Business holiday party ideas

Hosting a holiday party for your team requires planning and preparation. The process begins with determining the type of party. Here’s a look at some ideas for company holiday parties.

1. Plan a themed party

Get creative with an office party where employees participate in themed activities such as decorating the office, wearing costumes or eating special foods. Potential party themes include:

• Gift-wrapping party: Bring presents for friends and family, and wrap them together. Supply ribbons, gift tags and wrapping paper for everyone to share.
• Gingerbread houses: Decorate the office as a gingerbread house. Provide gingerbread kits and crafts to host a gingerbread house-making contest.
• Winter wonderland: Use white decorations and add twinkling lights and artificial snow to make the office a winter wonderland.
• Multicultural feast: Invite everyone to bring a favorite dish or dessert.

2. Host friendly competitions

Have each department work together to play games and engage in friendly competitions. Award prizes such as gift cards, candy, tech gadgets or paid time off (PTO). You might host the following competitions:

• Decorating contest: Have individuals or teams decorate doors, cubicles or parts of the office and award prizes for creative results.
• Trivia game: Quiz your employees on company-related trivia, pop culture, your industry or other topics.
• Office Olympics: Come up with simple, accessible games, such as stacking items into a tower or moving objects with a spoon. Ask for volunteer contestants for each event, and award winners with inexpensive medals or stickers resembling gold, silver and bronze medals.
• Scavenger hunt: Guide teams through the office or campus with riddles or clues. See which department can reach the final location first. You can also host this event virtually by asking attendees to source items in their homes or workspaces.
• Lip sync battle: Let your employees prepare a performance and demonstrate their lip sync skills. Award prizes for the performer who receives the most applause or hold a ballot to determine the winner.

3. Volunteer together

Celebrate the holidays by giving back to the community. Charitable or volunteer activities include:

• Host a charitable event. Invite employees and their families to dinner and auction various items during the meal. Donate ticket fees and auction proceeds to charity.
• Organize a gift drive. Ask team members to donate toys to local charities or toy drives.

4. Provide extra entertainment

Consider hiring someone to perform at the party or set up activities for employees. Entertainment ideas may include:

• Magician
• Live music entertainment or a DJ
• Face painters
• Photo booth
• Karaoke machine
• Photo booth
• Caricature artist

5. Find unique ways to exchange gifts

Employees can exchange gifts in affordable and creative ways. Gift ideas can include:

• Cookie swap: Employees can bake unique cookies and bring them into the office for a swap.
• Themed gifts: Exchange specific gifts such as food, movies, books or gift cards.
• Secret exchange: Pick names and price limits, and exchange personalized gifts.
• White elephant: Everyone brings a wrapped, unmarked gift to exchange. Consider setting a price limit, such as $10. Employees take turns opening the gifts with an option to swap gifts.
• Stocking stuffers: Team members bring small stocking stuffers to share. You provide the stockings, and employees fill them with gifts.

6. Take employees somewhere new

Host your party outside of the office by taking employees to an off-site venue. Interesting places to take the staff might include:

• Ice skating rink
• Bowling alley
• Escape room
• Restaurant
• Holiday theater show
• Art class
• Cooking class

7. Provide treats or meals

Employees may bond as they try holiday-themed snacks and drinks. You might include:

• Potluck: Employees sign up to bring dishes or assign food to different departments. For example, marketing could bring appetizers, and accounting could bring beverages.
• Ice cream sundae bar: Place ice cream flavors and sundae toppings on a table and encourage employees to decorate their sundaes.
• Cookie decorating: Supply ingredients for team members to decorate holiday-themed cookies.

Related: 7 Office Party Ideas (With Tips for Planning Them)

Virtual company holiday party ideas

If you have employees working remotely, consider hosting a virtual work holiday party so everyone can enjoy the holidays from home.

Hosting a virtual work holiday party typically requires extra planning. You might pack party supplies into boxes and ship them to each person’s home address.

Some virtual work holiday parties may include:

• Virtual escape room: Host a virtual escape room party through an online vendor. Employees can divide into teams or play together.
• Paint and create event: Organize a virtual painting event, providing employees with paint supplies.
• Online competitions: Plan virtual holiday-themed competitions, such as a festive sweater competition.
• Movie marathon: Host a virtual movie marathon so your team can watch holiday favorites together. Consider sending employees popcorn and hot chocolate flavors to enjoy during the films.

Tips for planning a holiday party for work

When planning a holiday party work function, following these tips might help you host a successful event.

1. Establish a budget upfront

Before thinking of business holiday party ideas, determine your organization’s budget. Work with your accounting team or HR for budget management to ensure the party aligns with your budget. If you’ve thrown work holiday parties in the past, you might review those expenses to anticipate the cost of this year’s event.

2. Gather opinions on company holiday party ideas

Once you have several ideas for company holiday parties, seek input from your team. You can have informal face-to-face conversations or schedule a meeting to discuss potential plans with your management team. Some organizations involve their employees in decision-making by creating a company survey that asks for employees’ preferences.

3. Be mindful of scheduling

As you consider when to have your work holiday party, consider your team’s end-of-the-year workload and holiday schedule. If your team puts in extra hours around the winter holidays, delaying the party until the new year may be preferable.

4. Keep things inclusive

Extend your inclusive workplace policies to your holiday party to help your team feel welcome. This might involve keeping activities neutral and not associated with a particular religion.

5. Delegate tasks to committees

To delegate some work, you can create committees to decorate, hire vendors and select food.

An introduction email can help you recruit volunteers and arrange a meeting for each team. During these meetings, establish goals for each committee and ask the group to elect a chairperson to lead. Once the work gets underway, check in with the committees to ensure planning proceeds according to schedule.

Frequently asked questions about work holiday parties

What is a holiday party?

Work holiday parties are typically hosted in December to celebrate the seasonal holidays. During these parties, employees can take a break from their everyday tasks, engage in team-building activities and celebrate the holidays with coworkers. The leadership team may use this party to demonstrate appreciation for their employees’ performance, boost workplace morale and potentially increase job satisfaction.

What are alternatives to work holiday parties?

Alternatives to work holiday parties, including ceremonies, can provide fun ways to celebrate without the traditional holiday party setting. Consider holding an event where you provide awards, company bonuses or a catered lunch. You may also hold a company picnic in the spring or summer instead of planning winter work holiday parties.

How much do companies spend on holiday parties?

Holiday party work function costs can vary greatly. Consider one that fits your team and company’s budget.