Employers have many creative ways to celebrate the holidays with their teams. Below are some noteworthy office Christmas party ideas! As you’ve learned through working in a dental practice, your team evolves into a family. You can plan parties that you know will be unique opportunities for the team and will create great memories! They can be both, too! Don’t forget the details!
The holidays are a fun time, and you can use them to shower your team with appreciation. You can make it as unique or as simple as you want. You can make the simple things fun and memorable. An example is decorating the office for Christmas. Invite anyone who wants to stay late and order in. Play Christmas music.
A themed party
Consider arranging an office party with a specific theme, encouraging employees to partake in themed activities and donning costumes. It can be a dress-up theme, roaring 40s, western, etc.
Gingerbread houses: Have a gingerbread house setting and supply gingerbread kits and crafting materials for a house-decorating competition.
Friendly Competitions
Foster camaraderie by organizing friendly competitions among different departments.
Reward winners with gift cards, candy, tech gadgets, or additional time off.
Suggested competitions include:
- Miniature tree decorating
- Holiday relay races
- Employee- or holiday-themed trivia games
Volunteer Together
Embrace the spirit of giving by engaging in charitable or volunteer activities, such as:
- Give your team money and a set amount of time to do good things in the community. They can pay for someone’s groceries or give money to someone’s bill at the car repair shop or toward someone’s layaway.
- Organizing a gift drive: Encourage employees to bring toys for donation to local charities or toy drives. You can work with your local elementary school to find a family in need.
- Setting up an angel tree: Collaborate with a local nonprofit to establish an angel tree in the office, allowing employees to select tags and contribute gifts to under-served families.
Extra Entertainment
Elevate the party experience by hiring entertainers or arranging engaging activities for employees, including:
- Hiring a magician
- Booking live music or a DJ
- Renting a photo booth
- Staging a tree-lighting ceremony with a purchased tree
- Setting up a caricature artist station
Innovative Gifts for your team
We all know cash is king. In addition to your cash bonus, it’s fun to give a tangible gift too.
We have given you some ideas below:
- Team apparel (swag to represent and wear at the office)
- Support a patient or team member’s side hustle
- Items that are for their car and the weather (cold weather tools or hot weather needs)
- Tote bags
- Listen throughout the year to the wants and needs of your team members (e.g., dream vacation = book on that location, kitchen wants or needs, etc.)
If your team does a small exchange, some ideas are:
- Themed gifts: Exchange specific gifts, like food, movies, books, or gift cards.
- Secret Santa: Assign names and price limits for personalized gift exchanges.
- White elephant: Have everyone bring a wrapped, unmarked gift for exchange, with the option to swap gifts with others. Set a small price limit. And decide among yourselves if they are funny gifts or serious gifts.
Stocking stuffers: Provide stockings and have employees bring small gifts to share.
Off-Site Celebrations
Thinking of taking the holiday party on the road? Some attractive off-site options include:
- Ice skating rink
- City scavenger hunt (this is a lot of fun! And meet back at a restaurant or brewery, and while the team/guests are enjoying appetizers, upload their photos from the “hunt”)
- Bowling alley
- Escape room
- Holiday-themed happy hour at a bar (there are many “Christmas” pop-up bars now)
- Art class (wine and canvas painting or painting wood)
- Cooking class
As you plan your team celebration, keep some nice surprises in mind for the administrator or team member who is helping you plan!
April Brogan
Director of New Business & Practice Relationships
