Employee Christmas Party Ideas

Hopefully you found this article on employee Christmas party ideas because you want to have the best holiday office party ever, and not because your Christmas party is in three hours and you have nothing planned. Either way, here are some last-minute ideas to liven up the festivities:

White Elephant Gift Exchange
Some call it White Elephant. Some call it Dirty Santa. Some call it "You know, that office party game where you try and steal each other's gifts." Just proceed with caution. Dirty Santa always starts fun, but never ends that way. In the beginning people are laughing and having fun. Then an hour later you’ve got two best friends who won’t speak for a month over a 9-pack of Starbucks flavored coffee. Hey, it’s a $10 gift. It’s not worth going to jail over. Imagine sitting in you cell, “What are you in for? "Well... I really wanted that Sham Wow.”

Holiday Party Entertainment
Maybe I'm biased, but live comedy is one of my favorite employee Christmas party ideas. Just make sure to hire an act that's both clean and experienced in front of diverse crowds. That means no curse words and no squirm-inducing jokes about what Tiger Woods does in his free time. As the person responsible for planning entertainment for your corporate event, there is no reason good enough to risk having a performer that might offend your group.

Employee Awards Show
The employee holiday party is the perfect time to give those who toil there a “thank you” that’s bigger than just free cups of warm sparkling  cider in the conference room. And that’s where the Employee Awards Ceremony comes in. Just make sure it's fun. Sure, you could gather everyone together in some conference room and hand out plaques reading “Best Salesman” or “MVW” (Most Valuable Worker), but where’s the fun in that? Funny awards give thanks while simultaneously making sure everyone has a good time. Your employees don’t want to sit through a dry presentation any more than you want to give one.

Here are some other ideas to try at your own risk:

• Cancel catering and have a pot luck dinner. It allows employees to show off their culinary skills, and it allows you to have your own personal episode of Fear Factor. Is that hair in Bob's casserole human or animal? You just don't know!
• Raffle off a job at a better company.
• Really mismanage the whole thing and the government will bail you out.

Got your own employee Christmas party ideas? Please share them in the comments section!