5 Ways to Celebrate Christmas in the Office
As the days get warmer, string lights illuminate the streets, with Christmas decorations placed up everywhere: December is here, and Christmas is just around the corner!
Christmas is all about appreciation and gratitude. Acknowledging the individual and collective team is vital to improving employees’ job satisfaction and company culture. Fostering a positive company culture can increase employees’ productivity and well-being. A study by Oxford University found that employees are 13% more productive when happy.
The year-end celebration is a perfect way to wrap up the year and bond the team. Encouraging better connections between employees creates an inclusive and positive company culture, which brings in opportunities for amplifying employees’ abilities and creativity.
As we start the countdown to Christmas, here are some ways you can bring up the Christmas spirit in your team:
1 Decorating the Office
Placing up Christmas decorations can add a touch of warmth during the festive season. Putting little wreaths and ornaments around the office can spruce up the space. Although, be mindful of the space and decoration to ensure the office is a safe working environment. Some spots to decorate can be the hallways, lunch room, bathroom, windows, etc. You could also collectively set up a Christmas tree as a part of a bonding activity with your team.
2 – Secret Santa
Secret Santa is a fun and easy way to get in the festive spirit. The activity involves anonymous gift exchange between a group of people, in which each person is randomly assigned to a person to exchange that gift. Start by randomly drawing names of participating members to assign a Secret Santa to each participant. Then set a spending limit and exchange date ahead so your team can plan ahead to shop for gifts. On the exchange day, each participant opens up their present and tries to guess their Secret Santa.
Need some gift ideas for your co-worker? Head over to our Christmas gift guide.
3 – Potluck
Potlucks bring in various cultures and people to participate in a feast. Planning for a potluck encourages people to communicate and engage with one another to coordinate the foods each person will bring. Organizing a potluck allows you to get to know your co-worker. It enables you to get to know your co-workers and introduces you to new foods from different cultures.
4 – Gingerbread House Decorating Competition
What’s a better team-building activity than a little friendly competition? Building gingerbread houses is a fun group activity that encourages creativity and cooperation. Friendly competition can foster positive company culture and increase the engagement of employees. In teams, participants are provided with the gingerbread house kit, giving them creative direction to build their gingerbread houses to ensure they have the best-looking house.
5 – Christmas Party
Christmas parties are perfect for the team to get together and catch up with each other. The end-of-year celebration gives the team recognition for the milestones and sets goals for the following year. Christmas parties can motivate and boost employee morale by building a sense of togetherness in the team. It’s a great way to treat yourself and your team for the effort everyone pulls in for the year.