5 Team Building Activities for the Festive Period

Pinch punch, first day of the month!?

As the tinsel goes up and the temperature falls down, the focus of those inside and outside of the workplace shifts into ‘festive mode’. The hypothetical baubles that decorate our minds with Christmas spirit are in full swing, and so what better time to start thinking about those Christmas-sy work activities?

Every year I like to do something festive with my team before Christmas, it means that we get to spend some quality time together before the break and we can celebrate our successes of the year. (This year, we have decided on decorating gingerbread houses)

However, sometimes I struggle to think of something new for us to try. That is why THIS year, I have decided to curate a list of 5 team building exercises to do with your team before the Christmas break.

So, without further ado, here are 5 fantastic festive team building exercises for you to try this year…

1. Deck the office!

What better way to get in the festive spirit whilst building relationships than giving your office a little christmas makeover? Pop on some Mr Buble, get the snacks and deck the halls with your team!?

If you work remotely, then why not have a competition with your colleagues over who can decorate their home workspace the best? (although be aware, you may need to watch out for those virtual background cheaters!)

2. Escape room in an envelope

An escape room in an envelope basically does what it says on the tin, it is an activity in which participants can turn their home or office into an escape room. They come with around 10 tricky puzzles that involve a lot of outside-the-box thinking. These are super fun and can promote working together to solve problems.?

3. Millionaires Secret Santa

This game is very similar to Secret Santa as your team will pick their gift recipient out of a hat and the recipient will never know who sent the gift, however your team must think about what they would buy their designated colleague if they had ￡1,000,000. Of course,assuming they don't have that to spend on a colleague, they will then have to buy their colleague something related to this million pound gift, but on a budget.

For example:?If their ￡1M was a yacht, they would get their colleague an ocean scented candle or a boat keyring.?

4. Seasonal Superlatives

Next on my list of team building activities, we have seasonal superlatives. This is a great activity for larger teams and is sure to provide a little bit of banter for those involved. First, you need to create a list of seasonal ‘most likely to’ name tags to distribute through the team, such as ‘most likely to sing Mariah Carey every day’ or ‘most likely to finish their xmas shopping before halloween’. Have fun with these and make them specific as possible. It is then up to your team to decide which name badge suits each colleague the best.

5. Charity Gift Boxes

If you have ever heard about my banks of balance, my bank of give back is one that I like to top up regularly. Why not come together with your team and bring in tins of food or children's toys to donate to the food and toy banks??

In the current cost of living crisis, we need to help where we can as much as possible if we are fortunate enough to be able to. There are so many schemes running over the festive period that allow you to get involved with transforming a family in need’s Christmas, and I’ll pop a few of them below. This is a goal that I set for myself every year, as I feel it is so important to give something back to the community and those in need.?

https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/christmas-present-appeal?

https://corporate.lidl.co.uk/media-centre/pressreleases/2022/christmas-toy-bank?

If you want to set your team up and help them to make goals both in their personal and professional lives for 2023, I will let you in on a wee secret, my book SMASH IT! The Art of Getting What YOU Want’ is officially available for free on Spotify if you have Spotify Premium!

It is also available on Amazon and selected independent bookstores if you would prefer to give them a paperback copy.