Office holiday parties are meant to be an opportunity relax and come together. But any quick office poll will show a pretty sharp divide between those who love office Christmas parties and those who dread them. So if you’ve been tapped to organize this year’s office party how can you make it enjoyable without going over budget or wasting hours and hours staring at Pinterest?
By treating your office Christmas party the same way that you do the rest of your job, delegation! An office Christmas party is meant to be as fun as for the party planner as it is for the rest of the office, so here are six ways to make your office party fun without doing very much work!
1. Potluck/Caterer:
Catering is an obvious answer and finding the perfect place that keeps everyone happy without going over budget is the dream. But if it is an unrealistic dream (like so many of my dreams are), then why not do an office potluck? Assign everyone a meal “category” (e.g., vegetable, savory snack, drink, dessert, etc) et voila! You’re all set. And if you have the budget for it, you can even give everyone a gift card to buy/make their snack.
2. Every Christmas office party needs a solid playlist.
But how do you make a playlist that pleases everyone? By getting everyone to make the playlist! Did you know that you can set up a collaborative Spotify playlist? It’s true! Simply set a few guidelines that keep things office appropriate and send everyone the instructions. Then you will have the office Christmas party playlist that is perfect for your office.
3. Hot Chocolate Bar.
If you want to take your food offering to the next level, then a cheap easy way to do it, just set up a hot chocolate bar. Keep a warm carafe of hot chocolate filled, and then set out several toppings. Obvious toppings include marshmallows and whip cream, but you can also add a few more seasonal or adventurous items as well. Such as candy canes, caramel drizzle, chocolate sprinkles/flakes, chili powder (trust me, it works), and biscotti.
4. Surprise Gift Exchange… with things found at their desks.
Gift exchanges can be major sticking points, but what if your gift exchange was spontaneous and stress/budget-free? A couple of hours before your office Christmas party begins, notify everyone that there will be a gift exchange. Everyone should bring one item from their work area, something that they have purchased (no company property please). Then shortly before the party, give everyone bags to decorate, or not, if they aren’t the coloring types. This type of gift exchange can lead to some funny gifts but without the pressure or pricey-ness that can creep up in normal gift exchanges.
5. Video Comedy Competition.
Nothing is more brutal or depressing than hosting an open mic competition with people that you know and have to look in the eye later on. So let the internet handle the talent for you. Everyone has to submit a funny video and then you all vote on which one was the best. This is a great way to delegate comedy because everyone is spending a lot of time looking for funny videos online at work anyway. Now it is official!
6. Hire someone to clean up after the party.
Nobody likes party cleanup. It is work without the reward, there is nothing left to look forward to. So why do it? You can hire a commercial cleaning services company to clean up your office and have it looking better than before and ready for the new year. Environmental Cleaning Services even offers free estimates so give us a call or fill out our contact form or call us at (214) 526-6814 to find out just how affordable a good cleaning can be!
