Everybody loves a good office party, a chance to let your hair down and have some fun with your colleagues.
It is easy, and maybe a bit lazy, to just all pile into a restaurant, especially as seating arrangements often mean people don’t mix particularly well. Given that many offices in the UK have been closed and people have been working from home, 2021 is the year to make sure your office party brings everyone together.
It isn’t always easy finding a solution that suits everyone. You might suggest a fancy-dress party, but not everyone enjoys dressing up. Some will prefer a few drinks and snacks and a bit of mingling, whilst others want a big night on the tiles. How do you start to bring everyone together even for a short while apart from with great cake? We’ve got three ice-breaking events that will hopefully get everyone in the mood for mixing this autumn.
Big Quiz
A quiz is a great way to get a bit of friendly competition going, maybe between departments or groups of friends. Once everyone is at the office party, with drinks and cake, have a few fun rounds of a quiz to get them in the mood for fun. You can have as many different rounds as you want but perhaps lean on some famous quiz shows of the past for familiarity. You could take inspiration from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, the show that spawned a Hollywood movie.
Slumdog Millionaire was a huge hit with fans, according to Rotten Tomatoes, and that ensured the quiz show remains as popular today as it ever has been. It might be a good idea to get one member from each team to submit a photo of themselves as a child for the others to guess, making the quiz personal. If a team doesn’t know it, they might even ask a friend! It can be as fun as you make it, but just ensure the questions involve everybody.
Talent Show
Everybody has a talent, don’t they? It could be anything from singing, dancing, or telling jokes. Why not exploit that as a bit of fun at your next office party. You might wish to lean on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent for your inspiration, as it is hugely popular, and everyone will likely know how it works.
Simon Cowell’s brainchild has spawned a host of digital media games and the like, including an electronic board game called Drumond Park Britain’s Got Talent. You can even find the imagery on the Gala Spins Slingo title Britain’s Got Talent Slingo, which doesn’t test your singing skills but mixes bingo and online slots instead. More direct interaction with the show can be found on iOS and Android with the BGT app. The premise of your BGT-themed office party is simple. Each of your employees performs a short routine, maybe a couple of minutes, and judges either give them a thumbs up or thumbs down. You could offer some prizes too, and perhaps someone’s performance will get the others talking.
DJ Competition
This game will not require someone to understand how to work the decks. Instead, ahead of the event, you give everyone a category. It might be ‘sixties’, ‘cake’, ‘the office’, ‘talent show tunes’, or anything else. They have to come to the event armed with a song choice relating to that category. Then as the evening progresses, you hold head-to-head rounds featuring two or more songs for each category. After each song, the crowd either shows appreciation or dislike, and the most popular music wins. It’s a great way to feature an eclectic playlist that will appeal to everyone, and it gives every employee a chance to be involved without standing in front of the crowd and singing or dancing. If you’re super prepared, have a couple of rounds, and give employees a couple of categories to determine an overall winner at the end of your party.
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