Keep the team cheer this holiday season

October 28, 2020

Select a time and day that is considerate of team members’ schedules as well as business needs.
Choose the best platform for your team to host the gathering.
Create a festive flyer to send with a calendar appointment, along with reminders, in advance to attendees.
Create an agenda people will look forward to – and don’t be afraid to get creative.

A very virtual Thanksgiving

Set aside a lunch hour before the Thanksgiving holiday and enjoy lunch together.
Plan an activity or discussion around gratitude using some of the other ideas below.

Moments of gratitude

Offer employees the opportunity to recognize and show appreciation for the work of specific employees or teams in your department. Leaders go first to lead by example and build momentum.

Gratitude wall

Using an online whiteboard application like Miro, you can safely share some virtual space with your colleagues. You can kick the activity off by posting the first recognition comment about the team, then invite other team members to do the same.
You can also play “compliment tag” and encourage teammates to write a kind compliment upon receiving a compliment until the entire team has been recognized.

Recipe swap

Ask anyone who would like to participate to send in a favorite recipe – be sure to give enough notice.
Have one person combine all of the recipes together in a document and share the new staff cookbook on the day of your holiday party.

New year, new goals

Ask each person to share one personal goal and one professional goal they would like to accomplish in 2021.
If your team is large, separate people into breakout rooms to share in smaller groups.

Icebreaker questions

Engage your team virtually by asking them questions in a poll format at the beginning of the session with space in between for lively discussion. This helps to ensure that all team members are fully engaged by letting them share thoughts and experiences.

Zoom backgrounds

Use Canva.com or PowerPoint blank presentation to create unique Zoom backgrounds and encourage staff to use the background as part of a team contest like who has the funniest or most wanderlust background.

Virtual scavenger hunt

Divide your group into smaller teams using breakout rooms, give them each a list to find, and allow a designated amount of time (no more than 15 minutes) for teams to collaborate and complete the challenge.
Award a prize to the winning team.

BINGO

Search online for various holiday BINGO cards
Make sure everyone has the card(s) ahead of time, or have them use a digital version and highlight the words that are called.
Assign one person to be in charge of announcing the words each round you play.

Mad Libs

Mad Libs is a phrasal template word game which consists of one player prompting others for a list of words to substitute for blanks in a story before reading aloud.
Search online for holiday related Mad Libs.
Break your team into groups to complete the Mad Libs and then come back together and have one person from each group share the stories. You’ll enjoy a good laugh together!

E-cards

Send an e-card to your team by using websites such as punchbowl.com or smilebox.com where you can customize the design/layout and write your personal greetings.

Not all cultures and religions celebrate this time of year

Focus on the things that bring your team together and unite you.
Take time to point out things your team has accomplished this year and thank them for their work, especially adapting during COVID.

This time of year can be especially difficult for some people

Lost loved ones, financial struggles, etc. can make the holidays overwhelming for some.
Don’t force participation.
Leaders can share the EAP contact information with their entire teams as a reminder that support is available through UTSW.