Winter can be a beautiful season filled with gatherings, cooler temperatures, and lovely snowy days, but there are times when it can start to feel long and dull. This is especially true in work settings, where the increased business demands can lead to stress and burnout, not to mention the pressures that the holiday season brings.
With all of that tension built up, it’s important for workplaces to find a way to relax, have some fun, and work on team bonding. Enter the winter work party.
A winter work party can be as simple or complex as you want. The important thing is that it’s fun and gives everyone a much-needed break from all the hassle of the year.
Here are some unique winter work party ideas that you can use for your team.
1. Costume party
A fun and straightforward idea is having a costume party. You could make it themed or leave it open-ended and see what people come up with, make it a contest, or even give out silly awards such as “completely home-made” and “most likely to start a trend”.
You could also make it more interesting by adding rules to peoples’ costumes, like a costume needing to be bought in entirety from a charity shop, thrift shop, or from eBay.
2. Scavenger hunt
Scavenger hunts are an incredibly fun activity. You can create a one-of-a-kind hunt that incorporates inside jokes and company-specific knowledge that leads your team throughout the office or other common hangouts, or you could even take it to the streets for some adventure.
You could even do a scavenger hunt that incorporates multiple holidays celebrated by different people in the office, like Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah.
3. Murder mystery party
Murder mystery parties are some of the best themed parties to throw. They allow employees to have some interactive fun and try their hand at acting. They can be harder to organize for bigger groups, so definitely consider breaking into smaller groups if this is the case for your team.
You can even get catering to turn it into dinner murder mystery party, making it even more compelling.
4. Karaoke night
Everybody loves a bit of karaoke, even those who can’t (or shouldn’t!) sing. You can rent karaoke machines or take the team out to a karaoke spot. It’s fun to do this with alcohol involved, but it can be just as fun without.
Karaoke night features a lot of energy and performativity, so make sure that it will suit your team before picking this activity, or else it could turn out to be very awkward.
5. Escape rooms
Similar to murder mysteries, escape rooms have a deliciously tantalizing air of secrecy. They require teamwork, logic, and creativity to accomplish, and are great for groups of any size. They tend to have time limits to make sure that people actually focus on the task at hand and don’t just goof off, so there’s some friendly pressure present, but nothing that your team can’t handle.
6. Pet party
Pretty much everybody loves pets. Having a pet party means that employees get to show off their non-human friends and it’s a great opportunity for people to bond over a shared interest. It’s important to separate cats and dogs, or any other types of animals that may not get along such as birds and cats or dogs. All pets should be well-behaved and controllable as well as vaccinated.
A fun winter work party is easy
You can take one idea from here, take inspiration from lots of them, or come up with something different entirely. All it takes to have a successful winter work party is the right intent. People will have fun, unwind, and enjoy each other’s company.
