The Ideal Holiday Party Time

As we put a bow on Halloween and prepare for the holiday season, the question arises, what is the ideal time for a Christmas party? The obvious answer is Christmastime, however, in some organizations I have worked with, that would not be true.

The best place to start is to ask yourself what the goals and objectives are for the party. Is the party simply an opportunity for the team to come together to celebrate the season? Is the leadership taking this opportunity to thank the hardworking staff? Is this the one time a year that all remote staff members are together? It could be all of the above. You may also consider what works best in your profession’s productivity rhythm or your team’s dynamics.

For example, as a staff member of a large church, having a Christmas party at Christmastime is challenging for a number of reasons. The staff is preparing to host additional Christmas services which means preparing the worship service as well as recruiting and training extra volunteers to serve in children’s ministry, guest services, as ushers, on the traffic team, and many more. Not to mention that the services are actually on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and more than likely, there are accompanying event-style activities that need to be planned. There’s not much time for the staff to gather and mentally unplug from work to enjoy a few hours together at a party.

As a member of an organization that hosts a large multi-day convention in the first couple weeks of January, the staff is in full event planning mode during Christmas and New Year’s; thinking through all of the details, training staff, preparing speakers, ensuring hotel and flight arrangements are in order, confirming conference room setups are correct, and checking with catering, production, security, audio/visual support, and more. Because the busiest time of the planning cycle is from Thanksgiving through Christmas, again, a team of event-planners in this season have a hard time turning off the voices in their heads long enough to relax and celebrate. The myriad of last-minute details keep popping up in their minds.

Do we need to be tied to a Christmas party at Christmastime if the goal is to take time out from our busy routines, gather the entire team from hither and yon, celebrate with each other, and reflect on the successes of the year? I say no.

I seen some of the most wonderful holiday parties, celebrations, and Friendsgivings at different times in the year. I have been part of a team who went to Disney World while on a site visit to Orlando in August. I’ve celebrated with dinner and a musical show before Thanksgiving, and yet another year after the dust settled on a large event in January, I participated in a great holiday party in February.

When does your team celebrate the holidays or celebrate your year/team? I’d love to hear what you do! Send me an email or share it here.

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