Planning a successful and fun holiday party can be a stressful process for business owners or managers. The average United States worker spends nearly one-third of his or her life working, which means your team is already spending a lot of time together.
So, when it comes to celebrating different holidays, it’s important to be considerate of their time and personal life as much as possible.
That’s why the experts at Applied Development have compiled a helpful list of the dos and don’ts of celebrating holidays in the workplace. Keep reading before you plan your next office holiday celebration!
DO Create a Diverse Party Planning Team
When celebrating a holiday at the office, you want to be sure to make the celebration as inclusive as possible. One of the best ways to achieve that and to make everyone feel represented is to assemble a diverse party planning team.
Allow team members of different faiths or religious beliefs to join the committee. We recommend assembling the planning committee at the beginning of each year and asking for their input to map out which holidays the office will recognize.
DON’T Focus on a Specific Holiday
Try not to favor a certain holiday celebration over another. For example, Christmastime can be tricky if your team isn’t careful. You want to encourage decor that isn’t just Christmas-centric, but inclusive of other religious celebrations, like Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. Avoid calling it a “Christmas Party” and instead call it a “holiday party.”
DO Give Plenty of Advance Notice
Holidays can be a hectic time in your employee’s lives. They may have obligations with family members or their children that take priority over a company holiday celebration. Be sure to provide plenty of advance notice before a company holiday party. We also recommend hosting the party during normal workday hours, so that more team members will be able to attend.
DON’T Expect Everyone to Attend
Keep in mind that, for one reason or another, some people may not want to celebrate a particular holiday – and that’s ok! With the COVID-19 Pandemic still in full swing, there could be a number of reasons that your team members want to skip out on a holiday gathering. We recommend not making any company holiday parties mandatory.
DO Offer a Variety of Foods
There are a variety of personal and/or religious reasons that guide an employee’s dietary decisions, and your organization should be aware of them. It’s important to consider and incorporate different kosher, halal, vegan, and vegetarian options when feeding your team.
DON’T Require a Gift Exchange
Gift exchanges can be fun, especially around end-of-year celebrations. However, we do not recommend that your organization require a gift exchange. Team members should not be required to spend money to buy a gift for their coworkers. Instead, make the gift exchange optional with a sign-up sheet in the office and allow team members to choose if they want to participate.
DO Invite Feedback
The only way to improve your company holiday parties is to try your best to be as inclusive as possible. Always invite feedback before and after an event to ensure future events are considerate of all of your team members.
DON’T Hesitate to Ask Questions
Do you have additional questions or concerns about how to make your company holiday parties more inclusive? Applied Development can help. Call us at (410) 571-4016 or fill out the online Contact Us form for more information.