It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
The holiday season is approaching quickly, and many are planning how they’ll spend the holidays with their family. With December less than a month away, it’s time for you to become more festive (we hope!) and start putting together your office’s Christmas party. Hosting an annual Christmas (or Holiday) party is meant to show your staff that you appreciate them. There is no doubt that they have worked hard throughout the year and it genuinely improves morale around the office when they get time to celebrate and have some fun. Of course, that doesn’t mean they want to see the same theme as last year. Here are seven exciting themes to spruce up this year’s Christmas party:
- Ugly Christmas Sweaters
It’s a classic and fun theme. The holiday season is meant to be joyous and there’s nothing more entertaining than seeing people in the ugliest sweaters imaginable. You can find wool sweaters with velvet on it, wrapped tightly around an ugly Christmas present. If you want something that’s animal related, why not get a sweater that has a stuffed moose sewed onto the front. Every year it seems that these sweaters become uglier and even better, so have fun embracing the ugliness! To add a little more fun and ensure your staff will show up in an ugly sweater, hold a contest for the ugliest sweater of them all!
- Masquerade
Masquerade, paper faces on parade! Sometimes all people want to do is dress up in an elaborate outfit. If your workplace is more casual, this might be a good way to see how creative and fancy your coworkers can be. Specify that they should come dressed as though they were attending a royal ball, with a beautiful masquerade mask to cover their face. Since the theme is a lot more formal, you may want to consider renting a large event space. This will provide your staff with room to dance, as masquerades are meant to have dancing. As for the music? Well, Phantom of the Opera is an excellent choice.
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a beloved holiday (and Halloween) film. As a holiday theme, it provides an entirely different feel. While the holiday season is bright and cheerful, hosting a party centred around The Nightmare Before Christmas can tone down the colour. You can get creative and use decorations leftover from Halloween and make tasty treats that resemble Jack Skellington. If your staff want to dress up like characters from the film, your party will be that much better. It’ll be like having Halloween in December!
- Candyland Christmas
Arguably, the best part about the holidays (aside from the presents and spending time with family, of course) is making gingerbread houses. It might seem like an activity you would do with your family but hosting a competition amongst your staff to see who can decorate the best gingerbread house can be just as fun. Use bright decorations to keep the spirit of Candyland alive and consider getting a fondue fountain for your staff to enjoy. The more edible decorations your staff can snack on, the better. After all, there’s nothing wrong with feeling like a giddy child again.
- Holidays Around the World
If you work alongside people of different ethnicities, having a party centred around different cultures will help make your staff feel comfortable and welcomed. It also provides a wonderful opportunity to learn how holidays are celebrated in different countries and cultures! Encourage your staff to dress up in their traditional or national holiday wear and set up stations with different types of cuisine served around the world. You can even make the party into a potluck by asking your staff to bring their favourite foods from their cultures!
- Reverse Christmas in July
Winter in Canada can seem never-ending, but you can get rid of it! Even if only for the night. Give up on hosting a traditional holiday party and pretend you’re off to the beach instead. Try your hand at mixing drinks that remind you of the summer, like raspberry lemonade or strawberry colada smoothie, and barbeque some hot dogs and hamburgers. As for your staff’s attire? Good luck convincing them that wearing their summer clothes in the middle of winter isn’t an outrageous idea!
- White Christmas
If your theme from last year was of the non-traditional sort, maybe it’s time to host a traditional holiday party. All décor at your traditional holiday party should be white, from the table cloths to the snowflakes hanging from the ceiling. Your objective is to plan a party that would leave the White Witch from the Chronicles of Narnia envious and turn your space into a Winter Wonderland. Keep the food traditional with eggnog and fruitcake, while playing classic Christmas music!
The holiday season can be fun, especially when spent with people you’re close to. Hosting a holiday party for your staff can bring everyone together and help strengthen relationships within the office. A holiday party will help rejuvenate your staff for the upcoming year and wonderful memories will be made. Whether you go the traditional route or embrace something a little different, your holiday party will certainly be something your staff can look forward to.
