Company Christmas Party Ideas

Christmas time is perhaps one of the best times of the year. Music, movies, and even people's disposition speak to a certain magic in the air. Sadly, all of this magic doesn't go unpunished. Stress often accompanies the season, gaining magnitude as the month progresses. Buying gifts and planning parties are hard enough to do for your own family, but how do you begin to plan a Christmas party for work? What sorts of activities are acceptable for the work place? In this article I will detail party ideas that work, both for small and large companies.

The company that I work for has more than tripled in the five years that I have worked for them. Our first Christmas party was held in a small break room, last year they had to rent a convention room at a hotel. In the first year we all drew names and exchanged gifts. No one knew who drew their name until they received their gift, and sometimes they didn't know then. While this seems somewhat boring to many, others find this method of gift giving ideal. It is best if you impose a few rules such as a monetary limit and what you can and cannot buy. You wouldn't want to offend anyone by buying a gag gift that just isn't funny. This activity is best for small to medium sized groups, since everyone will want to see what everyone else received.

Another fun party idea is Dirty Santa. I've also heard it called Yankee Christmas. What you do is you choose a price range and everyone brings a gift. You wrap it and place it under the tree. Each person draws a number and that is the order that they receive a gift. Each person, in turn, chooses a gift from underneath the tree and unwraps it, or they may steal a gift that has been previously opened. Since the person who draws number one only has the option of unwrapping a gift, they get to wait until the very end of the game to decide if they want to keep what they have or steal something from someone else. If your item is stolen, you may choose to open another gift or you can steal a gift; however you may not steal the item back that was just stolen from you. If you have a time limit for your party, it is a good idea to set limits on how many times an item can be stolen. In my experience, blankets, massagers (any sort), gift cards, and candles are very popular for this game.

My favorite Christmas party activity is the game we play with the toys we boy for toys for tots. Not only do we get to donate to a great organization, but we also have a lot of fun in the process. Each person draws another person's name, and once again, we keep it secret. We must then buy a gift that reminds us of that person. We wrap it, and we put that person's name on the tag. Whether you put who it is from is entirely up to you. One at a time each gift is unwrapped by its recipient, while everyone watches to see what item that person resembles. It is great fun to see what some people get. For example: a maintenance person might open a toy tool set. An accountant might get toy money or a monopoly set. At one of our Christmas parties, a boss (that wasn't well liked) received a talking Darth Vader doll. Our company always invites someone from the Marine Corps to come enjoy our party, and after all the toys have been opened, we help them load the toys into their truck.

Work Christmas parties activities don't have to be stressful to plan. Old favorites can be just as enjoyable as the new.