Winter party ideas for work

6 winter party themes for work

Each theme needs only a few decorations, one menu and one activity. Pick one and commit to it.

• Winter wonderland

  The easy classic: white, silver and lights, with no holiday attached.

  Set the room:

  Paper snowflakes hung at different heights, white lights along the walls and a white runner on every table.

  Serve:

  White hot chocolate, powdered sugar cookies and a big bowl of popcorn snowballs.

  Play:

  A three-minute snowflake cutting round, with the room voting by applause.

• Cabin cozy

  For the team that wants a slow, warm hour more than a loud one.

  Set the room:

  Plaid throws on the chairs, lanterns with LED candles and a crackling fire video on the big screen.

  Serve:

  A pot of chili, a vegetarian stew, cornbread and s'mores bars baked the day before.

  Play:

  A best snow day story round at each table, then board games for whoever wants to stay.

• Ski lodge

  Apres-ski energy without the slope: a photo spot and a little friendly competition.

  Set the room:

  A bin of knit hats for photos, borrowed skis by the wall and the agenda drawn as a trail map.

  Serve:

  Cheese in an electric fondue pot, soft pretzels and warm apple cider.

  Play:

  A trivia round in three runs: green circle easy, blue square medium, black diamond hard.

• Cocoa bar

  The cheapest theme that still feels like an event, and it works at any headcount.

  Set the room:

  One long table, a row of mugs, two big urns and every topping in a labeled bowl.

  Serve:

  Dark and milk cocoa, an oat milk pot, marshmallows, crushed peppermint, whipped cream and cinnamon.

  Play:

  A blind taste test of three cocoas, or a hosted cocoa bomb workshop where everyone makes their own.

• Snow globe

  Built around one great photo spot, so the party lives on in the team channel.

  Set the room:

  A clear umbrella with paper snowflakes hanging from the ribs as the globe, and fake snow at its base.

  Serve:

  Mini desserts under glass domes and sparkling cranberry juice in clear cups.

  Play:

  Shake it up: tables swap seats between every round, so people meet someone new each game.

• Indoor snow day

  For the afternoon off the team never got in December.

  Set the room:

  Comfy clothes welcome, jigsaw puzzles on every table and a winter movie playing quietly in the corner.

  Serve:

  Grilled cheese triangles, tomato soup in mugs and a tray of warm cookies.

  Play:

  A jigsaw race between tables: the same 300-piece puzzle each, first finished wins.

Winter party food that holds well

Pick food that stays warm for two hours on a buffet, so nobody has to babysit the oven.

• A soup bar. Two soups in slow cookers, one of them vegetarian, with bread, crackers and a tray of toppings.
• A baked potato bar. Potatoes kept warm in a roaster with chili, cheese, broccoli and sour cream on the side.
• Mac and cheese, two ways. One classic tray and one with a topping like roasted vegetables or crispy onions.
• Warm drinks for everyone. Cocoa, cider and tea first. If you serve alcohol, keep it optional and make the non-alcoholic drinks just as good.
• Desserts baked ahead. S'mores bars, gingerbread cake or warm cookies from the oven: no open flames at the table.
• Labels on everything. A small card naming each dish and its common allergens, plus at least one vegetarian and one gluten-free option.

10 winter party games for work

Plan two or three for a one-hour party. Short on prep time? A host runs virtual winter games for the office and remote guests at once.

• Snowball question toss. Write questions on scrap paper, crumple them and toss them across the room; whoever catches one answers it. On video, the host names who catches next.
• Mitten challenge. Players wear thick mittens and race to unwrap a candy, open a sticky note pad or wrap a small box.
• Snowflake design-off. One sheet of paper, a pair of scissors and three minutes; hold them up to the window or the camera and vote.
• Ice cube melt race. Each table gets an ice cube in a zip bag and melts it by hand, no tools allowed. First puddle wins.
• Winter would you rather. Read a handful of questions from our winter would you rather list between rounds.
• Blind cocoa tasting. Three numbered cocoas; teams guess which is dark, which is milk and which is the store brand.
• A winter trivia round. Ten questions from our winter trivia questions, teams of four, answers on one sheet.
• Cup snowman stack. Teams build the tallest snowman they can from white paper cups in sixty seconds.
• Before spring bucket list. Everyone names one thing they want to do before spring, and the team looks for the ones people share.
• A hosted winter escape game. A host leads teams through a snowed-in mountain resort mystery in Winter Resort Vacate-tion, on video or on the office screen.

Hybrid and remote winter parties

A winter party is often the first time the whole team is together after the holidays. Make sure remote guests are in it, not watching it.

• One game on one screen. Pick a game everyone plays together on the call, so the office and the remote guests are one group, not two.
• Ship the cocoa. A hot chocolate bomb kit at every home gives remote guests the same mug in hand as the office.
• Send food credit ahead. A delivery credit sent a few days before lets remote guests order lunch for the same hour.
• Mic the room. One camera on the room, one good microphone and one person in the office watching the chat.
• Small rooms for the chat parts. Use breakout rooms of four to six for story rounds, then bring everyone back for the main game.

Why a January party works

Moving the holiday party to January is a choice, not a delay.

• Calendars are calmer. Year-end deadlines are done, and people aren't juggling three parties in one week.
• Dates are easier to get. Venues, caterers and hosts usually have more open dates than in December.
• Nobody misses it for travel. The people who leave early for the holidays are back at their desks.
• It celebrates the season, not a holiday. A winter party includes everyone, whatever they celebrated in December.
• It gives the year a shared start. A thank-you for last year and one line on the year ahead fit naturally into the welcome.

Want a new year angle instead? See our virtual New Year's party ideas, or our January team building list for the rest of the month.

A 90-minute winter party plan

The same plan works in a conference room, a lounge or on a call.

1. 1First 15 minutes: arrive and mingle. Open the cocoa bar or food line and play music while people drift in.
2. 2Five minutes: the welcome. A leader thanks the team for last year and says one line about the year ahead. Keep it short.
3. 3Sixty minutes: one shared game. A hosted winter game or two of the games above, with remote guests on the big screen.
4. 4Last ten minutes: prizes and a photo. Hand out small prizes, take a group photo at the photo spot and post it in the team channel.