Love it or loathe it, it’s that time of year again and with covid restrictions now firmly in the rear view mirror, the office Christmas party has made a dazzling come back. So how do you throw the best office Christmas party? These are our best office Christmas party ideas.
The Best Office Christmas Party Ideas
The office Christmas party has a notorious reputation for mischief and mayhem, but it also serves a valuable purpose, for business owners nationwide, this is your chance to prove you are no Scrooge and spend some quality showing your team that they are valued. So how exactly do you throw the best office Christmas party? Think about who this is for. A small business that spends every day in the office together may not need too much encouragement to bring a bottle, or pop to the pub after work. For businesses with employees working in separate teams this may be a little bit more intimidating. With remote working still a fixture, it can be difficult to even get everyone in a room. So you will need to do what feels right for you and your team. But here are our top suggestions to help you throw the best ever office Christmas party.
Plan an Office Christmas Party for Your Team
Think about what you want to achieve. This will depend on the scale of your business and how you interact with your team. Think about what type of event will suit the needs and tastes of your team. If you work in fitness, perhaps this is a festive run? Our top suggestion is to think about the individuals you work with and focus on helping them feel included and valued.
Share Responsibilities
Share the responsibility of organising the office Christmas party with a small group of trusted coworkers. Assign easy tasks to individuals. One could be finding out dietary requirements, one could be handling the guest list, another might be buying refreshments. Make sure these are colleagues who can work together with great communication.
Keep it Inclusive
This is crucial for every office Christmas party. It needs to be simple for all those attending. Avoid complex games or competitions, or anything that requires too much preparation. Give plenty of notice and clear communication. Everyone is different and you may not know what other pressures your team is carrying, especially at this time of year. So best not to spring any further expectations on your coworkers. Unless you have the expressed validation of your team that they want to take part in something specific. Don’t let any singular organiser get carried away with the spirit of Christmas and over-complicate things. The majority of workers just want to feel included, and valued.
Keep it Affordable
If you can pay for your team to enjoy the office Christmas party. This could be paying for a meal, or a round of drinks, or hosting a gathering at your place of work and providing food and drink. If it is not feasible to pay for your whole team, make sure any plans you have are affordable to every level of your staff.
Don’t Over-Plan
If you are planning a sit down meal, let coworkers choose for themselves where they want to sit. It can be tempting to devise elaborate seating plans with the aim of inter-department mingling, but this can also lead to some discomfort. Trust your coworkers to choose where they feel happiest sitting and everyone is more likely to enjoy the event and have that all important sense of value.
Work the Room
Make sure you speak to all of your coworkers, not just one or two. Even if not all conversations are very in-depth, acknowledging everyone who works for you with a direct conversation helps everyone to feel valued and part of the business as more than just an employee.
Bring People Together
One of the main aims of holding an office Christmas party is bringing your teams/s together. If you are self-employed you can still do this by getting together with other freelancers, or bringing together a group of favourite clients. You will know best who you would like to give your time to.
Annual Highlights
Use your office Christmas party to honour some of the year’s highlights, like coworkers successes and achievements. If you can’t hold and office Christmas party for one reason or another, you can still honour your businesses highlights with a festive thankful email to your colleagues, wishing them a well deserved rest over the break.
Support Your Chosen Charity
Christmas is a great time of year to support your favourite charity and raise awareness. Prestige Business Management’s charity partner is Bikers Against Child Abuse and every year we do as much as we can to support their fundraising.
Prestige Business Management Works for You
At Prestige Business Management we pride ourselves in our communication and our client orientated focus. Find out what we can do for you. Call us today on 0203 773 2927.
