From children’s Christmas office parties and family days to office grotto’s, festive pop-ups, games, entertainment and complete office transformations, Christmas is finding a new home in the workplace.
For years, the office Christmas celebration tended to mean one thing: colleagues leaving the office and heading somewhere else.
But Christmas at work is beginning to look rather different.
More companies are looking at the workplace itself as somewhere to celebrate — inviting families through the doors, transforming familiar spaces, introducing unexpected entertainment and creating experiences that can unfold throughout the working day.
For companies planning a children’s Christmas office party, this opens up particularly exciting possibilities. Instead of simply finding a venue and adding some entertainment, the office itself can become part of the experience — filled with Santa, workshops, games, shows and festive surprises for employees and their families.
And perhaps that is part of what makes it so appealing.
There is something rather wonderful about seeing the place you work every day transformed into somewhere completely unexpected.
A meeting room becomes Santa’s Grotto. The reception becomes a Christmas fairground. The conference room becomes a theatre. And the children get to see where Mum or Dad disappears to every morning — although perhaps not quite as it usually looks.
Welcome to the new Christmas office party.
The Children’s Christmas Office Party, Reimagined
One of our favourite developments in corporate Christmas events is the growing emphasis on bringing families into the celebration.
The traditional children’s Christmas office party is evolving into something much more experiential. Rather than Christmas being exclusively about colleagues, companies can open their doors to employees’ partners and children for an afternoon designed around everyone.
For children, visiting their parent’s workplace can be surprisingly exciting in itself.
Add Santa, elves, Christmas crafts, face painting, games and entertainment and suddenly the office they have heard so much about becomes somewhere completely magical.
For parents, meanwhile, it offers something rather valuable: the opportunity to enjoy a company Christmas celebration while including the family in it.
The result feels less like a conventional office party and much more like a complete corporate family Christmas experience.
The Christmas Office Takeover
Of course, if you’re going to bring Christmas into the office, why stop at a tree in reception?
Some of the most exciting events completely reimagine the workplace for an afternoon.
Different rooms and spaces can become individual Christmas destinations.
Guests might arrive through a theatrical festive entrance before discovering an Elf Craft Workshop in one room, Christmas sideshow games in another and a live show taking place somewhere completely unexpected.
Around another corner there might be festive face painting, circus performers, balloon artists or a gaming zone.
And somewhere within it all, behind a suitably magical door, Santa is waiting.
The everyday familiarity of the office actually makes the transformation more effective. Guests know what the space normally looks like — which makes seeing it completely reinvented all the more surprising.
Christmas Doesn’t Have to Happen All at Once
Not every company needs — or wants — a huge Christmas party.
This is where the Christmas pop-up becomes interesting.
Instead of one large event, smaller festive experiences can appear throughout the working day or across several days in December.
A Christmas craft workshop might take over a breakout space one afternoon. Festive games could arrive in reception. A magician might appear during lunch. A beautifully styled photo experience could remain in place for the week.
For businesses with larger teams, different experiences can even travel between floors, departments or office locations.
It makes Christmas something employees discover rather than simply attend.
Bringing Back a Little Friendly Competition
Never underestimate what happens when you put a group of colleagues in front of a seemingly simple game.
Suddenly everyone becomes remarkably competitive.
Traditional Christmas sideshow games work particularly well in office environments because they’re quick, social and don’t require everyone to participate at the same time.
A little Snow Can Alley, Reindeer Hoopla or festive challenge can quickly turn into inter-department rivalry.
Add prizes or a leaderboard and things become considerably more serious.
For something more contemporary, PlayStation and Xbox gaming zones can introduce another kind of competition — and they’re particularly useful when a corporate family event includes older children and teenagers.
Christmas, after all, should have room for both Santa and PlayStation.
Entertainment Where You Least Expect It
One of the pleasures of bringing Christmas entertainment into the workplace is the element of surprise.
You don’t necessarily need a traditional stage.
