Christmas Eve is associated primarily with time spent with family, gifts, a Christmas tree smelling of the forest and delicious food. This magical period is also an opportunity to integrate colleagues. Many companies decide to organize a company Christmas party every year. This begs the question: how to organize an employee Christmas Eve party? In this article, we will tell you what to pay attention to when organizing such a celebration.
Before you sit down at the Christmas table
December has come, so no one will accuse us of being too early to get into a holiday frenzy! We wink at people who already listened to Last Christmas and other Christmas hits in November 🙂
Saint Nicholas’ Day abroad – various traditions
Employee Christmas Eve – necessity or invention?
europa.jobs organizes an employee Christmas party every year – it’s already a tradition. This is a special time when we can sit down at the table together, forget about our responsibilities for a moment and strengthen relationships in the team. Such a reset, a meeting of a slightly different nature, reminds us that there are people behind the company’s success. Employee Christmas Eve allows us to slow down, recharge our batteries for the next year and summarize this year’s achievements.
After the pandemic, we appreciate the opportunity to celebrate together even more. These are precious moments that stay with us for a long time. Many other companies follow the same premise. Employee Christmas Eve, just like other company events, play a key role in team integration. A pleasant atmosphere at work and good relations between employees bring a lot of good and translate into good results.
How to organize an Christmas party?
In the introduction to the article, we asked the key question: how to organize an employee Christmas party? Well-thought-out actions in this matter will allow us to avoid unpleasant situations, faux-pas or organizational slip-ups. What to look for?
First of all, you should consider whether you are organizing a Christmas party for a large company or for a small company. There is also the issue of budget – how much can we afford? The second important factor is the degree of intimacy between employees.
Christmas Eve in an intimate group will have a completely different character than a meeting organized for employees who barely know each other or are too large a team. Below we will present ideas for organizing an employee Christmas party for a large and small company.
Employee benefits – What do employees care about?
Employee Christmas Eve in a large company
Large corporations can afford to organize a grand Christmas party financially. They often decide to rent premises to be able to accommodate all departments of the company in one place. However, sometimes it is difficult to organize, so individual departments meet in a regular group.
Unfortunately, this is not conducive to the overall integration of the company. When choosing a hall/restaurant, it is worth paying attention to the location. The best solution will be to organize a Christmas party in a place not far from the company’s headquarters.
Large enterprises with branches in various cities in Poland often invite employees to a selected place – a hotel or a guesthouse – so as not to worry about accommodation on that day. A trip to a new and interesting place, e.g. a guesthouse in the mountains or a hotel in a castle, will certainly affect the level of attractiveness of the Christmas party.
In a large company, there is greater anonymity. It is better to avoid situations that may embarrass or intimidate employees. Sharing the wafer and making wishes will not be a good idea. A better solution may be general wishes from the head of the company for employees and – depending on his willingness – identical, symbolic gifts.
Employee Christmas Eve in a small company
An employee Christmas party organized in a small company has a completely different dimension. In this case, we are usually dealing with a small, permanent team. Smaller companies, due to a smaller budget, often decide to organize an employee Christmas party at the company’s headquarters. Then it is in our hands to take care of decorations and food.
We can order catering and choose the menu together. If we have more time, as well as willingness and culinary skills – let everyone prepare a dish and put it on the table on Christmas Eve! Of course, this must be arranged in advance so that the dishes do not duplicate or run out of something.
In an intimate and well-coordinated team, making wishes and even giving gifts can have a very positive connotation. It is worth conducting a draw in advance – who is giving a gift to whom. Then everyone will be sure that he will be gifted. Remember to set a minimum and maximum amount that we spend on a gift!
Employee Christmas Eve – savoir-vivre
If you manage an international team – do not impose tradition! Plan your Christmas Eve in a universal way. Singing Christmas carols or sharing a wafer can be embarrassing for employees belonging to a different culture. A better solution will be to organize celebrations in a universal tone with a Christmas tree and Christmas songs in the background, without religious accents that may also divide Polish employees.
The situation is different if we want to make a cultural exchange – then everyone can prepare a dish or share a tradition from their country.
At the Christmas table, avoid uncomfortable topics such as politics, religion or health. We organize a company Christmas party to have a nice time and to settle any disputes, instead of exacerbating conflicts unnecessarily.
A big faux-pas will be comments about the food and decor – regardless of where we organize the employee Christmas party. It is inappropriate to make such remarks during an event in a restaurant or at the company’s headquarters. Criticism about a dish that we did not like can be heard by a colleague from work sitting nearby, who put his heart into its preparation. Why start unnecessary arguments?
And most of all, don’t forget to smile! Holidays are a reason to be happy. We wish you all a happy working Christmas Eve 🙂