Planning a Christmas Party for 70 Employees: What Fun Games Would You Suggest?

Hi all,

We are planning a Christmas party for around 70 employees. Any thoughts on what kind of games we can have with the theme of Christmas & New Year? Please share :)

Thanks,
Hemaa

Hi Hemaa,

This is a problem that almost every HR department would face, primarily because we are concerned about the feedback on our initiatives.

Not only does an HR department face such situations, but when we relate this to the real world, we are always in a dilemma about whether the gifts we give to our loved ones would be appreciated or not.

One possible solution could be to "involve the employees," allowing them to express what "THEY" want in a Christmas party or any other similar situation.

The advantage of adopting such a plan is that employees feel important as their opinions are valued. An action (like a Christmas party) for someone (employees) will yield the best results when it aligns with their preferences.

You can try the following:

- Ask employees what they want in the Christmas party.
- Apart from just asking, inquire about how they can contribute, like decorating, singing carols, or having an employee skilled at cooking bake a cake.
- If your company has departments or teams, consider organizing a small competition, such as for the best decoration.

That was my opinion. Please let me know the feasibility of this approach, any potential improvements, and your comments as well.

Thanks and Regards,

Kumar Abhijit

Thanks for your insight.

Yes, we did involve the employees and ran a poll seeking their opinion. We are planning a decoration contest and a creatively dressed person contest on that day.

Apart from these contests, we are in need of ideas for different games to entertain the crowd for about 60 minutes before we break for Christmas dinner.

Hi Hema,

Check out the following icebreaker to see if it suits your occasion:

Name of Icebreaker: Biscuit Tin

Category of Icebreaker: Communication

Time Scales: 20 Minutes

Size of Group: 10+

Materials Required: Empty Biscuit Tin, Strips of paper, stopwatch, and pens

Aim of Icebreaker: To encourage participation and teamwork within the group and to enhance communication skills

Pre-Organization: None

Process: Give each team member 6 strips of blank paper and ask them to write a different famous person on each one. They must then fold the piece of paper twice so it will not fall open easily. Once they have all done this, they put their pieces of paper into the biscuit tin. You must then split the group into teams of 5 or 6, and the teams are to sit together. One person in Team A starts. You start the stopwatch.

The first person has to pick a strip of paper out of the tin and explain to their team who that person is without saying their name. Once their team has guessed that person correctly, they put that strip of paper to the side and take out another piece and explain again who that person is. When one minute is up, you shout STOP, and the biscuit tin is passed to Team B. If a team member does not know who the person is on the piece of paper, then they can put it back folded into the tin. They are only allowed to do this 3 times per turn. You must keep score of the number of correct guesses each team has, and the winning team is the team with the highest score.

Regards,

skr

Hi Heema,

There are many indoor activities you can organize for your team:

1. Parceling the Parcel - Play this game by adding a theme of changing names. Give the parcel to someone and ask them to perform the task written on it. Then, they pass the parcel to the next person by calling out their name. Rules include not repeating names and not using friends' names (people who sit in the same cubicle or bay). This game is a fun way to ensure everyone gets to know each other.

2. Treasure Hunt - There are two ways to play this game. You can either give a gift wrapped item and ask them to guess what's inside, or hide something and give clues for them to find it.

3. "Kaun Banega Luckpati?" - This game is similar to the KBC game show, with a gift for the winner in the final round.

4. Dumb Charades and Musical Chairs are always a hit for team bonding.

5. Paint the Picture - Draw a Santa and ask participants to add eyes or a hat to Santa while blindfolded.

Enjoy the festive season and have lots of fun!

I hope these ideas are helpful.