it a good week to set up the group, connect Apple Health or Health Connect, and check that everyone’s steps come through before people travel. You’ll be able to run the rounds back to back and give each one its own scoring rule, on one private leaderboard for up to eight people.
How the app handles time zones isn’t published yet, so keep the travel rules above either way. Until launch, you can join the waitlist for the launch email and a beta invite if there’s a spot.
Plan your first round
Planned for 1 December, iPhone and Android, free at launch. The MovePeeps app will run private step challenges for two to eight people. Rounds run Monday to Sunday, for one week or a few in a row, and the group picks the scoring: most steps, most consistent days, or best balance with a daily cap. Steps come from Apple Health on iPhone or Health Connect on Android, so a phone is enough, and a watch counts if it saves its steps there.
Want to start sooner? Use the challenge generator to copy a plan into your group chat, or join the waitlist for the launch email and a beta invite if there’s a spot. We don’t send newsletters.
If a step total looks delayed or an invite does not work, visit MovePeeps support. See the privacy policy for what the app reads and shares.