Stress-Free Office Party Ideas for the Holidays

office christmas party ideas

Are you looking for a fun holiday party idea for you and your employees? Are you looking for something that doesn’t involve extra stress? If so you’ve come to the right place. The holidays are supposed to be a time of celebration and fun but they can also be very stressful. You can take some of the pressure off your employees by having a low-key holiday office party.

This article will break down the top office party ideas for a stress-free season.

1) Escape Room Party

Escape rooms are fantastic for a team building holiday activity. Escape rooms are a fun way to bond with your employees. During an escape room experience, you discover new skills you didn’t even know your employees had. You’re locked in a room for one hour and must solve puzzles and word games in order to “escape”.

This is great fun and a chance to get out of the office. Your employees won’t have to worry about bringing food or showing up to a lengthy office party.

2) White Elephant Gift Exchange

Host a white elephant gift exchange immediately after work. Put a price limit on the gifts so that your employees don’t feel obligated to spend lots of money. Have everyone bring in one gift and put it in the middle of the circle. Each employee takes turns either taking a new gift or “stealing” a gift that has already been taken. Eventually, each person will go home with a gift.

This is a chance for your employees to show off their gift-giving creativity and is less pressure than a traditional Secret Santa exchange.

In a Secret Santa gift exchange, everyone has to pick a gift for a specific person and there is fear that their assigned person won’t like the gift. In white elephant, everyone buys a neutral gift and the playing field is open.

3) Potluck Dinner

Instead of spending a fortune on catering or going out to a fancy dinner, have a potluck dinner. Ask each of your employees to bring in their favorite dinner dish or dessert. Assure them that store bought is fine if they aren’t the finest chefs. Potlucks are minimal stress and they allow everyone to enjoy a variety of delicious foods.

You can host the potluck at lunch or right after work so as to not take up too much of your employee’s time. Most people will be grateful for the extra time they could spend with their families during the holidays.

Follow This Guide for Stress-Free Office Party Ideas

We hope you utilize one of these office party ideas this holiday season.

We are confident that each of these three ideas will bring happiness and levity to your office celebration. The holidays can be celebrated simply, there doesn’t always need to be a giant holiday office party.

Have employees who are distracted during the holidays? Check out this article on how to keep your employees focused through all the excitement.

How to Keep Focus on Work During the Holiday Season

keep focus

We get it. It can be hard to keep focus when there are presents to be unwrapped and food to be eaten.The holidays are a wonderful time. But they can also be downright distracting! If you’re with the vast majority of us, you’d much rather be hanging around your friends and families celebrating than be stuck in the office.

However, there’s work to be done and it’s essential to keep focus in order to keep your job.

Don’t Ignore the Holidays

Your first inclination might be to ignore the holidays completely in order to hone in your mental focus. This is a big mistake. The holidays are like an itch you refuse to scratch. The more you ignore them, the more they’ll demand your attention. The trick is to acknowledge the holidays, but not let them rule you.

Give in to being just a little bit festive. Get yourself something decorative for your workspace that reminds you that good times are right around the corner.

If you have a shared workspace, and your coworker is agreeable, you can work together with your partner to liven up your cubicle in a festive way. Make it something that you can both enjoy.

Outwardly acknowledging the holiday season helps take it out of your head and into the real world — leaving room in your brain to focus on work matters instead.

Prioritize Your Tasks

Don’t take on any new projects, if you can help it. In order to have time off for the holidays, you’ll need to accomplish all the tasks you already have set. To do this, you’ll need to become hyper-organized and prioritize each of your tasks according to their level of importance. Then, take them on, one step at a time.

Feel free to use holiday-themed paper for your To-Do Lists for added fun, and as a reminder what you’re working towards.

Keep Focus By Putting YOU First

Just because you have a few days off coming up is no reason to neglect your health. Drink plenty of water, don’t skip gym days, and remember to eat your breakfast. Your mother was right: it’s the most important meal of the day.

It’s all-too-easy to get sucked into the trap of eating holiday treats before the holidays have even begun. Offices almost always have those tempting little chocolate kisses in their red, gold, and green wrappers sitting around.

The truth is: eating well leads to thinking well. By staying away from sugary treats and sticking to healthy worktime snacks, your brain will function at a much higher level.

Keep Comfortable

Last but not least, you’ll focus better if you’re comfortable. Never underestimate the power of good office furniture. Having an ergonomic desk chair and a desk that’s suitable for your height are key to workplace comfort.

Not only will having appropriate furniture help you zero in on your work during the holiday season, it will keep you at the top of your game for all the months to come.

Check out our full line of Workplace Solutions new and used office furniture to find exactly what suits your needs.

Happy holidays!

Office Thanksgiving Potluck Ideas

The office potluck. A day where you can gorge on food the day before you gorge on food! Need ideas for your Office Thanksgiving carry-in? Whether you are making food for an office potluck, or just looking for some new dishes to add to the traditional family feast, here are some delicious — and easy — recipes to share and enjoy!

Pecan Cheese Wafers

saveur

These pecan cheese wafers make a great appetizer. Crisp, slightly spicy crackers rich with the flavors of cheddar and pecans
from Saveur.

Roasted Beets and Carrot Salad

roasted beet carrot salad
The roasted beet and carrot salad is a great addition to any Thanksgiving carry-in. Lightly roasted veggies with endive leaves and a tarragon vinaigrette
from Martha Stewart.

Broccoli Quinoa Casserole with Stuffing

vegan thanksgiving recipe

Filled with tender broccoli, protein-packed quinoa, and topped with stuffing, this vegan Brocolli Quinoa Casserole from Easy Not Cheesy is the perfect Thanksgiving carry-in dish.

Jellied Cranberry Sauce with Fuji Apple

cranberry

What’s Thanksgiving without cranberries? This jellied cranberry sauce with fuji apple recipe from Food & Wine is an easy to make carry-in delight!

Potato Dough Rolls

potato rolls
These simple make-ahead Potato Dough Rolls are crispy on top and light and fluffy inside
From TheKitchn.com

Pumpkin Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

pumpkin bars
One it comes to the holidays and potlucks, one can never have too many desserts! Pumpkin Cake Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting are deliciously moist and pumpkin-y! Your co-workers will be saying “recipe please!” from food.com

Happy eating and Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy your carry-in!