Whether your small business gathers for simple festivities or a large team pot-roast, it is a wonderful idea to utilize the holiday season to increase employee engagement, interpersonal communication, and overall office morale.
Incorporate some of these fantastic holiday party ideas for your next company function!
1. Holiday Mapping
Want to increase diversity and cultural awareness in your workplace? Here is a fun idea. Simply print out a large map of the world and place it on the floor. Throughout the activity, a leader asks a series of interactive, geography-oriented questions, prompting co-workers to travel to different places on the world map.
Question examples include:
Where are you spending the holidays?
Where is your dream place to travel during the winter season?
What holiday traditions would you like to learn more about?
Have fun with the questions and create your own. Use this interactive game to learn more about your team members, their diverse cultures, and holiday experiences!
2. HGTV Gingerbread Homes Edition
Love spending your winters cozied up on the couch watching your favorite HGTV shows? Bring the fun to your office holiday party with this entertaining game. Purchase (or make) a few gingerbread house kits for your co-workers. Divide the office into teams and race to create the most intricately designed gingerbread house. (This is great for large and small workplaces as teams of 3-4 can easily decorate a whole gingerbread house together while in larger offices, bigger groups can work on individual aspects of the home (Example: two individuals work on the walls while another three work on the roof) and put together their final product in the final seconds.) These activities spur moments of teamwork and insight creativity in the workplace.
At the end of the hectic house-building time period, line up the newly created gingerbread homes for judging. Encourage each team to present their creations in the style of an HGTV House Hunters reel. This funny and imaginative presentation is sure to bring a few smiles to your teammate’s faces. After each group has spoken, present a “SOLD” sticker or a similar award to the best home!
3. New Years Vision Board
If your workplace is looking for something more glamorous this season, consider a New Years themed function. With glitter and fancy outfits, this event wouldn’t be complete without some resolutions! Use this opportunity to highlight office objectives and individual goals for the upcoming year with a New Years Vision Board. If there is a large end goal in the upcoming future, make that the centerpiece of your vision board and utilize the room around it for your team’s gameplan. Create a cork board with enough space for everyone’s aspirations and encourage your team members to create and decorate sheets of paper with their future professional ambitions.
Once everyone has finalized their goal statements, begin placing each objective on the cork board. This can be followed with a short conversation about individual goals!
Bonus: Use a string to connect similar goals, encouraging teamwork and increased conversation in the upcoming year. By literally and metaphorically intertwining objectives, this activity will bring your team closer!
4. Multicultural Holiday Trivia Night
Does your office have a competitive drive? Try out a holiday trivia night featuring seasonal traditions from around the world! Assemble your work force into groups and keep track of points as you quiz them on the origins of Hanukkah, Tibetan holiday traditions, and the world’s Christmas delicacies. Through this activity, your office will grow more inclusive, learning more about diversity and culture.
Unsure where to find fun Holiday facts? Use links like these:
5. Memories Slideshow
While this last activity does not require immense audience participation like the previous few, creating a presentation that showcases the years achievements will surely increase morale in the workplace. The slideshow should highlight the companies achievements, individual successes, and fun moments from throughout the year. Feel free to edit in some holiday music and include funny pictures for some laughs in the crowd!
As the end of the year approaches, these activities provide a wonderful way to learn more about your team, form strong team bonds, and acknowledge the achievements of the past year. Make good use of this time to show your appreciation for your co-workers, and have a happy holiday season!
