Holiday party ideas on a budget for work
Hold it at the office on company time, pick one shared activity and keep the food simple. A hosted holiday game is $850 for up to 25 guests, about $34 a person at 25. Here are 22 cheap ideas and the math for your headcount.
The cheapest good holiday party at work happens at the office during work hours, with one activity everyone does together and simple food. A potluck or pizza with a free game costs almost nothing. When the team is close to 25, a hosted game is one package price, so the cost per person drops as the team fills it.
22 cheap holiday party ideas for work, by cost per person
Pick one idea from the group your budget allows. One good hour beats a little of everything.
Free: costs only an hour of work time
Hold these in work hours and the only cost is the hour itself.
- Recipe swap potluck. Everyone brings a dish and its recipe card; one volunteer turns the cards into a team cookbook PDF.
- Desk-to-desk snack crawl. Each team hosts one snack table in its corner, and groups move every 15 minutes.
- A free holiday feud on the big screen. Our Christmas family feud board has the survey answers ready, so one person can host it.
- Board game afternoon. People bring a favorite game from home; set up one table per game and rotate.
- Kudos card wall. Each person writes one card to someone who helped them this year; read a few out loud.
- Playlist guessing game. Everyone adds one holiday song to a shared playlist, and the room guesses who picked each.
- Year-end lightning talks. Volunteers get three minutes for a win, a hobby or a family tradition.
- A volunteer hour together. Write cards for a local senior center or sort donations, on the clock.
Under $10 a person
Small spends on food and supplies, with the activity still free.
- Pizza and a game hour. The party food everyone eats, plus one free game from our list of holiday party games for work.
- Baked potato bar. Potatoes from the office oven or a nearby restaurant, and a table of toppings.
- Holiday breakfast. Bagels, fruit and coffee at 10 am cost less than lunch, and nobody stays late.
- Five-dollar thrift challenge. Each person finds the best gift they can for $5, and the room votes on the winner.
- Paper snowflake contest. Printer paper, scissors and one guest judge; the winners go up in the windows.
- Ornament painting. Plain ornaments and paint pens from a craft store, and everyone takes one home.
- Cookie exchange. Bakers bring a dozen each, and everyone leaves with a mixed box.
Under $40 a person
Where one paid thing, like lunch or a hosted game, carries the party.
- A hosted virtual game. One package price covers up to 25 guests, so the cost per person drops as the team fills it. See the math below.
- Catered lunch at the office. Lunch menus cost less than dinner, and the party fits in the workday.
- Family-style lunch out. Shared platters go further than plated meals for a group of 10 to 20.
- Weekday afternoon bowling. Daytime lane rates are often lower than evenings and weekends.
- Public skating, then cocoa. A weekday afternoon session at a local rink, with hot drinks after.
- Potluck plus one paid main. The company buys the main dish and the team brings sides and desserts.
- A gift instead of a party. For a team spread across cities, a small chocolate box from our gifts under $25 can go to every home with a note.
The lowest-priced hosted holiday games
A host makes a small budget feel planned: one package price covers up to 25 guests, there is nothing to buy, ship or set up, and remote guests play the same game as the office.
Festive Family FeudStarting at $34 USD / person
Christmas Trivia PartyStarting at $34 USD / person
Christmas Music Bingo PartyStarting at $34 USD / person
These are the three lowest-priced hosted holiday games in our catalog right now, each about 60 minutes with a live host. Hosted games book about 2 weeks ahead. Reserve on the activity page with a 50% deposit, or send your headcount and budget for a full plan within 24 hours.
What a hosted holiday game costs per person
A hosted game is one package for up to 25 guests, so a team of 25 pays the same as a team of 10 and the cost per person falls as you fill it. Past 25, each game adds a block price for every 25 more guests, and those differ by game. Prices below are live from our catalog.
| Activity | 10 guests | 15 guests | 25 guests | 40 guests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Festive Family FeudHosted game, one package | $85$850 total | $57$850 total | $34$850 total | $43$1,700 total |
| Christmas Trivia PartyHosted game, one package | $85$850 total | $57$850 total | $34$850 total | $43$1,700 total |
| Christmas Music Bingo PartyHosted game, one package | $85$850 total | $57$850 total | $34$850 total | $43$1,700 total |
| Holiday Fun & GamesHosted game, one package | $98$975 total | $65$975 total | $39$975 total | $30$1,195 total |
| Cookie DecoratingKit workshop, for comparison | $110$1,099 total | $98$1,459 total | $88$2,179 total | $82$3,259 total |
Over 25 guests, compare the block prices: at 40 guests the lowest here is Holiday Fun & Games, at $30 a person.
Kit workshops price per guest because a box ships to every home, so they cost more per person at every size but give remote guests something to hold. See our virtual cookie decorating page for how that works, or compare every hosted option on our virtual holiday party page.
Three sample budgets, priced live
Each one pairs a headcount with a per-head cap and prices the lowest-cost hosted holiday game for that headcount today.
- 12 people at $30 a head is $360. Even the lowest-priced hosted game, Festive Family Feud, would be $71 a person, over the cap, so run a free game and put the whole amount into food and small prizes.
- 20 people at $60 a head is $1,200. Festive Family Feud costs $850 at this size, which leaves $350, about $17 a person for food.
- 40 people at $45 a head is $1,800. Holiday Fun & Games costs $1,195 at this size, which leaves $605, about $15 a person for food.
Running a small business with a team budget all year? Our team building for small businesses page lists the events that fit a team of 5 to 50. To lay out every line before you commit, use our event budget template.
Where to spend and where to save
A cheap party still feels generous when the money goes to the things people notice.
Spend on
- One shared activity. It is what people remember. One good hour beats three things nobody finishes.
- Food for every diet. A real vegetarian main and a labeled allergy-friendly dish cost little and feed everyone.
- Work hours. A party on company time gets more yeses than a free evening or a Saturday.
- Remote guests. If the office gets lunch, remote people get the same amount on the same day.
Save on
- The venue. Your office is free. A cleared meeting room and string lights are enough.
- Decorations. Reuse last year's box, add paper snowflakes and skip the balloon arch.
- An open bar. Sparkling drinks and one mocktail cost less and keep the party comfortable for everyone.
- Printed invites and swag. A calendar invite is free; put the print budget toward food.
- December evenings. Venues and caterers often charge more for them. A weekday lunch is cheaper.
Want a line-by-line price for food, venue and gifts? Our holiday party cost per person guide breaks it down, and our holiday luncheon ideas have menus by budget.
