Interesting Yet Simple and Easy Corporate Holiday Party Ideas

Holiday parties at the office typically have a bad reputation.   They can be a double edge sword for open-bar fueled fodder for water cooler gossip, or they can be a dull afterthought planned by an otherwise overworked staffer.  If you are tasked with planning this year’s festivities, repeat this mantra: “I can do better.”

No matter what the budget (or lack thereof) office holiday parties don’t have to so dreadful and boring.  Office parties can be simple, classy, beautiful and a lot of fun.  Every party is going to be different based on the people throwing the party, location, budget and office culture and demographics, however here are some themed ideas to get you started.
Keep in mind that these theme ideas are a jumping off point only – if your party is on the smaller scale, you can combine one or two ideas into your party to make a huge impact.
The ice or winter theme is a popular one and easy to do because its non-religious.  This is one of the simplest themes to pull off, as you can accomplish wonders with some blue up lighting and white linens.  Snowflake gobos like these offer a lot of bang for your buck.

Rustic winter décor is another popular one.  This is a lot of branches, pine cones, maybe some twine and burlap.  Hot chocolate bars work well in many of these themes, but there are a lot of cute things you can do with it here.  Think about lanterns, candles, birch, etc.

Another idea is the old fashioned Christmas, or historic Christmas.  Colonial Christmas is a lot of traditional Christmas decorations, a lot of greenery (wreaths, trees, swags), lots of candles and lanterns.  The identifying factor for Colonial Christmas is the use of fresh fruit in the décor.

Casino themed parties are popular around the holidays or anytime a company wants to have an event really.  The motivation for this type of theme is to give your employees something to do besides sit around and drink (although you can also stand around, drink, AND gamble – employers value multi-taskers!)

Most companies use some type of play money and award some sort of prize.  There are companies that will rent out the casino games and tables, and even provide dealers and other staff.

Gatsby is big this year (thanks to the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio), so Gatsby themed holiday parties, or just general speakeasy, prohibition, roaring 20s themed parties are expected.  Lots of feathers and fringe.

You can make it seem more Christmas-y by incorporating some red and green.  I’d add some fun signature cocktails and a cigar bar (if there were outdoor space.)

I love the idea of a Narnia theme.  It’s probably because I love the Chronicles of Narnia books so much. (I actually didn’t read them as I child, but when I was in college, but I fell in love with them and it’s one of my favorite examples of children’s literature).

Of course, there is a lot of Christian allegory in the Narnia books, which might make it an inappropriate theme for your group.  However, if it is appropriate for your group then this is the way to go.  The idea of the entrance being the wardrobe (from The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe) into a winter-esque décor.

Courtesy of:  http://planningitall.com/