When December sneaks up, we all feel the pressure to take some time off and visit our family. There's just one problem: work isn't going anywhere. And with the holidays fast approaching, it’s becoming more and more challenging to stay focused in the office.
Office workers, just like anyone, get excited about the holidays, and it can be a bit challenging to stay focused with loads of work left to do. If you’ll work through the holidays, it’s important to spread the holiday cheer in the office to relieve some of that ‘fear of missing out’ or FOMO, as the kids call it.
Despite so much happening around you during the festive season, it's vital to stay productive at work and finish up the remainder of the year's work. You definitely wouldn’t want to return to an endless pile of work at the start of the New Year. Bringing the holiday spirit to your office will enable you to avoid the holiday distraction and maintain focus at work.
It’s not too late! You can still make your office festive for the holidays even if you won’t be taking any time off. It doesn’t take much to transform a workspace into a winter wonderland that will bring joy to employees and clients alike. With some careful planning, you can create an environment that is both festive and functional at the same time.
If you're those poor souls who'll be stuck at their desks right through New Year's Eve and onward, here are ten ideas on how to keep your office festive.
10 Ways to Keep Your Office Festive During the Holidays
Decorate the workplace to add some Christmas cheer
There’s no better way to infuse the Christmas mood in the office than decorating the workplace. Decorations will fill the office with warmth and cheer, enabling you to stay motivated and productive throughout the festive season. Pick up a unique theme such as “winter wonderland” and transform your office with some garlands, wreaths, candy canes, snowflakes, bows, tinsel, and scotch tape.
Light up the office with fairy lights or colors that match your company’s colors to ignite that festive mood. Decorate your plush Comhar All-in-One Standing Desk Bamboo Texture Top with small and festive Christmas decorations such as funny coasters, candy canes, or mini light-up Christmas trees to get into the Christmas mood.
Another way to get into the holiday spirit is by incorporating seasonal decorations into your workday. Nothing beats good old-fashioned spruce, but you might be surprised by the number of other holiday decor that can be displayed at work without creating tension or taking too much time away from more important tasks.
• Gingerbread Man Ornaments – These are cute and festive while being functional as well! They also come in multiple flavors, so you can have all of your coworkers try a tasty treat this season.
• Holiday Wrapping Paper – The best part about this idea is that it doesn’t matter how big or small your company is because everyone will appreciate some new wrapping paper for those unique presents they have been meaning to give.
Plus, there are just some things that cannot be wrapped with standard paper, so having festive options for those is ideal.
• Holiday Themed Paper Clips – These are great to keep on your desk at all times because they are simple yet cute decorations that will never fail to bring a smile to someone’s face. Plus, paper clips can be used in place of regular clothespins when pinning up last-minute decorations!
Play Christmas-themed games
Playing Christmas-themed games is another great way of keeping the office festive during the Christmas holidays. Playing these games will release your mind from the stringent office routine and get you in the holiday mood while maintaining your productivity.
Playing Christmas-themed games during free time with your office colleagues would also enhance bonding between the staff and keep them engaged during the holiday. You could group yourselves into teams and play games that test skills or memory. There are numerous Christmas-themed games you could engage in, including taboo words, gymkhana, app games, and more.
To make the games more interesting, you could reward the winning team with gifts and also offer consolation gifts for the rest. In the long run, playing different Christmas-themed games would get you in the festive mood while still motivating you to continue working amidst the numerous holiday destructions.
Host Contests
Want a fun way to invoke the holiday spirit in the office? Hold contests! Contests involving incentives such as a trophy or prize spark the holiday spirit by facilitating friendly competition among co-workers. Besides, these games create an opportunity for team building and encourage creativity.
There are plenty of different contests you could host. Contest ideas include office cube/department decorating contents, ugly sweater contests, best holiday pie contests, window design contests, desk decoration contests, conducting raffles or draws for prizes, charades or trivia tournaments, and many more. There are endless contest ideas, and it just depends on what you and your colleagues are comfortable with.
A highly recommended contest you could host this holiday is the ugly Christmas sweater, which has become sort of a classic holiday tradition. You and your colleagues should choose a day where you'll come to the office wearing ugly Christmas sweaters. The individual with the ugliest Christmas sweater should then be rewarded.
This content will bring out Christmas cheer amongst your colleagues during this busy and stressful time of the year. The bonus here is that it’s bound to get a riot of laughter going as you witness how ugly Christmas sweaters can get.
Exchange Gifts- Play Secret Santa or a White Elephant Gift Exchange
Another great way to keep the office festive during the Christmas holidays is to host a gift exchange day at the office. Instead of buying everyone a gift, you could play secret Santa, do a grab bag or host a white elephant gift exchange. These games not only add lots of fun in exchanging gifts but are also an affordable way to appreciate your coworkers.
With these gift exchanging games, everyone in the office gets involved for a small price. You won’t feel that they brought you gifts and you had nothing to reward them. The games are played differently, with different rules. For instance, in secret Santa, the participants' names are written on separate pieces of paper. Then, the papers bearing the names are placed in a bag, and everyone gets an opportunity to randomly pick a name. The name you choose is who you should play Secret Santa to.
In the white elephant gift game, participants bring one wrapped gift to place in a common gift pool. A draw is then conducted to determine how the participants select gifts from the pool. The players then choose to either pick an unwrapped gift from the pool or steal a previous player's gift. Players who get their gift stolen can either select a new gift or steal from someone else. After all, players have had their turn; the first player is then required to swap the gift they are holding for any other opened gift. The game ends when someone declines to steal a gift and opens the gift they chose.
