Holiday Office Party Ideas

Making Your Holiday Office Party Ideas List

All great ideas begin with brainstorming and writing thoughts down. There are a few key points to keep in mind while compiling a list of ideas.

• Different personalities - Most likely, you work with a lot of different people. This means a lot of different personalities. The personalities of your co-workers make a huge difference when coming up with holiday office party ideas. For example, if they are more of the burgers and beer type, rather than champagne and caviar, having an office party at the finest restaurant in town may make them feel out of place and maybe even a little uncomfortable.
• Budget - Do you have a burgers and beer budget or a champagne and caviar budget? The type of party you throw depends greatly on the type of budget you have.
• Gift exchange - Decide on whether or not gifts will be exchanged at the party. If so, also decide on a spending limit.

Make it Interesting and Fun

The first step to making your holiday office party a smashing success is to get out of the office. It's difficult to relax and get in a party state of mind when you are looking at the same surroundings you see for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Here are some interesting and fun ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

• Host a casino night, but not with real money of course - Rent a banquet room and set it up like a Las Vegas casino. Have everyone begin the night with the same amount of chips and offer prizes for the largest chip holders at the end of the night.
• Make it a family affair - If most of your co-workers have families, a family fun night is a great holiday office party idea. Think of carnival games like "Ring the Bottle" and bean bag tosses.
• Create a winter wonderland - Whatever the venue, create a winter wonderland setting that will be sure to illicit "Ooohs" and "Ahhs" from even the grumpiest of your co-workers. Hang tissue paper snowflakes from the ceiling, place snowball or pinecone candles on tables draped in white tablecloths and of course, string plenty of twinkling lights.
• Make it a black tie affair - Plan a formal party complete with black ties (suits or tuxedos required for the gentlemen), evening gowns, dinner and dancing. For this theme, you may have to rent a few supplies like flatware, silverware and glasses.

Let the Games Begin!

Party games are a sure way to get everyone laughing and enjoying themselves.

• Hunt for treasure - Divide everyone into equal groups and give each group a list of common items to uncover. Make sure the items are those that can be found within the party venue, like a red scarf, a blue snowflake or red lipstick. Award prizes for the winning team.

• Put a spin on gift giving - Have everyone bring a gender-neutral gift and hand one to every guest. To play this game, you will have to find a right/left story. Someone reads the story out loud and every time the word "right" is said in the story, the gift is passed to the right. The same goes for every time the word "left" is in the story. In the end, the gift each person is holding is the one they will keep.

• Organize a White Elephant gift exchange - Again, have everyone bring a gender-neutral unwrapped gift. Here's how the game works:

1. The gifts are piled in one area.
2. Everyone draws a number.
3. The person who has drawn number 1 picks a gift from the pile and holds onto it.
4. The person who has drawn number 2 may either "steal" the gift from the number one person or pick a gift from the pile.
5. The person who has drawn number 3 may either "steal" the gift from numbers one or two or pick a gift from the pile.
6. This continues until everyone has a gift.

Click on the link above to get the complete set of rules and a written example of the game.

A Few Final Words of Caution

• Get everyone home safely - If you plan on serving alcohol at your holiday office party, be sure to have numbers to local cab companies so that no one drives after they have been drinking. Another option is to ask those who do not drink alcohol to be designated drivers for the evening.
• Make it non-denominational - Don't offend any of your co-workers by having religious or faith based themes or decorations at your office party.
• Purchase a few extra gifts - If you are having a gift exchange, purchase a couple of extra gifts just in case someone forgets to bring one. This will ensure that nobody is left out during the exchange.

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