Christmas / Holiday Office Party Ideas

It's that time again, time to get together for some special moments with the coworkers or at least some time when you will put on your best smile and make the best of it. If your office parties are normally a drag, here are some ideas on ways to liven things up! Maybe you'll actually have a good time this year!

1. Have a theme. People are just nicer when they are dressed as something silly. Try disco, Wild West, Roaring 20's, 50's, Christmas colors, Latin, French bistro, German Christmas, Dress-Your-Heritage, and so on.
2. Give away some good door prizes. Come on, splurge and buy a few very cool things to give away like a Wii, an i-phone, a collection of great CDs, other electronic gadgets, gift cards to good restaurants, etc.
3. Have a secret Santa gift exchange or some ot the fun pass-around games, where you have to decide if you want the gift you have or you want to take someone else's gift.
4. Give out funny party favors. See my white elephant article for ideas. You could give out matchbox cars, vintage records that people can trade, funky sunglasses, a batch of cookies that they can swap as they mingle, a piece of clothing (something silly) that the person "must" wear, or something else that breaks the ice and stimulates conversation.
5. Have an activity that breaks the ice. Some sort of crazy game always gets things going! Karaoke is another icebreaker that everyone secretly loves!
6. Have everyone write one thing about themselves on their nametag that can be true or false and people have to guess as they mingle. The best things to write are true statements that no one would possibly imagine about a person!
7. Make the meal more fun. Instead of a stuffy, fancy meal at a gourmet restaurant, try a Mexican taco bar, a middle Eastern restaurant with belly-dancers etc, an Irish restaurant with dancers and musicians, a seafood bar with lots of character - in short, pick something with great food and even greater ambience for a successful party!
8. Invite a surprise guest who shows up halfway through the party - maybe a favorite coworker who left the company a few years ago, a retired boss who was loved by all, a local celeb who has connections to the company, someone who will add new vigor to the party as things start lagging.
9. Make dessert spectacular. Make sure your restaurant or caterers do their best with dessert. Everyone loves an over-the-top dessert and it can make up for a lackluster meal. Leave a good taste in the guests' mouths by providing an awesome dessert bar from which to choose all sorts of incredible desserts.
10. Build up interest before the event. By publicizing all of the fun activities you have planned for the night, you may coax more of your reluctant coworkers out to this year's holiday party. Advertise that raffle, the white elephant gift exchange, the Christmas in the Keys theme, the awesome dessert bar that is awaiting them and you'll be amazed at the turnout! Happy holidays!