Posts Tagged ‘christmas party’

Planning for a kids’ holiday party is fairly easy, but when you’re inviting kids to a work party, the ideas become more challenging. Inviting the whole family is an excellent idea, as it allows parents to spend an evening with their children and not have to worry about finding – or paying – for a sitter. And this provides ample opportunities for employees to meet other families and get to know their coworkers on a more personal level.

Finding a balance can be difficult however, as you want to keep the kids entertained and under control, while still allowing for a formal holiday party for the adults to enjoy. Fortunately, a little planning goes a long way with these simple tips and ideas for holiday work parties.

For starters, have certain areas zoned off for the kids so that they can begin playing in one area, while the adults can congregate in another. For example, set up a table with crayons and holiday coloring pages and another one with wooden peg puzzles and blocks. Depending on where the holiday party will be hosted, you can also set up a kids’ corner equipped with bean bag chairs and books.

Once the kids are comfortable and the appetizers are being served, you can offer a more structured activity such as making Christmas ornaments, gingerbread houses or face painting. To ensure the safety of the kids and the relaxation of the adults, a few babysitters will be needed, so consider hiring an onsite babysitting service such as Accent OCA. They specialize in onsite child care and holiday parties and are a fresh addition to any holiday party.

To keep the party moving along seamlessly, be sure that there are kid-friendly snacks and foods such as cold veggies with dip, cheese cubes and juice boxes. To encourage family participation, have a few games for everyone to play. Since everyone will be in nice attire and you may be limited on space, stick to basic games.

For example, try a Candy Cane Race where teams will pass four candy canes that are placed between their fingers, teammate to teammate. Whoever completes the line without dropping the candy canes wins a prize. A Holiday Memory Game is another great idea and involves placing holiday-themed gadgets in a box and showing everyone for 30 seconds. Then everyone has to write down the contents in the box as fast as they can, and whoever remembers the most wins. Holiday bingo, I Spy and Holiday 20 Questions are other fun ideas.

If you’re having a gift exchange, have a gift unwrap relay. Or encourage a book exchange instead, where each family brings a book and leaves with a different one.  With so many wonderful ideas, it has never been easier to open up this year’s holiday party to employees and their families.

Image: Lotus Head