The holidays are a great (and sometimes stressful) time of year. While you may be stressing about what gifts to buy your friends and family and trying not to get Christmas tunes stuck in your head, your office is looking to spice things up with a holiday party this year. Here are a few ideas for stress-free holiday fun at the office.
Gift Exchange
Gift exchanges are a great way to ensure that everyone in the office gets a little something from work, but if you do them right, they can also be a great source of entertainment. Some offices participate in White Elephant gift exchanges, where each employee brings something from home that they no longer want. Some people set dollar amounts and give gifts out at random. Others do Secret Santa gift exchanges, where each employee is assigned a person to buy a gift for in secret.
Raffle or Door Prizes
If you’re throwing an office party, a great way to get people excited is to have raffles or door prizes. Doing a raffle for prizes can be a great way to do a fundraiser for a charity or cause.
Holiday Happy Hour
People love to relax, mingle, and drink. A great and easy way to keep everybody happy is to go out for office drinks or to bring happy hour to the office. Put a fun twist on happy hour by making holiday cocktails like eggnog and whiskey or peppermint cocktails (vanilla rum, white chocolate liqueur, and peppermint schnapps).
Office Contest
A great way to get people into the spirit of things is to make a themed office contest where people win prizes. Common themes are ugly sweater contests or simple holiday spirit contests where you let your co-workers go crazy with their holiday attire and see what comes of it all.
Holiday Potluck or Lunch Outing
People love to eat, so make them happy by giving them food. If you have the space for it, potlucks can be great because everyone shares their favorite holiday dishes and treats. If you can’t, people love when their work provides food for them. However, the latter option can be a bit pricey.
Christmas Games: Be Careful
If you’re throwing a Christmas party, it’s tempting to plan games to make things fun for everyone. While some Christmas games can be fun if done well, many employees may find games annoying and dissatisfying if the games feel forced and lame. Don’t hesitate to just plan time for your co-workers or employees to simply relax, drink, and chat.
