The holiday office party is a fun and spirited tradition that can bring co-workers together for an annual celebration while showing appreciation for all the hard work they've accomplished over the past year. Many employers choose to have a more traditional office party or host a cocktail party or happy hour in a local bar or restaurant.
But if you want to try something a little more creative this year, here's some inspiration for alternative holiday office party ideas, including some ideas for remote and hybrid teams!
Hold an Employee Volunteer Event - and Celebrate Afterward
Many nonprofits are eager for volunteers over the holiday season, and you can find opportunities in your area on Engage. Whether you prepare or deliver meals for seniors who can't leave their homes over the holiday season or buy and wrap toys for children in low-income families, many great causes can bring your staff together. Once the volunteer work is done, you can thank your staff by hosting a holiday dinner at a local restaurant.
Go to an Escape Room
Escape rooms are all the rage. They are "physical adventure games" where a group of people get locked in a room and are given a series of clues about how to escape. There are now about 2,000 escape rooms in the U.S. It can be a unique and fun activity that also involves teamwork.
Host a Gift Exchange
You can encourage employees to get to know one of their co-workers a bit better by hosting a Secret Santa gift exchange where each employee is asked to buy a small gift for another employee (preferably one they don't know very well). Secret Santa can even be virtual to include remote employees. Sites like Elfster, DrawNames, and Giftster make it easy to automatically pair co-workers and purchase gifts directly from wish lists.
Or - if you'd rather make it more humorous - throw a so-called white elephant gift exchange where employees use their imagination and bring funny gifts, with employees vying for the "best" ones.
Throw a Potluck
You can showcase the culinary talents of your employees by hosting a holiday potluck where each employee brings a different dish to share. (You might want to assign different categories of dishes - such as appetizers, beverages, main dishes, and desserts - so you have a full range of food available.) Spice it up by having employees vote on their favorite foods and giving out prizes to the winners. Not only is a potluck fun, but, as a bonus, it can engage employees in the event and save the company money on catering costs.
Choose a Party Theme
Any party can be made more special by choosing a theme - whether that's "ugly Christmas sweaters" or trivia or karaoke night. Find a theme that your employees will enjoy.
You can get your employees more involved with your party - and come up with even more creative ideas - by assembling a small committee of employees commissioned to plan the holiday party (on your budget, of course). This can make the party planning all the more fun for everyone.
Holiday Office Party Ideas for Remote and Hybrid Teams
Remote and hybrid teams with staff members joining in virtually have some different challenges, but that certainly doesn't mean they can't have fun! Check out the following party ideas that will bring your remote or hybrid team together for some holiday cheer.
Have a Virtual Happy Hour
Invite the members of your team to a video call, bringing along their drink of choice! Then, keep the conversation going with a fun ice breaker game that gets everyone sharing some fun stories.
Play Virtual Trivia
With one team member keeping score, gather a list of fun trivia questions for team members to answer over a video call. To submit answers, each team member can send a private message to the scorekeeper for each question. At the end, tally up the right answers and award the winner with a prize!
Create a Photo Slideshow or Video to Watch Together
With everyone on a call, have a host present a photo slideshow of fun team photos from the year or a video showcasing great moments the team shared.
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