A magician can entertain small groups as they move around the event. Christmas characters can wander through reception. Circus performers can appear in communal areas. Festive face painters can transform children into elves, reindeer and sparkling winter characters.
And if you do have a conference or presentation space, it can temporarily become your own Christmas theatre.
Pantomimes, magic shows, puppet theatre and interactive performances provide a moment when everyone gathers together before heading back out to explore.
The office becomes the venue.
Turning the Journey to Santa into Part of the Experience
The traditional Santa’s Grotto will always have its place.
But we particularly love the idea that meeting Santa doesn’t have to be the whole experience.
It can be the finale.
Children might collect a Christmas passport when they arrive and follow a trail through the office, completing different activities along the way.
They could decorate a bauble in the Elf Workshop, have their face painted, complete a festive game, write a letter to Santa and collect a sticker at each destination.
Only when their journey is complete do they finally reach Santa’s door.
It transforms the familiar Grotto queue into something children actively participate in — and builds that wonderful sense of anticipation along the way.
Something for Every Age
One of the biggest considerations when planning a children’s Christmas office party is the range of ages in the room.
A toddler and a thirteen-year-old are unlikely to have exactly the same idea of Christmas entertainment.
The most successful events don’t try to make one activity work for everyone.
Instead, they create choices.
Younger children might gravitate towards soft play, sensory activities and storytelling. Creative workshops, Santa and face painting can work beautifully for primary-aged children, while circus challenges, sideshow games and gaming zones give older children something more independent to discover.
Parents can join in too — particularly once the competitive games begin.
This mix creates a much more natural event where families can move between activities at their own pace.
Making the Office Look Completely Different
Entertainment creates the energy, but styling creates the world around it.
And Christmas office styling has moved far beyond a few decorations around the room.
Statement entrances, oversized props, theatrical backdrops, Christmas trees, balloon installations, signage and dedicated photo areas can completely alter the character of a familiar workplace.
For an immersive event, styling can also connect different spaces.
The entrance introduces the story. Signs lead guests towards the activities. Each entertainment zone has its own identity. And Santa’s Grotto becomes the visual finale.
Rather than simply decorating an office for Christmas, you’re temporarily creating another world inside it.
A Christmas Celebration That Feels Like Your Company
Corporate Christmas events don’t need to feel corporate.
But they can still feel distinctly yours.
Company colours can be introduced subtly into styling. Christmas passports and activity materials can carry event branding. Signs, photo areas, gifts and even games can be personalised.
The important thing is balance.
The branding should belong within the experience rather than overpower it.
Done well, guests experience something that unmistakably feels like Christmas while also feeling as though it has been created specifically for their company.
From a Family Afternoon to a Complete Christmas Experience
The beauty of holding Christmas celebrations in the workplace is how flexible the format can be.
For one company, the perfect event might be a few hours of Christmas crafts, face painting, games and a visit from Santa.
For another, it could mean transforming an entire floor into an immersive Christmas experience with theatrical sets, live shows, roaming entertainers, gaming zones, food stations and a spectacular Santa’s Grotto.
There doesn’t have to be a fixed formula.
The best corporate family Christmas events are designed around the people attending, the ages of the children and the possibilities of the space itself.
Perhaps the Office Is the Perfect Christmas Venue After All
There is something particularly special about temporarily transforming an everyday environment.
For one afternoon, the desks and meeting rooms disappear behind Christmas trees, theatrical sets and festive activity stations.
Employees become parents, colleagues become competitors and children get to explore a place they would normally never see quite like this.
Then Santa arrives.
By Monday morning, everything may be back to normal.
But for a few hours, the office belonged to Christmas.
Explore Christmas Office Experiences
From a traditional children’s Christmas office party to a festive pop-up or complete office takeover, The Bubbles Crew creates Christmas Office Experiences across London, combining family entertainment, Santa’s Grottos, creative workshops, Christmas shows, sideshow games, gaming zones, festive face painters, props and styling.
Discover our Christmas Office Experiences and start imagining what your workplace could become this Christmas – Email Us or call on 07920196888.
