Holiday Contests from the Vermont TOPS Tidbits Archives
Plastic Easter Egg Contest- This contest last 4 weeks.  Before it starts each member is given 4 plastic Easter eggs that they are to bring back with something inside.  Suggestions include small gifts, inspirational sayings, or even money.  All the eggs are put into a basket.  Each week anyone with a loss or turtle (or A KOPS in leeway)  takes an egg.  At the end of the four weeks everyone opens their eggs, and any remaining eggs go to the best losers for the 4-week period.
Run Away Turkeys- For this contest you will need some turkey stickers or cutouts and some with a roasting pan or cooking pot.  You will also need a large poster board.  Put member names down the side of the poster board.  Across the board, in rows next to each person’s name, draw boxes representing ½ pound intervals (or ¼ pounds if you prefer).   TOPS members move their turkey one space for each ½ pound (or ¼ pound) loss.  For every half pound gain, their cooking pan moves one space.  If your pan catches up with your turkey, your turkey is cooked and you are out of the game.  KOPS members move their turkey two spaces if at or below goal.  If above goal, but in leeway, move your turkey one space.  If you are out of leeway, move your pan one space for each half pound out of leeway.  If your pan catches up with your turkey, your turkey is cooked and you are out of the game.  At the end of the contest period, the member (or members) whose turkey ran the furthest is the winner.
TOPS United- This is a good contest to do for Memorial Day or around the 4th of July.  Members start with a flag that is missing its stars.  Each week, the members earn stars for their flag, with a possible 10 stars each week.  Special bonus stars can be earned to help catch up if a member doesn’t earn all ten.  The winners will be one TOPS and one KOPS who earns all 50 stars, or comes the closest to 50.  In the case of a tie, a drawing will be held.  Here are the contest rules for each category.

TOPS earn one star for each of the following:
Turtle or lose up to 1/2 pound.
Lose an additional 1/2 pound or more.
Stay for the meeting.
Bring in a completed food chart.
Bring in a written tip for the "tip poster".
Contact a member who had a gain the previous week.
Contact another (different) member to encourage them.
Walk or do some other exercise 30 minutes x 4 days.
Drink 8 glasses of water x 4 days.
Bring in a healthy recipe= 1 Bonus star
Bonus: Lose 3 weeks in a row and earn 3 Bonus stars

KOPS earn one star for each of the following:
1 star for being in leeway.
2 stars for being at or below goal.
Stay for the meeting.
Bring in a completed food chart.
Bring in a written tip for the "tip poster".
Contact a member who had a gain the previous week.
Contact another (different) member to encourage them.
Walk or do some other exercise 30 minutes x 4 days.
Drink 8 glasses of water x 4 days.
Bring in a healthy recipe= 1 Bonus star
Bonus: Be at or below goal 3 weeks in a row = 3 Bonus stars

Note:  Forwarding an e-mail or joke to multiple people doesn't count as contact.  It must be a personalized e-mail to one person, a phone call, or a snail mail note. 

United we lose, divided we gain.
We have seen pleasure, and we have seen pain!
We can stick to it every day
As long as we do it right, the TOPS way.
Join in our fight, we are in it to win.
We are in it to lose, and feel good within.
Together we fight while having some fun
One for all and all for one!
Trim-a-Tree contest- Divide the chapter members into teams.  Starting with the first weigh-in after Thanksgiving, each time a TOPS team member has a loss, he or she puts a red bulb on the tree (a simple cut-out on oversized green construction paper).  Turtles or gains do not affect the tree, and no bulbs are removed.  KOPS can put a red bulb on the tree if they gain, turtle, or lose, as long as they are at or below goal.  When the last person on the team puts a bulb on the tree, a bonus bulb is added.  The contest ends on the first weigh-in after the New Year's holiday.  The team with the most red bulbs on their tree is the winner and each team member should get a small prize.
Christmas Stocking Contest- The contest runs six weeks from mid-November through the meeting before Christmas.  Each week members bring in a wrapped gift for the stocking.  Each member is responsible for bringing in six gifts, regardless of whether they were absent.  The winner will be the person with the largest net loss for the six week period and will be presented with the stocking full of gifts!
Christmas Ornament Contest- Draw a large Christmas tree on a piece of poster board or foamboard.  Have the chapter members make Christmas ornaments using construction paper, scraps of felt, etc. to decorate the tree.  The number of ornaments each needs to make  depends on how long you plan to run the contest.  Write a number on the back of each ornament.  Each week after weighing in, a TOPS with a loss or a KOPS who is at or below goal, gets to write their name on an ornament.  Give the best loser of the week the gift of a real Christmas ornament.  A chapter with several KOPS might also choose to give an ornament to the KOPS who is closest to goal without being over, or to the KOPS furthest below goal without being out of leeway.  At the end of the contest, put numbers in a basket corresponding to the number of ornaments on your tree.  Draw a number, and the person whose name is on the ornament with that number wins the grand prize for the contest.  The grand prize could be a gift basket, a gift certificate, a Christmas decoration, free dues, or whatever the chapter chooses to give.
Back to current Vermont
TOPS Tidbits
Previous Page
More Holiday Contests