20 Company Holiday Party Ideas

Reimagine your festive celebration with our list of 20 company holiday party Ideas. Whether you're planning an office bash or an event at a venue, this list has unique ideas that will make your company's holiday party unforgettable.

The holidays will be here before we know it, and with the holidays comes company holiday parties. If you’ve been tasked with hosting one of these office holiday parties, you’re probably thinking through ideas for holiday party themes, food, games, decor, and more. We’ve put together 20 work Christmas party ideas to get the brain juices flowing and the creativity rolling. Remember – the goal is to ensure your guests have a great time.

Office Christmas or Holiday Party Ideas

firerock grill company holiday party
FireRock Grille Holiday Party
Christmas party themes, holiday party games, and office holiday decor: these are all things you need to think about for your workplace holiday party. Check out some of our best company Christmas party ideas below to ensure that your team will have a blast!

1. Holiday Karaoke

What do you get when you mix holiday songs and an open bar? You guessed it: holiday karaoke! There’s no better way to get people involved, keep the laughter flowing, and make a party fun. Set up a karaoke station to create memories that your co-workers will talk about for years to come.

2. Guess the Candy Canes

What’s a company holiday party without a few holiday party games? Guess the candy canes is a super easy and budget-friendly game that everyone can play. Fill a large jar with a whole bunch of candy canes and have everyone submit a guess of how many there are. Keep the total hidden until it’s time to announce. Whoever is closest gets a prize.

3. Cookie Decorating Contest

Christmas cookies might be one of the best parts of the holiday. See how creative your employees can get with decorating cookies and appoint a few “judges” or have a voting system to choose which cookies are the best. Offer a fun prize to the winner or top 3 finalists. It’s a fun game for everyone to participate in, plus it covers your dessert menu for the night. One thing to note on this is that you’ll likely need to work with your event space or caterer if you choose to go this route as they’ll likely need to provide the cookies and decorating ingredients for this.

4. White Elephant

The white elephant is one of those classic holiday office games during which every guest brings a gift, and each person takes a turn choosing – or stealing – gifts from the pile or other guests. This game is fun, interactive, and everyone goes home with a gift. There are no losers!

5. ‘90s Theme

Make your party extra fun with a ‘90s theme. Set a ‘90s dress code, play ‘90s Christmas movies, decorate with paper chains, and make a playlist of popular ‘90s holiday hits. If you want your party to be truly authentic, make a “no cellphones” rule. Unless, of course, one of your co-workers happens to have a gigantic brick phone.

6. Decorations – EVERYWHERE

A holiday celebration is nothing without gorgeous decorations strewn around the room. Check out some ideas for office holiday decor:
  • Christmas tree
  • Mini Christmas trees
  • Hanging ball ornaments
  • Poinsettias
  • LED snowflake string lights
  • Candy canes
  • Holiday signs
  • Pinecones
  • Holly
If you’re on a strict budget, try asking co-workers to donate some of their holiday decor pieces. You can label everything and return it to them the day after the party or have them pick it up the next time they’re in the office.

7. Raffle Gifts

Compile several gifts, small and large, to keep on one table or basket. When someone walks through the door, they get a raffle ticket – just for being there. Throughout the night, draw a new ticket and announce a winner. The winner gets to select a gift from the table.

8. Ugly Sweater Theme (and Contest!)

The classics are classic for a reason, and ugly sweaters are as classic as it gets. When all else fails, go with one of the most popular Christmas party themes: ugly sweaters. The best part? You can turn it into a contest. Have everyone vote for their favorite sweater and give the winner a fun prize.

9. Donate To a Charity

If your office partners with a specific charity, have guests donate rather than doing gifts. If you don’t work with one, select a local non-profit to help out with a monetary donation during the holidays.

10. Live Music

Depending on your company’s holiday party budget, you might consider looking into booking live music to play those classic Christmas and holiday songs. Live music is a great way to keep the energy up, the dance floor moving, and people entertained.

11. Silver & Gold Theme

Some companies like to keep their holiday parties classy and elegant. If that’s your vision for this year’s party, make it a silver and gold theme. Decorate the room with sparkling silver and gold decor and have everyone dress to the nines. You can make the dress code match the theme, so everyone is a shining star in their best.

12. Signature Holiday Cocktails

There are certainly those co-workers who only show up to the workplace holiday party for the free booze. So, why not embrace that and at least have fun with it? Serve a couple of signature holiday cocktails at your party. You can go with classics, such as vodka and cranberry juice and spiked eggnog, or you can brainstorm a few unique blends of your own. Place little signs at the bar or on tables detailing what’s in the special seasoning drinks.

13. Chef Station

Food can be one of the most tedious details of an office holiday party to work out. One cool way to splurge on your employees and dress up the food you’ll be serving is a chef station. Hire a chef to serve up roast beef and vegetables or similar holiday dishes in a chef station.

14. Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel

Dreidel is a fun, easy, and super affordable game that you can put on every table for your co-workers to play. Be sure to leave little bowls of candy for them to use as their bets.

15. Holiday Photo Booth

Parties make memories, and memories stick around longer with photos. Have a photo booth at your office Christmas and holiday party to make things extra fun. Renting an authentic photo booth can be expensive, so get a camera with a timer and set up a photo station if that’s not in the budget. Get a pretty holiday backdrop and some props and let people go to town.

16. Invite Santa

The holidays just wouldn’t be the same without Santa coming to town. Ask around for a volunteer to play Santa at your Christmas party. Have them dress up in the Santa costume and take pictures with co-workers all night.

17. Holiday Song Trivia

After everyone sits down to eat, get someone on the mic and play some holiday song trivia. Whether it’s “Name That Tune” or “Finish the Lyrics,” it’s a great way to get people involved and feeling festive.

18. Go Caroling

Okay, caroling may not be everyone’s thing – but that’s why you make it optional. Announce that a group is going caroling, and anyone who wants to participate can join in. Have songs prepared and lyrics handy!

19. Play Classic Movies

There are so many classic holiday movies that everyone loves, from Home Alone to It’s a Wonderful Life to The Christmas Story – all of these make great office holiday party movies. Set up a big screen at one end of the room and project holiday movies on it all night. It doesn’t need to be a sit-down movie event; you can simply keep the films rolling all night for people to pause and enjoy.

20. Holiday Character Guessing Game

Every guest who enters the party gets a sticker with the name of a famous holiday character on it. That stick goes on their forehead, though, so they don’t know who they are – but everyone else does. Everyone talks to each other, dropping hints at who they are. Once you guess, you get to take off your sticker.

Where Will Your Holiday Party Be Held?

thornapple pointe company holiday party
Thornapple Pointe Holiday Party
You can have all the holiday party ideas in the world, but without a place to hold your party, all you have is a bunch of ideas and supplies! Luckily, RedWater Events can help by providing the perfect corporate event space for your office holiday party. We offer boardrooms, a clubhouse, and several large event rooms. Still in need of some ideas? Check out our helpful guide for how to plan a corporate holiday party ideas here!

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