Holiday parties are often the most-attended company function of the year. Due to the timing of many holidays that coincide with the end of the year, these events are generally viewed as a way to not only celebrate the holidays, but also the personal and professional achievements of the calendar year. This year, more than ever, it’s critical to take a step back from the day-to-day and ensure employees feel valued for all the hard work despite the enormous challenges everyone has faced this year. Holidays have always been an important time to foster connections amongst employees and take the time to properly unplug.

Whether you’re hosting an in-person, virtual, or hybrid company holiday party, here are five tips to help make your event a success. 

#1: Set expectations with your team

There are important decisions you need to make about your company holiday party. Some questions to consider include: who is invited? Is it employees only or can your team bring a plus one? Where is the party taking place? In-person or virtual? What’s on the agenda for the night? Will there be food and team-building activities? These details will not only help your team plan accordingly, but also get them excited about attending! Make sure to communicate all of this information with your team in advance of the company holiday party. 

#2: Incorporate team-building activities 

Speaking of team-building activities, it’s a great idea to include some at your company holiday party. There are a lot of creative ways to ensure this party is fun with employees working at home and at the office. One example is to have your team collaborate on a music playlist to be played during the party. Another idea is to ask trivia questions throughout the event and provide prizes to the winners! Some companies might have everyone wear their favorite ugly sweater and vote on the winners. These ideas can be easily executed in-person or virtually. No matter what you choose, team-building activities are sure to make your employees feel connected and appreciated. 

#3: Provide a delicious meal

A company holiday party is not complete without food. If you’re hosting your event in-person, consider providing individually boxed catering meals. If your team is remote, Grubhub’s individual meal perks are a great way to feed your distributed team. It’s simple to set up, you choose the budget and ordering restrictions, your team will be notified that they have a meal credit via email, and then they can place their own orders. You’ll get one invoice and only be charged for the orders that are actually placed. If you provide individual meal credits, consider recommending local restaurants for your employees to support with their budget. A high quality meal will help ensure your holiday party is a can’t-miss event. 

#4: Dedicate time to recognize employees 

After another challenging year, a company holiday party is a great opportunity to show employee appreciation and recognition. You could send a call for peer recognition out to your team before the party and showcase the feedback you receive with photos during the event. Some companies have employee recognition awards, and the party is a great opportunity to distribute those. Another idea is to simply share some of the great achievements the company accomplished throughout the year by showing photos of key projects and milestones.  

#5: Offer a holiday gift 

Holiday gifts are another great way to demonstrate employee appreciation and make your company holiday party extra special. This could be a physical gift that you give out at your in-person party or mail to remote employees’ homes. If the majority of your team is still working from home, a digital gift is an easy way to ensure it gets to them. Some ideas include a subscription to a music streaming or video service, or you could give the gift of food with individual meal perks. Holiday gifts are a great way to boost employee morale and ensure they feel appreciated. 

Providing employee meals for the holidays and beyond

Grubhub can help you spread holiday cheer and boost employee morale by making it easy to feed employees no matter where they’re working. We partner with thousands of companies across the country to help increase employee engagement through the festive season and beyond. 
Contact us to learn more.