Copyright © 2013-2021 Justworks, Inc. and its affiliates. Do you want to throw your employees a virtual holiday party? All rights reserved. Caroling! Give your guests a bingo card with squares that contain facts about other guests. Regardless of what you choose to do, both your employees and those they’re helping will benefit. While many teams might opt to hire a professional, you could also ask your employees if anyone has the skills to lead their coworkers through recreating their favorite recipe. Whether it’s over Zoom, Slack, Google Hangouts, or another conferencing platform, welcome all participants to dress festively and come prepared for a good time with their teammates. Help your employees battle the monotony of their work-from-home workspaces with an activity to spice up their surroundings. Monthly tips on running a business in your inbox. Crafting is a common holiday season activity, if only to create something worthy of gifting. The Office Party : A Holiday Cookie Bakeoff with Staples Copy and Print One thing I love to plan, as you already know, is a party. Family Holiday Photos . People may bring desserts if they choose, but the company should also order enough treats to serve all … While this isn’t exactly a party idea, it’s certainly an activity that can boost morale and bring your team together. Challenge your employees to show up in their best (or worst) seasonal sweaters and watch as hilarity ensues while everyone gets an eyeful in Zoom’s gallery mode. This party alternative is still possible in a remote environment, thanks to Zoom and the like. Get a fun gift anyone would like and wrap it in multiple layers of wrapping paper. Scared of Santa Photos; Santa Baby; Ugly Christmas Sweater; No matter what month it is, there’s a photo contest that’s perfect for your audience. We've all heard of the classic Secret Santa and White Elephant gift exchanges. Judging forms & Holiday Lights Map are now available! Charades is a classic party game that everyone is familiar with and otherwise, easy to learn. At the end see who got the most songs correct and award them a prize. Think up a bunch of Holiday Characters such as Frosty the Snowman or Elf (from the movie “Elf.”) Write them all on pieces of paper and stick a different personality on each party goer (without them knowing “who” they are). A dozen can be spread out for everyone to taste, and the rest saved for later. Find a pass the gift story here, and another variation here. Psst...Wondering how you can show employees you care during the holidays? Most Festive Work Space Contest - Before the party, encourage employees to decorate their cubicle in a seasonal theme. ), gift cards to a local coffee shop, or seasonal plants to liven up their work-from-home space. According to a 2018 annual survey by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., 65% of employers planned to host an office holiday party for employees. When the first person succeeds, they pass the gloves to the next person on their team and so on. Whether the focus is on cooking or baking, this activity creates a shared experience for your team and gives them something to be proud of at the end. You can let each employee compete against their coworkers, or create teams for a more lively competition — just make sure you have someone keeping score. This is the lowest number since 2009 when 62% of companies planned to hold office holiday parties. Trivia is a great way to get into the holiday spirit! Top 10 Office Traditions For The Holiday Season. If your company sponsors a children’s organization, for example, you could invite a small group of children to sing carols at your event and then stay for lunch. Write clues ahead of time, and include a subject (Ex: object, action, person) to be read aloud before drawing begins. There are plenty of services to explore, like Cozymeal, The Chef & The Dish, and The Kid’s Table for a family-friendly option. Get 110 ways to appreciate employees on a budget, free. Here is a list of 29 ideas for your holiday office celebrations. (Ex: Am I a woman? Here is a collection of some of our current and past contests and ones we may run in the future! There are a few different types of contests you can hold: Ugly sweater contest. We’ve got some great ideas for your team, no matter where they are or how they’re celebrating this season. This is a great photo opportunity as well. The options are endless, but consider these ideas for some inspiration: This type of holiday activity is especially nice for those with little ones at home — kids tend to love crafts, so your employees who are also parents will likely welcome the chance to engage their children while getting some facetime in with their coworkers via Zoom. This game will help them get to know each other better and find out things they never knew about their boss! Set four sales goals that your team or managers would like to meet in a certain period of time. Either way, it may be hard to tell which is a lie. 110 ways to appreciate employees on a budget. Sales Goal Contest. Try Pumpkin Bowling – find the roundest pumpkin you can, set up “pins” (toilet paper rolls, paper towels, water bottles, etc.) Beforehand, prepare a playlist of popular Holiday Tunes. If your office includes an athletic bunch, then consider using the time you might spend on a holiday party on a holiday 5K race. This time of year can be especially rough for some people, and even more so this year with the impacts of the pandemic. You can choose to provide the ingredients to your team, or provide a shopping list ahead of time so they can purchase the items on their own. Enter the Home for the Holidays Sweepstakes and you could win your mortgage or rent paid for 2021, a prize valued at up to $15,000! Try planning for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and make sure to communicate that the event is optional for those who don’t wish to particpate. (Twist: ask employees to share something about themselves they don’t think anyone else knows. It’s that time of year again! hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(1942496, '0e70a63b-9c4d-4adc-90c1-ab743c4da1a2', {}); Lissette Valdes