How to Celebrate the Holidays at Work: Parties, Secret Santa, and More

The office holiday party is back, and people actually want to come. Roughly 64% of companies planned a holiday celebration in 2024, holding steady with the year before, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. And employees are showing up for it: in a 2025 ezCater survey of about 1,000 full-time U.S. employees, 82% said they would RSVP yes to the company party, up from an estimated 70% the year before, and 83% said these gatherings help them bond and make friends. So the hard part is no longer getting people in the door. It is making the celebration count, so your team closes out the year feeling like it added up to something.

This guide covers the whole season: how to throw a party people want to attend, how to run an office Secret Santa and a White Elephant gift exchange without the chaos, other easy ways to celebrate, and gift-giving tips that keep it thoughtful and inclusive. None of it takes a big budget or an event planner. It takes a little intent.

Throw a Party Employees Actually Want to Attend

With enthusiasm running high, the job is to make the party worth the yes. Start with what people actually show up for: in that same 2025 survey, 77% of employees named food as the perk they look forward to most, and half said the menu influences whether they attend at all. Feed people well, then build the rest of the party around it. A few small moves separate the ho-hum from the hooray.

Dress Up the Space

If your party is at the office rather than an outside venue, spend a little energy ahead of time making the room feel festive. Hanging ornaments and garland around a conference or break room brings instant cheer. And do not forget remote employees: mailing them a few small decorations for their desk helps them feel part of it instead of watching it happen on a screen.

Give the Festivities a Focus

When Columbia University researchers used electronic name tags to track social interactions at a company mixer, they found most people talked to the same friends and coworkers they already saw every day. A party with no focus reinforces the cliques you already have. So give it one. A short awards ceremony that recognizes year-end achievements and milestones pulls the whole room in the same direction and builds real cohesion, not just small talk. Even a handful of recognition awards handed out on the night gives people a reason to clap for each other.

Make It Interactive

An activity takes the awkwardness out of making small talk, because people bond over a shared thing to do. Guessing the number of candies in a giant jar is the classic, but do not stop there. Set up a voting table where employees nominate coworkers for fun titles like "Cheeriest Teammate" or "Most Helpful Elf," then hand out small prizes at the end of the night. A trivia round, a themed costume contest, or a photo booth all add flair without much lift.

How to Run an Office Secret Santa

Secret Santa is the easiest exchange to organize, because everyone buys for exactly one person. Here is how to run it cleanly.

1. Keep it opt-in. Invite people to join rather than signing up the whole team. No one should feel pressured to spend.
2. Set the rules up front. Agree on a budget (commonly $15 to $25), a swap date, and whether it stays anonymous until a reveal.
3. Draw names. Everyone writes their name, the names go in a hat, and each person draws one (redraw if you pull your own). For hybrid or remote teams, a free tool like Elfster or DrawNames randomizes the draw and hides who has whom.
4. Share a few hints. Have each person list a couple of likes, such as coffee, hot sauce, or a favorite team, so their Santa can buy something that lands.
5. Swap and reveal. Bring wrapped gifts on the agreed date. Reveal the Santas as you go, or keep it a mystery for fun.

A few things keep it smooth: enforce the budget so no one overspends or feels outdone, keep gifts workplace-appropriate, and account for allergies if food is in play. Set a firm deadline for the name draw so latecomers are not left out. The best employee holiday gifts for a Secret Santa are useful and universal, like a nice mug, a desk plant, or a snack set, not something so personal it could miss.

Secret Santa does not have to come out of employees' pockets, either. Plenty of companies sponsor it: give each participant a set spending budget, reimburse the gift up to a cap, or buy the gifts outright so the team handles only the matching and wrapping. A company-sponsored exchange keeps it fair across pay levels, takes the financial pressure off anyone stretched thin, and lets you tie the gifts to your brand or company values.

How to Play White Elephant at the Office

White Elephant (also called Yankee Swap or Dirty Santa) is the loud, funny one. Nobody buys for a specific person, and the fun is in the stealing. Here is the basic game.

1. Everyone brings one wrapped gift within a set budget, say $20, and adds it to a common pile with no name on it.
2. Draw numbers to set the turn order.
3. Player 1 picks a gift from the pile and opens it.
4. Each following player chooses: steal an already-opened gift, or take a new one from the pile and open it. If your gift gets stolen, you immediately go again.
5. Keep going in order until the pile is empty. For a finale, let Player 1 make one last steal, since they never got the chance.

Set two or three ground rules before you start or it drags on: cap how many times a gift can be stolen (two or three, then it is "locked" with its owner), no immediate steal-backs, and one steal per turn. A theme makes it better, such as "gag gifts under $20," "re-gift something from your closet," or "the most useful $15 find." Keep the gifts unisex and appropriate, and a steal cap will keep even a 20-person group under an hour.

Other Ways to Celebrate the Holidays at Work

A party is not the only option, and a mix keeps the season from feeling like one obligatory event. A few ideas that travel well:

• Potluck or cookie swap. Everyone brings a dish or a batch of cookies to share. Low cost, high mingling.
• Ugly sweater contest. Pick a day and hand out a prize for the worst offender. National Ugly Sweater Day lands on the third Friday of December, one of many December workplace holidays you can build a celebration around.
• Decorating contest. Let teams or desks compete for the most festive setup, then vote on a winner.
• Give back together. A canned-food drive, an Angel Tree, a toy collection, or a half-day of volunteering channels holiday energy outward and often means more than another gift swap.
• Ornament exchange. Like White Elephant, but everyone brings a wrapped ornament. Cheaper and keepsake-friendly.
• Holiday awards. Close the year with a few recognition awards or lighthearted superlatives so people leave feeling seen.
• Virtual celebration. For distributed teams, run online trivia, ship a snack or treat kit so everyone opens something together, and use a Secret Santa app so remote staff are fully in.

Holiday Gift-Giving Tips

Whether it is a company-wide gift or a Secret Santa present, a few rules keep gifts landing the way you intend.

Make a List and Check It Twice

It really is the thought that counts. Most employees do not expect something expensive, and a thoughtful, modest employee holiday gift can do more for morale than a pricey one. When you set the budget, make inclusivity the priority: make sure everyone in the department or office is accounted for, so no one is left watching others open something.

Include a Note

A hand-written thank-you or a quick line of appreciation with a gift amplifies it. You do not need to write a letter. A small card with the person's name and your signature is enough to make clear you notice what they do for the company.

Skip Overly Personal or Extravagant Gifts

When you know someone well it is tempting to buy the perfume or the studio gift card you know they would like, but the risk of missing the mark, or reading as inappropriate, is too high at work. The same goes for lavish gifts, which tend to create awkwardness rather than goodwill. Stick to presents most people would happily receive: a cheery mug, a snow globe, a customized ornament, a snack set, or a festive desk item they will use all year.

Don't Leave Remote and Hybrid Teams Out

If part of your team works from home, build the celebration for them from the start, not as an afterthought. Ship a small kit ahead of time so everyone opens something at the same moment, run at least one activity that works over video, and hold the event during the workday when you can, so joining does not cost remote staff their own evening. The goal is one celebration, not an in-office event with a webcam pointed at it. If keeping distributed teams connected is a year-round challenge, our guide to engaging remote workers goes deeper.

None of this takes a big budget or an event planner. It takes a little intent. For a step-by-step plan, download our free How to Throw an Office Holiday Party guide, then pick one idea above and start there. A summer company picnic makes a natural bookend once the new year rolls around.

Corporate Holiday Celebration FAQs