Office Christmas Party

Christmas is indeed the most miraculous time of the year. Everybody is waiting for the best to happen. It is a great time to have fun with people who have been next to you the whole year: co-workers and your students. In this article, we will present some great ideas on how to organize Christmas parties in the office (some of them are suitable even for online lessons) and celebrate this fantastic holiday with co-teachers and students. Below you can find games that are designed not for language practice but for amusement.

Game 1 — Christmas tree ornament balance game

The game is played in pairs. Either  co-teachers can make pairs or fellow-students, or a teacher and a student. An empty wrapping paper tube is placed on a table or on the floor, and balance a yardstick on top of the tube. Each of the two players has five various sized Christmas tree decorations. Standing on opposite sides of the yardstick, players must work together to put all five ornaments on their side of the yardstick without toppling the structure. The side who finishes the first and doesn’t topple the structure is the winner.

If you want to organize this game with online groups or individual students, you can ask each of the students each to prepare the necessary balance tubes and try the same together with a family member or a friend, or even a neighbor.

Game 2 — Secret Santa, White Elephant, and Virtual Gift Exchange

Secret Santa is a beloved Christmas tradition. Members of a group draw random names to become someone’s Secret Santa. During the gift exchange, each person takes a turn opening their gift and then tries to guess their Secret Santa.

White Elephant is a bit different because you don’t know who will end up with the gift you buy. Each guest of the party brings a wrapped gift (anonymous) to the gift exchange, where party-goers will take turns choosing a gift, unwrapping it, and then either keeping or swapping the gift they’ve unwrapped.

Check out this Secret Santa Gift Exchange generator and rules of another interesting gift exchange, Yankee Swap Game.

If you are teaching online, you can still arrange a distance Christmas party gift exchange. Each member describes the person to him the gift must go. Other team members must guess who it is. After finding the addressee the gift is unwrapped. It’s fun for all when they find out the identity of their Secret Santa and see their presents. After the online session, the gifts can be really sent to their owners.

Game 3 — Cookie Exchange

This office party game can be played both with teachers and students. Ask each to bring two to three dozen of their favorite Christmas cookies without revealing what they have brought. You will need a container for each participant, some paper and pens. Place a number in front of each tray of cookies.

As the employees are filling their containers to take home, they will use the pen and paper and write down who they believe brought which cookies. The person with the most correct guesses wins a small prize. It can be a mug, a Christmas decoration, etc.

Game 4 — Jingle Bell Toss

Most students know an American party game with plastic cups in a pyramid-like formation and balls. For Christmas party use these red cups and tiny jingle bells or marshmallows instead of pong balls.

Game 5 —  Christmas Tree Decoration

Who said that you should have only one Christmas tree? You can organize a very mobile office party game where participants are divided into two teams, each has one Christmas tree. There is a big box with toys, teams are timed to run and grab toys and take to their team corner. Then each team decorates the tree with their own style and the team who finishes the first is the winner. But you can think of other nominations, like the “best style”, “the best color combinations”, etc.

Game 6 — Wrap as fast as you can

This is a great game that will engage all participants. You will need wrapping paper, several sizes of boxes, scissors, and tape. Place the supplies on a table and ask for volunteers. Each person will have to wrap a present as fast as they can. The person to wrap the present in a neat manner and the quickest wins the game. Keep the competition going until there is one person left who wraps the best.

Game 7 — Left/Right  Game

Everyone gathers in a circle, and the gifts are passed out.  Read the left/right story and whenever the word RIGHT is said — everyone must pass their gift to the right, whenever the word LEFT is said — everyone must pass their gift to the left.  When the story is over players can keep the gift they end up with. Here is an example of a great left/right story.

Game 8 — Face the Gingerbread Man

The players should slowly shimmer a gingerbread cookie down your face without their hands and  bite it before it drops

 All these activities will work great for an office Christmas party. Last year my adult students mostly liked Christmas tree decoration, Left/right story, and we got a bunch of  positive emotions.