18 Christmas Team Building Activities for Work (2026)

A Christmas team building activity should give colleagues time to enjoy each other. The hard part is choosing something that works for the people in the room and the people joining from elsewhere, without turning a celebration into another meeting.

These 18 ideas cover quick games, creative sessions, appreciation and a shared planting activity. Each one includes a practical way to run it. Choose two or three that suit your team, then leave time to talk.

If you want the gathering itself to grow your company forest, see how to link planting to an event. If the goal is a personal thank-you, plan that as an employee Tree Gift instead.

How to choose a Christmas team building activity

Start with a simple question: what would make this team glad it came? A newly formed team may need a low-pressure way to learn about each other. A team that has worked flat out may want food and conversation. A remote team needs an activity in which everyone can contribute without a parcel arriving on time.

Your team needs	Start with	Preparation
A short activity during a meeting	Holiday trivia or colleague appreciation cards	Choose a host and send the prompt before the meeting.
Something people can make together	Gingerbread challenge or ornament workshop	Price the materials, check access needs and prepare an alternative.
A session without deliveries	Photo scavenger hunt or year-in-review story wall	Use a shared prompt and invite contributions in advance.
A hands-on growing activity	Tree Kit planting	Confirm kit availability, seed suitability, delivery and care instructions.
A shared planting contribution	Grow your team forest together	Agree the funding rule and planting updates separately from the gathering.

• For 15 to 30 minutes: try trivia, bingo, a photo challenge or a short appreciation round.
• For 45 to 75 minutes: run a cook-along, craft session, escape room or group planting moment.
• For a mixed office and remote team: give everyone the same prompt and put remote colleagues into the same small-group conversations, rather than making them spectators.
• For a small budget: use stories, nominations and items people already have. Do not ask staff to spend their own money without checking first.

Ask about access needs, time zones, food restrictions and whether anyone would prefer a non-Christmas title for the gathering. In the UK, Acas advises employers to consider employees’ beliefs, including having no religion. You can keep the event festive while letting people choose how they participate.

A simple 60-minute run of show

Give people ten minutes to arrive and chat, 30 minutes for the main activity, 15 minutes for small-group conversation or appreciation, and five minutes to close. Send the plan in advance. Name the host, test any links, and have a seated or screen-off way to join. For a large team, split into groups of four to six so more than the loudest voices get heard.

18 Christmas team building activities for work

1. Secret Santa with a useful rule

Best for: a team that already enjoys exchanging gifts. Set a modest spending cap and let people opt in. Ask each person for one useful preference, such as a favourite snack or a hobby, so the gift reflects the recipient rather than the giver’s guess. A handwritten note can do more than extra packaging. For remote colleagues, pair people early and allow a digital gift so nobody relies on international shipping.

2. Team tree decorating

Best for: an office common space or a hybrid photo wall. Give small groups a corner of the tree and a theme, such as a team memory from the year. Provide decorations, or invite people to bring one they already own. Remote colleagues can send a photo or a short note to print and hang. End with each group explaining its choice; that conversation is the point.

3. Gingerbread building challenge

Best for: hands-on groups with 45 minutes and a materials budget. Give each group the same basic pieces and a stable work surface. Award one prize for construction and one for the story behind the design. For remote staff, send kits in advance or offer a simple biscuit-decorating version that uses easy-to-find ingredients. Check allergies and offer a non-food option.

4. Photo scavenger hunt

Best for: an energetic 20-minute opener. Give teams six prompts, such as something handmade, a winter colour, a team keepsake and an object with a story. People can photograph items in the office or at home, then share one image and explain it. Avoid requiring anyone to show their home or appear on camera. Use a shared board so both locations see the same entries.

5. Gift-wrap challenge

Best for: colleagues who like making things together. Give each group the same object and 10 minutes to wrap it with materials provided. Judge ease of opening, protection and originality, rather than a vague ‘greenest’ prize. A remote version works if everyone has materials already; otherwise, run a drawing challenge in which teams sketch the most inventive package.

6. Holiday trivia

Best for: mixed teams that want a familiar game. Build four short rounds: music, films, company moments and a round written by colleagues. Let teams discuss answers before submitting them. Mix Christmas questions with wider end-of-year topics so knowledge of one tradition is not the price of joining. For hybrid groups, use one shared quiz and read every question aloud.

7. Virtual holiday bingo

Best for: a 15-minute remote warm-up. Fill cards with low-stakes prompts such as ‘has tried a new recipe this year’ or ‘knows a winter song in another language’. People mark a square when someone shares a story, not when the host calls a number. Let people pass on any prompt. This works particularly well before breakout conversations.

