Worried about risks associated with annual festivities? Check out these fun alternatives.
By Jennifer Blanchard | HRTools.com
Every holiday season, companies shell out hundreds of dollars (sometimes thousands) throwing a holiday celebration for the end of the year. Unfortunately, although holiday get-togethers can be a lot of fun, they can also bring about many risks, such as employees drinking and driving, increased chance of sexual harassment issues, etc.
If you want to avoid all the muss and fuss this year, you need to look into some alternatives that can be just as fun as a holiday party, but without the risks involved.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Holiday Lunch—Host the holiday lunch during work hours and invite all employees to attend. Serve food and non-alcoholic beverages and allow time for mingling. You may also want to have the company higher-ups make a short presentation summing up the year and any goals reached/new goals for next year.
- Holiday “Event”—Come up with an event that would be fun, like bowling or a holiday movie marathon, and invite employees to attend. Depending on if you host it on-site or off-site, you can also offer entertainment, snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. Also, hosting such an event during work hours will ensure more employees attend.
- Open House—Host an “open house” and invite your employees and their families. Serve snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. Decorate for the holidays and give tours of your facilities.
- Celebrate Everyday for a Week (or more)—A week or so before your company is off for the holidays, celebrate in the office by bringing in food and snacks. To get everyone involved—and save the company from footing the entire cost—ask employees to pick a day to bring something in to share. This can be done individually or by team. And you can even get super creative and have “themed” days, such as cheese day or pie day, etc.
- Give Extra Time Off—In lieu of having a holiday event, give employees an extra day of time off or let them cut out early a few hours on the day before the holiday. Suggest they use this time for family activities, last-minute holiday shopping or resting up before the big events to come.
- Donate All the Money—Take all the money you allotted for a holiday event and instead donate it. Depending on how much it is, you may even be able to divide it up between a couple charities. If possible, let employees vote on which charities they want the money to go to. This will keep them involved and encourage them to help others during the holidays.
- Food Drive/Toy Drive—Conduct a holiday food drive or toy drive at your company to give needy families food and toys for the holidays. Or you could sponsor a family in need and provide them with everything they could use to have a wonderful holiday—food, gifts, a tree, etc.
There are lots of alternatives to the same-old holiday party. Get creative and come up with a holiday alternative that celebrates your employees and your company’s achievements for the year.
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