Last month a colleague of mine Kathryn Laslett wrote a blog with ideas for staff Christmas parties for large groups.
This month I want to present some ideas for staff Christmas parties for small groups.
We get lots of requests at this time of year to plan and deliver Xmas events for workplaces that have as few as four staff through to hundreds, whatever you classify as small.
No matter what size staff, we want to ensure everyone has a great time, a memorable experience while socially mingling and meeting the objectives of the organisation.
A good place to start with small groups is to gather some intel from your staff to help you develop some ideas.
What activities interest them? What is their age and physical ability? Where do they live? Do they want an evening or daytime event? Do they have any special dietary requirements? Who is in their immediate family? The more information the better!
You can then start to formulate ideas based on their collective interests and abilities, investigate venues and catering suitable for everyone, and consider whether to make the event a tad larger by inviting family members or keep in-house.
This is the most important phase in planning your Christmas party as you will narrow down the options and make the task less overwhelming.
If you are not the boss, I’d strongly suggest you get any parameters off the boss too before your planning goes too far.
I’ve seen on quite a few occasions, events or venues booked and then cancelled because the boss wasn’t consulted and didn’t like the concept.
So check with your boss on things like budget, objectives and then your shortlist of ideas.
Objectives is an important one. You may want to use the Christmas party for team bonding, you may want to support a charity, you may just want a relaxing casual affair to wind down after a busy year or you may want a fun activity to energise your team for a busy period ahead.
For a corporate events planner like us, finding out your objectives will help us tailor an event or program specifically for your needs.
So without further ado, I’d like to present three great ideas for Christmas parties for small groups.
Each of these company team building games can be tailored to suit the location, time of day, abilities and interests of your staff. But most of all, they are fun and provide healthy competition in a small team environment.
1. City Scramble
City Scramble is a fun team building adventure ideal as a Christmas party activity.
In this 2 to 3 hour event, teams discover how much they know and don’t know about the history, character and features of the city they are in.
With a camera, maps and a checklist of challenges, teams are let loose in a race around a city.
The aim is for teams to score as many points as possible by completing the challenges around the city, all which can be tailored to your organisation’s objectives.
2. Survivor
Just like its reality TV namesake, Survivor provides fun and challenging outdoor team building activities to determine who is your group’s ultimate survivor!
It’s great to do for a Christmas party to take advantage of the weather and a nice outdoor setting without the deserted island and extreme conditions of the TV show.
Tribes will be challenged in a number of fun problem solving situations before Tribal Council which becomes a mix of strategy and skill to determine the sole surviving champion tribe.
3. Out of the Box
In a great charity program for Christmas, teams are given a special box which is filled with attention-diverting items and toys for kids.
Out of the Box brings those items to life in a fun and engaging indoor team program for adults.
It features a number of creative team building activities which can be tailored for every group but requires critical and lateral thinking especially when a few ‘distractions’ are added into the mix.
These three team building programs provide fun options for most small groups to consider for this year’s Christmas party.
Todd Statham, National Manager, Corporate Challenge Events
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