Office parties are the perfect way to boost employee morale and celebrate your company’s achievements as a team. When you hold a holiday party at the end of the year, your employees can relax, have fun, and bond with each other. Here are some of our best office holiday party ideas to help you host a fantastic party this holiday season.
Use A Fun Theme
A theme is a quick way to get everyone into the holiday spirit. Themes can help people decide what to wear and make decorating easier. For even more fun, you can offer snacks and drinks that match your theme. You can easily set out candy dishes with appropriately themed candy.
Also, be aware that only some people in your office might celebrate the same holidays and traditions. Themes like “Merry and Bright,” “Holly Jolly,” or “Winter Wonderland” are more inclusive than specifically theming your party to just one winter holiday. They’re also more open to interpretation and let your employees be more creative. For example, the classic “ugly sweater” is a great theme for your holiday party. Everybody loves dressing up in hilariously garish gear, and it automatically gets people in the mood for having fun.
Have Enjoyable Activities
If your company is small and all your employees know each other, mingling is easy. But if you have a larger company, you don’t want to rely on small talk alone to get the holiday spirit going. Small, easy activities are a great way to get people talking and relaxing.
If you have lots of employees and plan on setting up tables, conversation cards can help break the ice. Set up other fun activities like a photo booth with fun holiday props, party games, and informal whiteboard polls about holiday traditions to get the party rolling. “Guess the amount of candy in a jar” is an entertaining and accessible party game – and it comes with a great built-in prize if you let the winner keep the jar of candy!
Serve Up Success
The food and drinks you serve at a holiday party can make or break your event. If you’re holding the party at a restaurant, event hall, or other location, relax and let the venue staff take the lead. But if you’re having the party at the office or someone’s home, don’t stress yourself out – use these simple setup ideas for office holiday party success.
Snacks and Sweets
Buffet lines are the best option for holiday parties. They make it easy to provide a variety of options, so everybody can find something to enjoy. While charcuterie and hot buffet lines are ideal for savory snacks, you will also want to provide sweet possibilities to keep the crowd happy.
A candy buffet is a perfect option for this. Candy buffets look festive and are a great way to offer a variety of treats. To set up a candy buffet, pick 8-10 kinds of candy (or more) and set up a buffet using glass jars, trays, or other cute serving vessels. You can also add other mini treats, like tiny brownies or cookies. One major draw of the candy buffet is the visual appeal, so make sure to decorate it and choose candies that reflect the theme of your party.
If you have a smaller company and want to scale the candy buffet down, an easy way to do that is by turning it into a candy charcuterie board.
You also want to ensure you have at least one vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free option for every type of food served. If you’ve got a crudite tray, serve hummus alongside your dips. If you’ve put out canapes, make sure that there’s one that suits everybody’s diet. Take care to put out ingredient labels so that nobody accidentally eats something they’re allergic to.
Drinks
While festive punches and cool cocktails are often welcome, non-alcoholic beverages must also be on offer. Canned drinks are better for the environment and easier than self-serving from a communal punchbowl.
Make Gift Giving Fun
A “white elephant” gift swap is a fun party game and a great way for employees who want to give gifts to opt-in to this activity. These are fun and easy to run.
Have participants bring a wrapped gift to the party. It’s best to set a small budget for this, usually around $20 per gift. The wrapped gifts go in a pile, and all participants draw a number from a bowl. Players go in order, with the first person picking a gift and then unwrapping it. Player 2 then selects a new present from the pile or steals Player 1’s.
If Player 1’s gift is stolen, they can pick again, but they can’t steal the first gift back. Then it’s Player 3’s turn to pick a gift or steal. The game continues until everyone has had their chance to pick their present. Finally, the game ends with Player 1, who gets a chance to steal any present they want (because everything is unwrapped by this point). There are many variations to this game. Overall, the gist is that everybody gets a present, but they don’t know what they’ll end up with until the very end.
If you’re planning on doing a white elephant, it’s advisable to give gift suggestions in advance, just so that people know what the expectations are. Gift cards to local restaurants or stores are always good. Candy is also a great idea. Candy Club’s holiday candy cups make great white elephant gifts that everybody will want to steal!
Have Fun!
The ultimate goal of a holiday party is to relax and unwind at the end of the year. Of course, that goes for the host, too! Remember that parties are supposed to be fun, and don’t push yourself too hard. The perfect holiday party isn’t the one with the most lavish decorations or activities – it’s where people laugh, enjoy time together, and savor the season.
Spread The Joy To The Retail Floor
An office holiday party works wonders for boosting company morale and getting everyone excited for the coming year. Another way to ring in the coming year is by beginning to sell Candy Club candy in your shop. Candy Club’s wholesale products can help you kick off Q1 sales in a fresh, sweet way – find out how to become a Candy Club wholesaler and start the year off on the right foot!
