7 Ideas to Take Your Christmas Work Event to the Next Level

Some offices throw lavish award evenings, while others let workers get merry with a traditional meal and open bar. Whatever your style, injecting the unexpected is a great way to put smiles on faces.

Try these quirky Christmas party ideas to get everyone in the festive spirit.

1. Book a comedian

Christmas events bring everyone together to lift spirits and reward teams for their hard work. Every awards showcase needs a host, so why not shake up the mix by booking someone to put smiles on faces? Laughter is infectious; it’s a great way to break the ice and help teams bond over the light side of office frustrations. The side-splitting jokes will be what everyone is talking about come Monday morning.

Event planning bureau such as Speakers Corner can put you in contact with high-profile comedians to wow the crowds. The bigger the name, the bigger the draw – but you’d be surprised by how talented some of the rising stars of comedy are, too.

2. Use a quirky venue

In corporate event planning, venues matter – throwing a shindig at your local village hall is a sure way to damage your company’s reputation and leave everyone uninspired. Big cities such as London are packed with unusual venues and Hirespace is a great platform for finding a vibrant, classy or artsy location. Many places are chic industrial converts – your guests will don their glad rags and be blown away by the fashionable interiors.

Even outside the cities, it’s easy to find an impressive venue – if you know where to look. Throwing an event for more than 50 employees? Try making enquiries at your local cathedral or manor house, you might be surprised at the places you can book.

3. Create a winter wonderland

Smaller groups should focus on curating a unique atmosphere inside their venue. Pick a theme – whether it’s a bright white ice paradise or a Santa’s grotto to get everyone reminiscing. Every great festive party needs a Christmas tree, so make sure yours is suitably impressive and that it fits the theme. But there are many other details to take care of if you want to throw a show-stopper, like dining table centerpieces and even ceiling drapes.

4. Hire circus performers

Of course, the evening doesn’t end once the dinner plates are cleared and all the awards have been announced. This is often when the fun begins – and the success of your event can be measured by how long people stay.

Quirky entertainment can help to make the transition to stage two, when the motivational rewards have been served and people can start to let loose after a long year. Circus performers give everyone something to focus on and act as a real talking point to make your event live long in the memory.

5. Live action drama

Murder mysteries and escape rooms have boomed in popularity recently, making them the on-trend way to celebrate. Why not harness the action for your Christmas party entertainment? It’s a great way to promote team building with something a little different. Contact Murder Mystery Events to get all the scripts and props you need for a successful evening.

6. Drinks to die for

The little touches can make or break a corporate Christmas party. Serve a simple choice of wines - or, worse still, provide no complimentary refreshments – and your evening may leave everyone feeling decidedly unvalued.

Instead, try out unusual cocktail recipes to serve up something that looks impressive and tastes delicious.

7. A dashing dress code

Themed events go down a treat, since they give everyone the chance to dress up in something new. Forget indecisive ‘smart casual’ codes: opt for a daring color theme, a glitzy 1920s throwback or classic black tie.

Just take care to communicate this properly – few things are as sure to kill the glamorous buzz as your entire IT department showing up in jeans.