End of year team bonding activities: 5 ideas for spreading cheer into the new year

As we wind down and get ready to close off another year, employees may find themselves scrambling to meet looming deadlines, or scraping the bottom of the barrel for motivation knowing the finish line is near.

Amidst this whirlwind, it's crucial to pause, reflect, and celebrate achievements; nurturing a culture of togetherness. The holiday season provides an opportune moment to not only reflect on milestones but also reinvigorate team spirit. At Nura Space, where hard work and dedication have fueled our successes throughout the year, we recognise the importance of nurturing a supportive environment, as do our clients.

In this article, we share five spirited and engaging team-bonding activities employees will genuinely enjoy - without rolling their eyes - designed to infuse our workplace with Christmas cheer and set the stage for a positive start to the upcoming year.

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1. Stealing Santa:

Invite team members to participate in a "Stealing Santa" gift exchange. Determine a budget that works for everyone and have each participant bring an anonymous wrapped gift. Organise a gathering where articipants draw numbers to determine the order of choosing gifts. The first person selects and opens a gift and the following participants can either choose another wrapped gift or "steal" an already opened gift from someone else. If their gift is stolen, they can then choose a new one. Set a limit on how many times a gift can be stolen (usually 2 or 3 times) to keep the game moving.

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2. Secret Santa:

A classic Christmas team bonding exercise that needs no introduction. Also known as Kris Kringle, employees who wish to participate will draw a name and buy a gift for that person. The budget doesn’t need to be high and it tests how well we know our colleagues, with an element of mystery that keeps employees guessing and speculating as to who their secret Santa may be.

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3. Festive potluck or cooking class:

Got a few foodies among you? Your team might relish a bake-off where they can learn to make a holiday-themed dish together and enjoy a home-cooked team feast. Alternatively, organise a potluck work lunch where everyone shares their favourite festive dishes and enjoys a meal together.

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4. Ornament decorating:

‍Why not tap into your inner child and decorate Christmas tree ornaments together? Provide plaster ornaments, paint, glitter, clay, or other crafting materials, and invite everyone to unleash their creativity. Studies show that engaging in artistic activities, like painting or working with clay, can significantly reduce stress levels while stimulating a sense of accomplishment and well-being. Nothing like a bit of friendly competition to up the ante. Host a “show and tell” where colleagues can vote for their favourite, or even award a wooden spoon to the worst decoration for a laugh.‍

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5. Gratitude and goals reflection:

Seize the opportunity to acknowledge one another’s efforts with a session where team members can share their gratitude for the past year and their aspirations for the new year. This can be a thoughtful way to reflect on achievements and build excitement for what's to come.

Planning these sorts of events and activities during the “silly season” in a flexible hybrid workspace can be challenging, especially whilst juggling Christmas parties and client lunches. Thankfully, teams who rotate through zones and neighbourhoods can book their team events on their office days. While for company-wide events, choosing a day and time where attendance is highest can lead to greater participation.

As the end of the year approaches, try to maintain healthy attendance levels to keep up the momentum of teamwork and foster comraderie. Clients who use Nura Space can access attendance data in real time and view upcoming bookings to address drops in attendance. This way everyone benefits from the uplifting nature of office festivities, even those grinches among us.

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Looking for a better way to manage your hybrid workplace in the new year? We're all ears.

Schedule a demo with us before the end of the year or early next year and let us show you how our clients are managing attendance, optimising space and offering flexibility to their workforce.

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