is an SEO Specialist and Analytics Marketing Expert for DiscountMugs. Hosted by Mayor Joyce Craig, Queen City residents are encouraged to vote for their favorite Holiday Lights Displays. Number two may take the opened gift, or choose an unopened gift from under the tree (or pile of gifts). The contest ends on December 17th, 2020. Similarly, starting a cubicle decorating contest is a great way to spread holiday cheer at work. Dec 22, 2012 - Explore Rebecca Gonzalez's board "Holiday Pole Decorating Contest", followed by 737 people on Pinterest. You could use presentation software to flash the questions on a big screen and let everyone write down their answers, calling out the correct answers and letting everyone score their own paper. Make your office party something to look forward to, and see everyone talk about it well into the new year! It will definitely make your party and event everyone looks forward to. The gift wrapping winner could be given a roll of novelty gift wrap. We’ve got remote-friendly event ideas for teams near and far. It will also inspire a sense of friendly-competition among your team. Schedule a Halloween costume contest and parade with all staff members voting for their favorite costumes. You can do this by opening it up to your team — ask if anyone would be interested in sharing their personal holiday traditions with the rest of the team. When the person guesses who they are, they get to stick their persona to a poster on the wall, the goal of course being the first person and getting first place! For example, you can make virtual Hanukkah a main part of your event. Of course, this type of posts will draw traffic away from your page. Great gift ideas include a gallon of milk, or mug with hot chocolate mix. In this game you get a bunch of small inexpensive gifts for everyone, and wrap them all or put them in gift bags. The object is to pick up as many gifts as you can and walk across a room or designated distance. These creative individuals don’t necessarily fit in however they stand out gracefully. The key is to plan ahead: Once you’ve gotten all of the planning squared away, the last thing left is to enjoy the gift exchange! The first person to get rid of all their stickers wins! All residents are encouraged to participate in The City of Manchester’s first annual Holiday Lights Contest! Make the season more memorable in the office by creating a warm, fun atmosphere to help everyone enjoy the holidays. Share your holiday humor with these holiday puns and New Year jokes that spread more cheer throughout the year. A twist to this game is to have your guest bake the cookies themselves and keep their identities secret. Whoever carries the most is the winner! At the end of the day, arranging for some low-stakes fun can make for some high-quality bonding time. Help your team check off their shopping list with an opportunity to make something special. This gives your employees a chance to bring more of themselves to work, can increase the sense of belonging that they feel, and allows everyone to learn more about each other. Tell them that the objective is to place their stickers on others without being noticed. The first team to unwrap two kisses each wins! Holding contests will bring more fun into the atmosphere of your office. Holiday sweepstakes are some of the biggest giveaways of the year. If the requested file does not load in a new window, click here. Probably one of the most played holiday office party games, you never know what can happen at a White Elephant gift exchange. Give everyone a piece of paper and pencil. Extremely popular, ugly sweater contests are a lot of fun, and take the pressure off what to wear to the party! With Christmas often being a heavy focus during this time of year, it’s necessary to purposefully give attention to other holidays and traditions as well. While the above options all have their merit, you may feel like going above and beyond for your employees this year. As you can see, with a little bit of planning, you can add some party games to your office holiday party to make it enjoyable and entertaining for everyone involved. Challenge the Team to a Decorating Contest, Provide a Full Day of Holiday Entertainment. Play some festive music while participants sit in a circle and pass the gift, each one unwrapping one layer of the wrapping paper. It also helps that many in-person performances are going virtual in light of the pandemic. Get some trivia questions here and make them work for your party setting. . Wise Man! Or worse yet, some employees can feel excluded if they don’t celebrate the holidays or religions that many holiday parties are built around. Don’t worry, no real kissing is involved in this competitive fun game. While the pandemic has put a damper on many holiday activities, there are plenty of entertainers who have gone virtual with their services. One of the best virtual holiday party ideas is to invite team members to share their culture’s unique celebration with the rest of the team. Guests can try to guess who baked which cookies, and talk among each other to drop hints and aid the guessing game. Maybe it's a little bit of both. Learning something new from a teammate is an excellent opportunity for connection and bonding. This still allows for connection, as employees can enjoy some of their favorite meals with their teammates virtually. Shopping! in the parking lot or hallway, and have a company-wide tournament. Give the team that is drawing a time limit (such as 60 seconds) and if they don’t guess in time, give the other team a chance to guess. Get some ideas of what to act out here. KOA Holiday Giveaway.Win a Camping prize package worth $300.Contest ends December 29th, 2020.enter here; Debbie Macomber: Win a Holiday giveaway.a $200 Bookshop.org Gift Card.Contest ends January 01, 2021, enter here; Win Amarula Holiday Box, consists of a Coffee and Cocktail pack $150. At the Christmas party, announce winners. It is a good idea to pick someone who is outgoing. The options are endless when it comes to topics (popular seasonal music, well-known holiday figures, common foods and baked goods), but make sure to