Holiday Work Party Do's & Don'ts

Look what Santa brought this year! 6 holiday parties, 4 of which are happening on the same night. Whether you love or dread those holiday parties, here are the do’s and don’ts to throwing your own work party during the holiday storm.

If you’re the one hosting and organizing, make sure to:

• Do: Plan it well in advance so you can reserve a space early and get the party on everyone’s calendars before they fill up. You can book both corporate and private holiday events at Free Range Office. Learn more at our event page here.

• Don’t put off food until the last minute, especially if you’re using catering. Plan it as soon as you have the space. Or assign everyone a dish to bring, for a low key, potluck party.

• Do: Make an awesome Christmas playlist with an even mix of classic and quirky carols in case people are tired of the usual.

• Don’t get too plastered. This is your party after all, and – especially if you’re the boss – who else will corral your teetering coworkers home if not you?

For activities:

• Do: gift-giving. Secret Santa is good, but unless your office is a pretty tight-knit community, it can be hard to find the right gift for a person you don’t know well. Alternatively, you can—

• Do: A White Elephant! This is where you bring a gift that anyone would like – a good book, a nice bottle of wine, etc. Or for some funny gift ideas, check out this list.

• Don’t play Cards Against Humanity. While a great game to play with your friends, this one can get pretty raunchy and even offensive, so leave it at home.

• Do: Start another group game. There’s

• Guess who. Put celebrity names into a hat and tell everyone to pick one and stick it on their head. Go around and on everyone’s turn, they can ask 3 yes or no questions about their name. For a more passive game, you can give someone a name at the beginning of the party so they can wear it and try to guess while socializing through out the night.

• Charades. It’s been a classic at parties for a hundredish years for good reason. And now, you don’t have to think of a word because you can use a phone app to play it!

• Cards. B.S. and Rummy are reliable classics. Be careful about poker though. The last (and only time I played), there was too much whiskey, too many chip spills, and 4 hours later – a nearly wrecked friendship between two Irishmen.

Other than that, good luck and have fun! Browse the blog for more on Event Essentials or planning an event at Free Range. Oh, and don’t kiss your coworker. Unless you’ve been in love with them for months, everyone knows, and you find yourself alone and tipsy under the mistletoe.