For those of us who have been in the workforce a while, chances are you'll have a story or two about a work Christmas function that was like watching a car crash from which you couldn't turn away.

Generally speaking it's an employee who, while enjoying themselves perhaps a little too much, kinda forgets that they're surrounded by colleagues they'll need to face again come Monday.

While this can be amusing as a spectator, for the employee it can be seriously detrimental to their social and professional standing.

If you're still to plan your work Christmas party, perhaps this bit of advice from Vlasta Eriksson, managing director of Signature Staff, will help everyone get through unscathed.

Most business owners want the best for their employees.  And when it comes to Christmas time, they enjoy doing something special to show their appreciation.

Traditionally, a Christmas Party consists of some form of entertaining event with food and alcohol. However the burden of legal obligations regarding employees is quite overwhelming and an alcohol fuelled event could turn very ugly and costly if things got out of hand.

So organising a traditional Christmas party might not be worth it. Even with plenty of control measures in place, it is nigh on impossible to predict how each employee will behave when under the influence of alcohol.  

So is it worth the risk?

Employees of all ages are likely to want to get into the “Christmas spirit”.  And Christmas really is a perfect opportunity to make your employees feel good about themselves and even help make each of them feel like a kid again.
 
Here are a few ideas for a Christmas Event that will go down a treat while avoiding any issues with alcohol.

Xmas Picnic

This would be a daytime event for employees, their partners and children. Arrange for Santa to make a special appearance to deliver presents to the children.

Organise some team building activities or sporting activities for your employees that include their partners and children too. This is a good time to give out special awards for performance, attitude and other acknowledgements that boost morale and make them feel like the “awesome” awards!

Santa Hunt Party

Give it a theme like The Amazing Race, where they actually find Santa at the end of the race who gives out presents for completing the race. Arrange for your employees work in teams. This can work very well if you have a larger workforce with different departments participating.  

Santa’s Stash Bash

Who wouldn’t want to find Santa’s Stash of goodies? This is a treasure hunt on steroids. Instead of a Treasure Chest have a Christmas sack or stocking filled with presents.

Draw a treasure map and get your employees to follow the map to find the treasure. You can incorporate clues and questions as well.  And the best part about this activity is that it can be run as an outside or inside activity.

Xmas Olympics

Organise your own Olympics event!  This could include sporting activities, trivia questions or even activities that relate to your employees work. For example, staff who usually work in an Office environment should be experts at throwing stress balls into a bin, creating a picture out of staples, etc.  

For Hospitality staff, they could take the challenge of creating a plastic glass pyramid, throwing toilet rolls into wheelie bins, etc.

Make sure you include a “Best Christmas Dress Team” award. Four activities can create up to two hours of fun time. This event is almost as much fun to create as it is to play!

Whatever you decide to do for your Chrissy Party, aim to make it positively memorable for your employees. If you do choose to serve alcohol, ensure you have all your legal obligations covered and have plenty of activities so that the focus is on the fun of participating and not on the drinking.