8. Colleague appreciation cards

Best for: a quieter team or an end-of-year close. Ask everyone to write one specific thank-you: what a colleague did, when it mattered, and why they noticed. Give people time to write privately, then invite those who want to read theirs aloud. A shared digital board works for remote teams. Check that recognition reaches behind-the-scenes colleagues, not only the most visible presenters.

9. Seated team relay

Best for: groups that enjoy playful competition without a running race. Put teams at tables and pass a set of short challenges along: draw an ornament, solve a clue, write a caption, then build a paper tower. Give each person one turn. Remote teams can use a shared document and breakout rooms. Make it timed, but remove physical speed as the deciding factor.

10. Festive karaoke or playlist exchange

Best for: music-loving teams, with an opt-out for singers. Invite pairs to nominate a song and tell the group why it matters to them. Those who want to perform can sing; everyone else can vote on the playlist. For remote calls, a playlist exchange is more reliable than simultaneous singing, which often suffers from video-call delay.

11. Year-in-review story wall

Best for: a team that has shared a demanding year. Put up three prompts: ‘a small win’, ‘someone who helped me’ and ‘something I learned’. People add a short note or photo, then the host reads a handful with permission. Use a shared board for remote colleagues and leave it open for people on different shifts. It creates a record of the year without making everyone give a speech.

12. Make-an-ornament workshop

Best for: creative teams with 45 minutes. Provide a few simple materials and one example, then let people make an ornament or table decoration in their own style. You can use spare paper, fabric offcuts or other suitable materials already on hand, but do not label the whole activity ‘sustainable’ on that basis. Remote staff need an advance materials list and a version that works with ordinary stationery.

13. Local volunteering or a donation-sorting hour

Best for: teams with a community partner and enough planning time. Ask the organisation what it actually needs before collecting items or offering help. Book a suitable slot and explain any accessibility requirements. A remote team can support a partner through a coordinated fundraising or skills-based project if the organisation wants that support. Let staff opt out without explanation.

14. Wear-what-you-have festive outfit day

Best for: a quick, light office or video-call moment. Invite people to wear something festive they already own, or choose a colour. Share the invitation early and avoid a contest that rewards buying a new outfit. If you do give awards, use categories such as ‘best story’ or ‘most inventive reuse’. Keep cameras optional.

15. Grow your team forest together

Best for: a team that wants a shared action connected to the gathering. Decide the rule first, for example, the company funds one tree for each attendee. During the session, invite colleagues to share a short message about what they hope the team will grow next year. ForestNation can connect the agreed event activity to planting in Tanzania and a company Forest Profile people can follow. If you want each person to grow a physical tree at home or at a desk, choose Tree Kits as a separate gift. A digital Gift Story is a personal message connected to planting; the recipient does not physically plant the Tanzania tree through a screen. Our impact methodology explains how planting and impact figures are recorded and estimated.

16. Virtual escape room

Best for: remote and hybrid teams who enjoy solving problems. Choose an online room with a clear accessibility description, then split the team into groups of four to six. Have one host per group or make sure the provider supplies one. Test access before the day and keep a spare puzzle ready for anyone whose connection drops. Allow 45 to 60 minutes, including a short debrief on how each group solved the clues.

17. Team awards chosen by peers

Best for: closing the year with specific appreciation. Invite nominations a week early. Ask for an example with each nomination, such as ‘she covered the customer handover when we were short-staffed’. Keep categories kind and avoid jokes at someone’s expense. Read a selection aloud and send every nominee their message afterward. Remote colleagues can nominate and attend on the same terms.

18. Cook-along or bake-off

Best for: teams that like food and can budget for ingredients. Choose one simple recipe and publish the ingredient list well ahead. Offer a no-cook or non-food alternative for people without a suitable kitchen or with dietary needs. In the office, share stations; remotely, let a volunteer demonstrate while others cook or join the conversation. Finish by swapping the recipes people would actually make again.

Which activity works for a hybrid team?

Choose one shared task rather than running an office game with a video window on the side. Trivia, a story wall, peer appreciation, an escape room and the forest activity can each work when remote colleagues have the same information, time and chance to speak. Assign a host to watch the chat, and put everyone into mixed small groups for at least part of the session.

Make the moment last

At the end, give the team something to carry forward: the appreciation notes, the recipes, the playlist, the story wall or the company forest. These are records of what people did together. They do not need a promise that the activity will improve retention or morale.

ForestNation helps teams turn what they do into a forest. For an event, agree the qualifying activity, the number of trees it funds and who will report it. For a personal thank-you, a Tree Kit gives a colleague a tree to grow, while a Gift Story carries a digital message connected to planting. Explore Tree Gifts for employees if giving is the aim, or plan an event planting programme if you want the team activity itself to fund trees.

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Related reading: Christmas gift ideas for employees | employee recognition gifts