Celebrate without a hangover this year with our inclusive holiday event ideas.
The holiday season is coming up, and often HR leaders are tasked with coordinating a company-wide function. Rather than it being a burden, what if it was an opportunity to show your appreciation?
Traditionally, holiday parties and events have centered around alcohol. It’s after-work beers dialed up to a 10, and this time, there’s no way around it. For many employees, this can make them feel uneasy.
Furthermore, more Americans are embracing sober life and drinking less. Survey data shows that 61% of Gen Z and 49% of millennials are consciously drinking less in 2024.
This year, more than $312 billion has been spent on non-alcoholic drinks in restaurants and bars, and these numbers are expected to continue to rise year on year.
So, during this festive time, try to make your holiday events more inclusive!
There’s a good chance a few of your employees don’t drink, so it’s important to find fun and new activities that don’t involve drinking. You want your holiday events to be something your employees look forward to, not dread.
Corporate Event Ideas Without Alcohol
Most corporate events and holiday parties follow a similar pattern of activities—a Christmas meal followed by drinks and a party to end the evening. But with more people choosing not to drink alcohol, you need to get a little more creative to make your event feel more inclusive.
(This also means you can host fun events during the day.)
Healthy mocktails team building session
More people than ever are open to trying alcohol-free/alcohol-alternative beverages, with 1 in 3 Americans trying an alcohol alternative in 2023.
Whether your employees are sober curious, or don’t drink at all, healthy mocktails will leave them waking up feeling better than the night before—a rarity when it comes to holiday celebrations.
Our healthy mocktails team building sessions are completely virtual. You and your team will learn how to create a nutritious and guilt-free drink that will help you achieve your wellbeing goals.
Art Thief mystery game
Work in teams to find the art thief to win the game. Together, your team will analyze evidence files and audio recordings and solve clues as you channel your inner detective. It’s not quite an Agatha Christie novel or an episode of The Wire, but you will race against the clock to solve the mystery before the art thief strikes again.
The Great Escape
If you’d prefer an escape room, try our virtual The Great Escape team building session, ideal for remote workers. Work together to solve clues and puzzles created by experts for a unique and challenging experience without a sip of alcohol.
Work as a team and leverage your unique skills to solve the puzzle and escape before time runs out.
Cooking Class
Are you a fan of immersive cooking shows? There's something truly delightful about witnessing professionals excel in their culinary expertise. Participants will have the opportunity to watch or participate in a live cooking class either on-site or virtually!
In our virtual cooking demo, you will receive an ingredients list in advance and have the chance to cook along with in your own kitchen. For our in-person session, we bring the supplies and food, you just need to provide a sink and tables.
Find out more about our Cooking Classes.
Virtual Trivia
Host a quiz or trivia night and work in teams to answer holiday-themed trivia questions. You can also host a music round where you play a sample of a song, usually anywhere from two to five seconds, and participants guess the artist and the song's name for points (1 point for each).
Give out prizes for the winning team, such as an alcohol-free hamper, spa day, or gift vouchers to amp up the competition to a 10!
An outdoor movie night
This is not an event that FitPros will coordinate, but if you don't mind taking on more of the work (and live in a warmer climate) consider an outdoor movie night. Whether a holiday classic or something a little more modern—maybe put it to a poll so your employees get to see a movie they want to watch!
Alternatively, you can have an indoor movie evening, too. Whether going to the movies and then dinner, followed by trivia or other fun activities (like tomahawk throwing or bowling). There are lots of options available, all of which don’t involve drinking.
Reward employees without alcohol
For the longest time, holiday parties and events have been a way to reward your employees after a successful year for their hard work.
Nevertheless, with more people deciding not to drink, traditional holidays and office parties centered around alcohol are slowly going out of fashion. That’s not to say you can’t drink, but your events should be inclusive for all employees, whether they choose to drink alcohol or not.
Instead of rewarding employees with a booze-filled party, consider other holiday or team-building activities, whether an escape room, an outdoor movie night, or office trivia (or something entirely different!).
This is also a good habit to practice year-round. Instead of alcohol-fueled celebrations, reward employees with things they actually want—a raise, a discount on their favorite gym membership, or free yoga classes for a month. Get creative with it!
A few extra tips for a successful alcohol-free event
Organizing alcohol-free activities can be stressful, especially if you know people at work who have previously struggled with alcohol addiction.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism provides tips on how to support your team and guests who will not be drinking:
If you know someone doesn’t drink alcohol, don’t point it out to the group
Make guests aware which food or drink contains alcohol (and that includes the boozy trifle)
Take into account cravings and potential triggers (the sight of beer bottles, for example—use cups and glasses instead)
Make alcoholic drinks only available at the bar (and perhaps even for a given time frame)
Whether or not the entire event is alcohol-free or not is up to you. You can still allow drinking as some employees may enjoy a glass of wine to unwind. You can leave the choice up to them but don’t force or encourage drinking when employees do not want to.
Looking for more? Contact a Wellbeing Manager to discuss your organization's wellbeing needs.
We provide workplace teams with mindful practices, personal and professional wellbeing growth, fitness instruction, and opportunities for social connection. We aim to inspire the highest potential in people at work, in life, every day, so they can show up healthy and at their best.