2018 Corporate Holiday Party Ideas
We’ve rounded up some of the best holiday office party trends for 2018 to help inspire even the most bah humbug party planning committee! Read on for event suggestions and party game ideas that are sure to help make this year’s office Christmas party a hit with the whole team.
What pairs perfectly with an ugly Christmas sweater? Ugly bowling shoes, of course!
The magic of the holidays is all about harnessing the warmth and comfort of nostalgia, so why not hearken back to simpler times and take the team to the bowling alley for an evening of good-natured fun?
Retro-inspired bowling alleys set aglow in neon lights — such as Grandview Lanes in Vancouver — provide a great venue for festive fun. And while Grandview Lanes is serving up an authentically vintage 5- or 10-pin bowling experience, they keep it fresh by serving up one or two local craft beer options to satisfy modern tastes.
Give your team the gift of wellness and rejuvenation
This year, leave the hustle and bustle of the season behind and give the gift of restorative relaxation in the mountains.
Wellness retreats are popping up in some of Canada’s most beautiful locations including Evolve Retreat Co. located just south of Calgary in the majestic Rocky Mountains.
Five-day retreats feature sessions that focus on health and wellness, and include options like cooking classes, lifestyle mentoring, motivational lectures, mind-body coaching, and personal training. For teams who have worked hard all year, providing an opportunity for personal development and reflection is truly the gift that will keep on giving.
A culinary circuit around the office
This updated version of the office potluck has individual departments work as a team to prepare the various courses of a meal . For example, accounting handles the appetizers, marketing is in charge of the salad bar, and HR is responsible for dessert. And for licensed events, maybe the executive team can whip up a signature cocktail or two!
Attendees travel around the office sampling each department’s offerings. Dial up the festive spirit by having each team decorate their station and have attendees vote on their faves.
5 Holiday Game Ideas
Games are a great, inexpensive option to get team members up and out of their seats, sharing laughs and making memories. Here are a few awesome games to play at this year’s holiday office party:
- Inflatable reindeer antler ring toss game . The name pretty much says it all, but picture the boss wearing a set of inflatable reindeer antlers while team members take turns tossing red and green rings, hoping to land one squarely atop the not-so-majestic rack. Available through Amazon, this game is a real crowd pleaser.
- Christmas carol pictionary . Fire up the dry erase markers and tap into the team’s artistic flare with a holiday version of this classic party game. One team member must draw an artistic rendering of a popular Christmas carol while the rest of their team tries to guess the song title. Bonus points to anyone who can successfully get their team to identify Feliz Navidad.
- Gift wrap duo . Participants partner up in twos and you tie one person’s right hand to their teammate’s left hand. Duos will then attempt to wrap a gift using their free hands. To up the ante, provide an example of a wrapped gift that the duos must replicate. The more intricate the wrap job, the harder it is to recreate and the funnier it is to watch. Give a time limit of 1–3 minutes and then have a judge pick the best wrap job.
- Live performance of The 12 Days of Christmas . Assemble 12 teams and randomly assign each team one verse of The 12 Days of Christmas song, which they must both sing and act out in any interpretation of their choosing. Once the verse is assigned, give teams a moment to decide how they plan to bring their lyrics to life (six geese a laying should prove challenging, but very humorous) and then start the performance. As it is a cumulative song, each team will get ample opportunity to enact their line to perfection. Feel free to add props or, for an added challenge, teams can forage around the office to find suitable objects to take their performance to the next level.
- Santa belly limbo . Limboers must put their core strength to the ultimate test by donning a Santa Claus belly (a balloon or pillow under the shirt will work) and see just how low they can go.
The annual office holiday party is a great opportunity to reflect on the year’s success and share some laughs and good cheer with your team. It doesn’t take much more than a little creativity and a bit of holiday spirit to create an event that everyone will enjoy.