Creating your perfect Christmas party

Insight Nov 15, 2022 at 12:54pm

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for a party!

A date that everyone looks forward to in the office calendar is the office Christmas party. So how are you planning on celebrating this festive season?

Whether it’s evening drinks or a team-building day there are ideas to suit every business. Now, the festive season is fast-approaching so if you haven’t already got a date in the diary; now it’s time to get your skates on! Have a look at some great tips for creating your perfect Christmas party.

If you are lacking some inspiration, take a look at the below blog post for ideas on how to send off the calendar year the right way by creating your perfect Christmas party.

So, you’re looking to spice up the end-of-year celebrations? Got no idea where to start or what your employees want to do? Why not send out an office poll? A short survey or questionnaire can give you a better idea of how your employees might wish to celebrate.

Questions could include:

– Which day of the week would you like to celebrate on?

– How far would you be willing to travel to celebrate?

– Would you like the party to serve alcohol?

– Would you prefer an in-person or virtual celebration?

Depending on the size and scale of your company, a virtual celebration may fit the bill! There are plenty of ways you can celebrate virtually, which can accommodate organisations that don’t have a physical workplace or whose companies span a wider reach. See below for virtual party ideas.

With your employees’ views in mind, you can now begin planning! Start by choosing a date and sending save the dates to all your employees. Get the dates in the diary as soon as possible so people have plenty of time to arrange lifts, babysitters, or hotel rooms so they can plan to join in the celebrations.

The date is in the diary; you can decide where to host this festive celebration. Take considerations towards your guests – is this potential venue convenient for your employees to travel to? The last thing you want is only half the office attending because the venue is hours away from where everyone lives.

Fancy something different than the classic Christmas dinner? See the below list of ideas for alternative ways to celebrate the festive season (these options work both in-person and virtually).

Escape Room

What better way to force team bonding than being locked in a room with your colleagues? Virtual escape rooms offer the experience from the comfort of your own home. With options for all budgets, this is a great way to get the team together virtually and uses programmes like MS Teams or Zoom for inter-group communication.

Cocktail Mixing / Cheese and Wine Evening

If not in person, why not try sending out packages to your employees with all the ingredients they need to join in the fun from home. Join an MS Teams or Zoom call with everyone so employees can get tasting or mixing together! This is a great option which encompasses gifting as employees get to sample/keep the products they learn to make.

Murder Mystery

Working in a similar fashion to escape rooms murder mysteries whether online or in-person usually add the extra of a host or storyteller to help immerse people into the experience. Why not add to the fun by assigning each person a character and requesting them to dress appropriately.

Casino Night

Hit the jackpot with a casino night! Get employees to dress to impress and try their luck at a range of classic casino games.

Christmas Cooking / Baking Evening

On your marks… get set… bake! Send your employees all the ingredients they need to make a signature dish and you can be sure that everyone has a deliciously festive treat to enjoy.

Christmas Quiz / Games Night

To fulfil those of you with a competitive streak… host a classic Christmas / end-of-year quiz! There could be general knowledge, pop culture and office-related rounds for a personal touch.

Awards Night

These can be genuine annual awards but it’s always fun to add a few random categories in there to lighten the mood. Get employees to vote on who’s the best dressed in the office or who makes the best cup/round of teas.

Office Charity Event

As we know Christmas is the time for giving so why not give back together with an office charity event? Whether the team takes a day to volunteer in the local community or utilise the Christmas party day to raise money for charity.

Wellness day (how about offering employees a wellness day instead of the Christmas party this year?)

Don’t want to celebrate this year? How about offering your employees a wellness day instead of a Christmas Party, this takes the pressure off planners and ensures that employees can spend the day in a beneficial way to them.

So, what are you waiting for? The countdown to Christmas is on and there’s no time to waste, get into the Christmas spirit and get planning your festive celebration to recognise all your employees’ hard work.

For more info on our corporate events contact one of the team at: info@completelyevents.com