For a lot of businesses, the Christmas party mood kicks in as early as mid-summer. But, for most businesses, once the long nights draw in and festive music starts playing, this is when many start the Christmas party planning. Whether you are a small or large business, Christmas is the perfect time to celebrate the achievements that your business has secured over the year as well as give morale a boost, allowing everyone to let their hair down and enjoy themselves before the Christmas break.
But, if you’re tired of the same old routine and want to do something different and new this year, here are some fun and inexpensive office Christmas party ideas that you can do this year to mix things up a bit.
If you are a relatively small team and want to do something a little different this year, then a murder mystery evening is a great idea to give people the experience of something fun and completely different to their day to day jobs! If you’re trying to keep budgets low, then you could look at setting one up yourself, doing one virtually or you could get a host in for the evening who will keep everything running smoothly.
It’s really easy to make an evening of a murder mystery event, as it doesn’t just need to be the actual murder mystery that is the activity. You could have a nice dinner beforehand with some drinks, with the murder mystery happening straight after, or you could keep it quiet and surprise your employees in the middle of a seemingly normal dinner with the announcement that someone has been murdered and it is up to them to solve.
Murder mysteries can really bring out the creative flair in some people and can help develop teamwork skills, so not only do your employees get to have a fun time, you get more of an insight into their personalities.
Almost every country, culture and religion celebrate Christmas differently. If you have a large team of different cultures and religions, or if you are an international business, then why not celebrate these differences with an Around The World Christmas party theme! If your employees are happy with doing so, ask everyone to bring in a dish that they typically enjoy at Christmas to share with one another, or perhaps teach the rest of the team a traditional Christmas song.
Celebrating different cultures is something that many teams don’t do enough of and it’s a great way to learn more about your coworkers. You could create a Christmas quiz that is based around Christmas and the different traditions, as well as general Christmas trivia and put teams together of people who might not usually get a chance to work together. Add creative rounds in there, as well as fun and interactive games that can help people break the ice.
Your business might not be shutting down for Christmas, or perhaps your team just don’t feel like it, but you don’t need a big hurrah to celebrate Christmas. It can be good to just keep things relaxed and casual, especially if you are a small and close-knit team or a large corporation where organising a whole-company Christmas party will be impossible. Instead, let work finish early and ask everyone to bring their own bottle to enjoy in a communal area of the office.
This is a particularly good idea if you and your team have agreed to keep budgets low, or if you know everyone has different schedules and commitments which mean that they might not be able to spend a whole evening out. Order in some pizzas, put some music on and let people just mingle and chat with one another, often this is what is needed after a particularly challenging or stressful year.
Post-Covid, we’re living in the age of remote teams. This means that office culture and Christmas party traditions need to be adapted massively. You don’t want any remote workers to feel left out, but you also don’t want to restrict your office workers, either. If you’re having a party of any kind, be sure to extend the invitation to all freelance and remote workers who are part of your business.
If most of your team are still working from home, then you can host a company-wide virtual party where you can do activities such as Secret Santa, Christmas karaoke, caricatures, drinking games or even just share funny Christmas anecdotes.
If you’re hosting a virtual party, encourage everyone to wear their worst Christmas jumpers, send a bottle of fizz to all your employees to drink during the party and a little hamper of Christmas goodies for them to enjoy, including bakery products, chutneys, cheeses, crackers, cured meats, crisps, jams and other snacks.
When it comes to festive celebrations, it doesn’t matter how much it costs, but how heartfelt it comes across. If your team have worked hard all year, showing them how much you appreciate their work can only nourish your relationship with them and Christmas is just another reason to thank them for their work, dedication and loyalty. No matter what you decide to do for your office Christmas party, be sure to have a great time and use it to relax and unwind - you deserve it!