be inclusive of all the holidays your employees celebrate. The holidays are a time when people enjoy feeling festive, and employers often want to help their employees in sharing that feeling. It will make the game more interesting and fun! From magicians to comedians, drag queen storytellers to live caricature artists, you can take your pick from many different kinds of entertainment to treat your team to. This can be a contest you hold in the office during work hours or during your annual holiday party. . Teams work best in this game. W orkplace contests are great ideas to engage employees … Ask party goers to bring three dozen cookies to the party. State-Of-the-Art USA Manufacturing & Printing. The last person to remove their hat loses. Give everyone a container they can take home and sample any and all the varieties that were brought to the party. The best Holiday contests. Learning something new from a teammate is an excellent opportunity for connection and bonding. all year long. Alternatively, hosting a potluck gives people the chance to show off their culinary or baking chops or — let’s be honest — how great they are at picking out tasty treats from Whole Foods. While an in-person meal isn’t the ideal option amid COVID-19, that doesn’t mean you can’t treat your team to some delicious food. Am I from the North Pole? Let employees get creative and have fun with making photoshopped images, mad-lib RFPs, humorous gifs, and other playful versions of whatever it is they do best. If you live in a major city, you can also consider a fun tour company like Museum Hack to provide the entertainment. While it can be awkward to eat over Zoom, sharing a new experience can be a great team bonding moment. Having your employees compete in Thanksgiving-related games can be a great way to bring the holiday spirit to your office thanksgiving celebration. Take a vote on who brought (or baked) the best cookies, and give the winner a small gift. C ompetently organised fun contests for employees are also effective tools for extending staff loyalty to companies, developing necessary competencies among the employees of your business clients, and so much more.. Reasons for running contests at a workplace or office. Employees will enjoy the challenge and the laughs! You could also set up breakout rooms and challenge team members to find two or three commonalities in how they celebrate the holidays. The options for throwing your team a virtual holiday party are endless — don’t hesitate to pick a few of these options and run with them, or add your own fun ideas into the mix. Santa! Challenge your team to decorate their home office, desk or desk chair, or even the wall that serves as their daily backdrop with things that represent the holiday(s) they celebrate. Whatever the specifics may be, your employees will feel your appreciation after an experience like this. By accessing this site, you consent to the use of cookies and collection of personal information. Form teams or play individually, whatever works best in your workplace. A variation on “Two Truths and a Lie,” this game involves someone standing up and telling everyone two gifts that they have actually received at some point in their life, and one gift that is made up, or a lie. If the helper makes it across, then count up the number of items they successfully carried across. December. Serve cider and doughnuts from the local cider mill at a break one day shortly after the first frost. There's still time to run an awesome holiday Facebook contest! All participating bring a wrapped gift to the office party and then draw a number to establish a certain order to the madness, wink wink. Gather empty boxes, lots of wrapping paper and tape, and a bunch of gift bows. Or, make them perform their favorite tune! At the Christmas party, announce winners. Who doesn’t love treats during the holidays? Play a few seconds of each song and have them write down the name of the song. For the December traditions and holidays, sponsor a dessert table for all employees. Have employees decorate their office door and have a contest among everyone; Host an office potluck; Holiday office bingo; Get an Elf on the Shelf and have the elf leave small gifts for different employees each day; Decorate your cubicle and have a cube contest The logistics of office celebrations mean you cannot throw a party for every holiday, but virtual parties offer more flexibility. You can play this throughout the party, and have fun deciding what the loser will have to do each time - maybe they have to sing a Christmas song for everyone . If anything is dropped, the helper who dropped it is out. Announce a few weeks in advance that there will be a prize for whoever wears the ugliest Christmas sweater to the office party. It you come to a match, you could judge based on an individual's wrapping skills. Even if they don’t look the same this year as they have in years prior, the holidays should be relaxing and fun for everyone. Why not try something different and invite your team to see a show together as a group? If you have any legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, then you should consult with your professional legal or tax advisor. Let them see if they can guess what movie it is! Bonus points to whoever can recreate the office from memory! Even if they don’t look the same this year as they have in years prior, the holidays should be relaxing and fun for everyone. Their prize for winning could be a bag of kisses or winter gloves! Justworks helps businesses with their benefits, payroll, and everything else they need to take care of their team. For this game, you'll need a Santa hat for all participating. This is another game that can be played throughout the party. It doesn’t hurt to ask your team for their thoughts, as well — hearing from your team directly can help ensure the event makes them feel appreciated. If you want to be more sensitive to dietary restrictions, try providing team members with a budget so they can order something they like. Our mission is to help entrepreneurs and businesses grow with confidence. 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