5 Fun Holiday Workplace Party Ideas to Try This Season

With a title like that, what more of an introduction do you need? Spice up your workplace holiday festivities this year with these five fun ideas.

Winter Olympics

If your coworkers are of a competitive nature, there’s no better way to celebrate the season than with Winter Olympics ― office style. Don’t worry, you can do this at any workplace, whether you’re in an office, retail location, warehouse, etc. Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Decoration challenge. Separate your coworkers into groups and have them decorate different sections of the office (like their cubes) or workplace (break rooms, back stock area). Determine judges ahead of time to judge the festivities!
2. Snowman building competition — without the snow. Challenge groups to build snowmen out of anything except snow. Award points for sturdiness, creativity, and aesthetic appeal!
3. 60 seconds or less games.

Brainstorm several challenges for groups to complete in a minute or less. For instance, have a “snowball toss” where they must toss marshmallows into a bucket across the room (through a wreath, of course, because it can’t be too easy!).

4. Workplace specific challenges. Look around your office or workplace area and find unique challenges that fit the holiday theme. For example, if you’re in an office, you could have “sleigh” races by decorating office rolling chairs and finding a long hallway (remember ― safety first!).

Get creative with this one. The more challenges, the more your coworkers will get into the holiday spirit!

Cookie Exchange With a Twist

Instead of simply baking any old cookie to exchange with coworkers, ask your associates to find a Pinterest recipe for a cookie they really want to try (make sure you have a sign up sheet to avoid duplicates). Next, have them take a picture of what they were aiming for and then a photo of what they actually created and put those pictures side by side behind their plate of cookies. As associates browse the room of delicious treats, filling up their tins with cookies, they can have a laugh at the “fails” and marvel at the successes.

Not Your Momma’s Thanksgiving

When November rolls around, you can bet those you work with are being overwhelmed with turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. Give them something else to look forward to with an untraditional Thanksgiving pot luck. Ask them to each make up a fun, out of the ordinary Thanksgiving dish and bring it in for everyone to try. Make sure you “outlaw” traditional ingredients so they have to really think outside the box.

Want to add even more fun? Have each associate vote for their favorite recipe and reward the winner with a fun surprise! Get them started with some inspiration from our Aprons website.

12 Days of Secret Santa

Instead of just one big Secret Santa reveal, make it an all-season activity! Randomly assign associates to their buddies and provide them with a list of favorites (think small, like favorite candies, drinks, etc). Then, announce the 12 days you’ll be celebrating and ask each Santa to drop a little something for their buddy each day. On the 12^th day, have the big reveal with a slightly larger gift accompanied by the usual guessing and such. Little surprises over some of the busiest weeks of the year will surely bring a joy to the workplace!

ThanksGIVING Contest

Challenge your coworkers to give back this holiday with ThanksGIVING Wars. Assign associates to groups and create a “Contest Board” where they can post photos and details of what they’ve been doing in the community during the holiday season. You can assign “points” to certain types of tasks (for example, 10 points for donating old clothes and 20 points for cooking dinner at a shelter).

This is a great way to give back to the community while also taking part in some friendly workplace competition for the holidays.

What fun parties are you hosting this season?