Take the basic idea of the office Christmas party and remove Christmas from the equation, and presto, you have yourself an anti-Christmas party: an excuse to socialise with no festive theme or end-of-year excuse to bring everyone together.
The idea is less about replacing the Christmas party and more about spreading that social energy across the year. Instead of waiting until December to organise the one big occasion where everyone gets out of the office, companies can build several opportunities into the calendar for people to spend time together and maximise every opportunity to strengthen the team dynamic.
That changes the reason for getting together as well. Christmas gives companies an automatic occasion, whereas an anti-Christmas party can be tied to whatever is happening within the business. A major project might have wrapped up, a new team could have come together, the company might be marking an anniversary, or everyone might simply be due for an afternoon away from their desks.
It also removes many of the expectations attached to the traditional office Christmas party. There doesn’t need to be a formal dinner, festive styling or an evening of drinks because that’s what the company does every December. A social in the middle of the year could be lunch somewhere with a terrace, an afternoon activity followed by dinner, a private room at a restaurant or a larger party that happens to take place when the weather is better. Sky is the limit here.
And there’s an obvious practical benefit to moving some of the social calendar away from December. The end of the year is already packed with annual leave, client events, personal commitments and other Christmas parties. Holding events at different points in the year gives organisers more breathing room and gives employees fewer competing commitments, because there’s enough time in the year to go around.
Socialising more regularly also means companies can recognise things closer to when they happen. If a team has spent six months getting a project over the line, celebrating shortly afterwards makes more sense than saving the congratulations for December. The same applies to launches, company milestones, new starters or bringing people together after a particularly busy period.
For teams that work remotely or across several offices, there’s another reason to make these occasions more regular. When colleagues don’t see each other every day, one annual party doesn’t provide much time to build relationships outside meetings and calls. A few well-spaced socials give people more opportunities to actually get to know each other.
The result doesn’t have to be an overloaded calendar. For some companies, it might mean adding one summer event alongside Christmas. Others might plan something each quarter or organise smaller events around particular teams and milestones. The point is to choose occasions that make sense for the business rather than treating December as the default time for everyone to socialise.
Of course, having more events in the calendar means someone has to find somewhere to hold them. The venue you need for a summer afternoon might be completely different from the private dining room you want for a team celebration or the larger space required for a company-wide event.
That’s the part Venue Crew can help with. Send us the occasion, preferred location, guest numbers and budget, and allow us to up the ante on your anti-Christmas party planning.
Feeling overwhelmed by the venue hunt? Our friendly Venue Specialists are here to help — get in touch with them today.