These gift exchanging activities are easy, inclusive and offer everyone an opportunity to give and receive gifts from everyone in the office. It also fosters interaction and connection between workmates.
Give Back to the Community
The Christmas holiday is the period of giving, and there's no better way to bring the holiday spirit into your office than giving back to the community. One way to give back to the community is by volunteering for a non-profit organization or a nearby charity. You and your colleagues could go out and take part in volunteering activities such as cooking at a nearby school, collecting items for clothes or food drives, or organizing a fundraising event for an institution or local community.
What if you’re too busy with work to spare a day for volunteer work? The good news is that you don't have to be physically present when volunteering. There are ways you and your workmates can give back to the community without leaving the office. For instance, you could fund a mission or make donations to local charity organizations to enable them to achieve their mission.
Play Christmas Music in the Office
Another great way to keep your office festive during the holidays is to turn up the Christmas music. There’s something about Christmas songs that puts everyone in the festive mood, so you’ll feel you’re not missing out on the festivities even when you’re working throughout the holidays.
Playing some Andy Williams, Bing Crosby, or your favorite Christmas song would definitely lift your Christmas moods while still allowing you to remain focused at work. There is tons of holiday music on Spotify or Deezer that you could play in the background as you continue with work.
If you don't have access to such apps, you could play a Christmas radio station that guarantees an unlimited flow of holiday music. However, ask your workmates (in a shared office space) if they are comfortable with the music and are not distracted. If the music distracts them, you may want to use headphones and listen independently.
No matter the radio, app, or medium you're using, playing Christmas music would definitely light up the office. As such, you won't feel like you're missing out on the festivities while held up at work.
Make Merry with Christmas Treats
Christmas is the period to make merry, and you can bring the festivities right into the office. Christmas meals and treats are a great way of bringing the Christmas spirit into the office as you work through the festive season.
There are several ways you can make merry in the office during Christmas. For instance, you can host a potluck where you could ask your colleagues to bring their favorite homemade traditional dish to the office. They could also come with traditional Christmas treats such as prawns, Christmas canapés, or the hugely popular Roscón de Reyes. You can be sure that your workmates will be looking forward to this day to get a taste of the different traditional Christmas cuisines.
Making merry at the office with different traditional Christmas dishes or treats creates a feeling of festivities. It also enables you and your colleagues to learn about diversity in Christmas celebrations since you experience different tastes. However, eating at your office desk is not recommended as you’re likely to create a mess and damage your office furniture. Nonetheless, with office furniture such as the FlexiSpot Ergonomic Leather Home Office Chair and Adjustable Standing Desk Pro Series EC5, eating at your desk shouldn’t be a problem as they withstand dirt and are easy to clean.
Host a “Bring Your Kids/Pets to Work” Day
If you have a day to spare, you and your colleagues could have a day where you’ll bring your pets/kids to work. This will turn on the festive spirit in the office and ensure everyone gets to interact, including kids and pets. Christmas is a time to spend with your loved ones, and there's no better way to do this in a busy period than hosting such a day in the office. However, since you won't be very productive on that day, you'll want to host this event on a day where your schedule isn't packed.
Have a Christmas photocall at the Office
You could keep your office festive during the Christmas period by having a Christmas photocall while indulging in Christmas cheer. All the office staff could pose for a photo shoot wearing a Christmas sweater, Santa hat, Santa white beard, mustache hair, and wig or Santa costume. Having a Christmas photocall at the office is a fun way of celebrating the festivities and creates memories that last a lifetime. Just make sure you do it right.
Host a Work Holiday Party
Last but not least, you can turn on the holiday spirit at work by hosting a work holiday party in the office. Food, music, and laughter are all synonymous with the festivities and can surely keep your office festive during this celebration period.
You don't have to throw the office party during weekdays, where everyone is busy. You could, for instance, pick a weekend and set up a venue outside the office. You could rent a hall or go out for happy hour, as long as everyone is comfortable. You could also incorporate different activities into the party, such as bowling, watching a movie, playing games, and more.
Holiday parties are a fun way of embracing the holiday spirit in the office. Besides, it motivates office workers as it gives them something to look forward to during the festive season. Ensure you include your workmates in planning. Preferably schedule the party on a day when everyone is likely to attend, even with their busy work schedule.
Other Ways to Ignite the Festive Spirit
Bring in a Jolly Fat Man
Get a plastic Santa Claus and put it on top of your cubicle or desk so everyone can see it. It will definitely cheer up your workspace! Some stores sell these dolls year-round if you do not have any of these lying around. A quick search on Google Shopping should help you find what you need - however, make sure the Santa is not too tacky.
Add Holiday Mottos or Sayings
Everyone loves festive things like snowflakes, reindeer, and “joy” sayings. These can easily be printed on mouse pads or magnets to add some whimsy to your office space while also reminding others of the true meaning of the season. You can also use decorative tinsel or other holiday trimmings for this purpose.
Final Thoughts
Christmas is right around the corner, and the holiday spirit is in full swing everywhere. While the Christmas holiday is a time to spend with your loved ones and share a great time, you may have to work during the festive season as it may be a busy period depending on your line of work. However, this doesn't mean you can’t celebrate Christmas!
These are just a few ideas to get you started. You can make your office feel more like a winter wonderland with a bit of creativity. And even if you're not feeling particularly Christmassy, it's still nice to take a break from the usual work routine and enjoy some festive cheer. So go ahead and try out some of these ideas - we promise you won't regret it!
If all else fails, kickstart your office Christmas with FlexiSpot and check out the fantastic Christmas deals on office furniture, including ergonomic office chairs and standing desks. Happy Holidays from all of us here at Flexispot!
