Christmas drinks or
end-of-year party

More than just drinks and a speech

Most end-of-year parties consist of a dinner, a look back and drinks. Fine, but that's the same at almost every company. A short interactive element, themed on December or on the company itself, gives the evening something people remember and are still talking about in January.

• Winter quiz or competition made to measure for the company
• Usually lasts 45 to 90 minutes, fits an existing programme
• Works for small teams up to large workforces
• Also suitable as a look back at the year, in game form

Why Christmas drinks without a programme fall apart into departments

Christmas drinks without a programme fall apart into the groups people are already in at the office. Sales stands with sales, administration with administration, and the new colleague from September still knows only four faces afterwards. That's not a matter of too little drink or a bad venue, it's a structural problem: there's nothing that gives people a reason to talk to someone else.

An element with mixed teams solves that, provided you assign the teams yourself. If you let people divide themselves up, you get exactly the same groups back. So we make the allocation beforehand, with colleagues from different corners of the company in each team.

Where the element fits in the evening

The interactive element works best early in the evening, shortly after everyone has arrived. At that point the room is still standing in the familiar groups and there's still enough energy to get started on something. If you only put it in after dinner and two drinks, you're competing with conversations that are already under way.

With a dinner, a set-up in parts works well: a round between courses, and the finale at dessert. That puts tension into the evening without the food going cold. With standing drinks we keep it to a single block of forty-five minutes to an hour.

We tailor the content to the year that's just gone. A look back in game form works better than a look back in a presentation, and it gives room to mention projects, moves or new colleagues without it becoming a speech.

Which formats are chosen most often

A pub quiz is the most popular format for Christmas drinks, because everyone can join in without getting changed and no extra space is needed. With a round about your own company in it, it becomes personal straight away.

If you want something with more movement in the room, consider a TV-style game concept or life-size board games as well. For an evening with a storyline and actors, a murder mystery dinner is the logical choice, especially if you're eating anyway. If space is tight, have a look at indoor activities.

Christmas drinks or staff party: which suits you better

Christmas drinks are an evening with a fixed occasion and usually an existing programme that our element slots into. If it's a party that has to be built from scratch, an anniversary, or a moment when the company has something to celebrate, see the staff party page. If you're looking for something for the daytime with the whole team, a company outing makes more sense than a drinks element.

Frequently asked questions