A large chunk of the U.S. may be battling a heat wave, but with planning already underway for agency holiday gatherings, many industry minds are on snowflakes and twinkling lights. Of course, planning an event for event professionals requires a little more pizzazz than your typical corporate soiree. So we gathered some agency intel and rounded up 10 ideas for adding more sparkle to your team’s holiday get-together this year.
INTERACTIVE CULINARY EXPERIENCES
F&B is front and center during the holidays, so it makes sense that interactive culinary activities and contests are among agencies’ go-to strategies. Take Factory 360, which last year hosted a “Factory Day” in New York featuring a full slate of food-themed activities, beginning with a team-based gingerbread house competition that was capped off with a presentation from each team, who shared their concept (think: a Gen Z Barbie dreamhouse and a farmer’s barn taken over by aliens).
“All of this was followed by a five-course dinner at Journey NYC, complete with a projection-mapped private room and theatrical waitstaff,” says Zoé Ganch, creative director at Factory 360. “With brand values rooted in creativity and humor, all of our holiday excursions represent those values, and bring our global team together to relish in IRL bonding, no matter what part of the world they are in.”
THEMED HOLIDAY MARKETS
Hosting a themed holiday market is one way to capture the spirit of the season and foster team bonding simultaneously. It’s an approach that Innovate Marketing Group, which calls the concept a “Holiday Market Extravaganza,” is particularly fond of.
“We transform a local venue into a festive market with various themed booths, food stations and interactive activities. This not only supports local vendors but also creates a lively and engaging atmosphere for our team,” says Sara Rosas, business development manager at Innovate Marketing Group. “We aim to be creative with the various elements of the holiday gathering, featuring unique stations like a boba station, a waffle station and perhaps even a health and wellness zone with an aura photo booth.”
COMMUNITY GIVEBACK
Participating in community giveback initiatives isn’t a new team-bonding tactic, but it is an effective one, particularly at the end of the year when local organizations, like food banks, are seeking extra aid. Consider rounding up the team for a day of serving at the soup kitchen, bringing holiday dinners to Meals on Wheels recipients, buying and decorating a Christmas tree for a family in need, visiting with the elderly at nursing homes or standing up a workshop where the team builds hand-crafted items that are then sold for charity.
UNCONVENTIONAL VENUES
There’s nothing wrong with hosting a holiday party at your office or a nice restaurant, but considering what this industry does for a living, a less traditional venue may have a bigger impact. Places like Top Golf and ax-throwing venues allow teams to participate in a variety of casual games and get a little friendly competition going.
On other side of the coin, renting out a museum, historic building or legendary stadium adds an instant dose of culture. There’s also the option to take your soiree off land with river cruises or yacht tours. And then there are the real outliers, like events hosted at Alcatraz in San Francisco or at the top of Seattle’s Space Needle. Whatever kind of venue you’re looking for, EventUp may be a good place to start your research.
DIY WORKSHOPS
Many marketers enjoy building something with their own two hands, which makes a DIY crafting workshop another viable option for your holiday gathering. At Innovate Marketing Group, a beloved tradition is the “DIY Holiday Workshop,” which includes activities like ornament-making, holiday wreath-making, charcuterie board design sessions, candle-making and gift-wrapping.
“We bring in local artisans to lead workshops on crafting holiday decorations, making personalized gifts or even cooking festive treats. It’s a hands-on, creative way to celebrate the season, and everyone leaves with something special they’ve made themselves,” says Rosas. “The holiday season is all about personalization and fun, and we want to spark that spirit in the experiences we curate.”
SCAVENGER HUNTS
Code-cracking activities like escape rooms and next-gen scavenger hunts have become popular avenues for team-building events, including holiday gatherings.
“One of the most fun holiday parties/team-building [activities] we did is a scavenger hunt in limousines across the city,” says Riley Zobel, marketing and communications manager at All Terrain. “We broke up into teams, had hilarious clues that related to the employees’ favorite things to do, or our clients’. The first team to collect all the clues won a bunch of cash. The final clue was a famous restaurant where we all met up for an incredible dinner with a well-known chef.”
GROUP DANCE CLASSES
There’s nothing like a group dance class to place everyone on the same level. Will it be humbling? Probably. But knocking down barriers and learning a new skill together is often team-building at its finest. Whatever genre you choose (salsa, swing, line dancing), the outcome should be the same—ample laughter and team connections.
VIRTUAL TASTINGS
Event teams are often spread throughout the country, and sometimes the world, meaning that virtual holiday gatherings are still going strong. One way to spice things up is with a virtual spirits tasting led by an expert from the field. Companies like DrinkCurious, for instance, will walk the team through the ins and outs of bourbon tasting notes and offer a bit of history along the way.
VIRTUAL MURDER MYSTERIES
Speaking of digital engagement, virtual murder mystery programs are still steadily rolling along (check out our experience with HBO for a laugh). Participants work together to gather clues, interrogate live actors and crack cases as various surprises inevitably pop up. Some companies even incorporate augmented reality into the experience.
AN OFFICE-THEMED SPEAKEASY
There’s nothing quite like getting dolled and throwing it back to the Roaring ’20s, and that was the route Proscenium took for its holiday party last December. The team went all-in on experience design, in addition to hiring a typewriter poet who created custom poetry for attendees. The agency also worked with an engineer to create a custom AI newspaper bot that yielded attendees a unique article about themselves, telling them what crimes they committed to make the papers in 1923.
“We transformed our New York Midtown office into a 1920s speakeasy. Guests arrived and were met, not by our lobby, but a set-decorated ‘storage room’ filled with Proscenium memorabilia and keepsakes,” says Bethany Potter, senior manager-marketing & administration at Proscenium. “Once they realized they were in the right place and walked through an unassuming door, they were transported to the Prohibition Era. Our party was complete with a live jazz band, cocktail bar, passed appetizers and everyone dressed to the nines in vintage fashion.”
Adds Potter: “The usual desks in the center of our open floor plan were gone and in its place was a handmade stage and curtains created and built by our studio manager. Guests who had previously been to our office space were blown away at the transformation… To finish out the evening, we opened up the dance floor and had three of our Proscenium employees, who happen to be incredible djs, keep the party going until the end.”
