Team Building for the Holidays

Your Family is a Team Too

Yes, at Corporate Games we have a wide range of holiday team events, including Holiday Team Minutes-to-Win-It, Wreath-Making event for charity, Bike Building for Toys for Tots, and more. But it is also a great time to do fun team games at your family holiday party. This is especially true if there are family members who have not been able to communicate easily. Just about every family has its drama at some time.

Realize that your family is a team too. You care about each other, support each other, help when you can, plan events together, and more. And, like a lot of companies, your family units are not necessarily located close by—but in different cities. This requires communication, cooperation, and teamwork in order to be successful and stay together. That’s why playing team games is a wonderful idea during your holiday parties.

Here are some simple ones we recommend—that we do with our family…

Singing. There are a myriad of songs for karaoke that you can find streaming for free. Check out You Tube. Let each person pick whatever they want to sing and have everyone join in. The words and music are there to follow, and it is always uplifting for all ages to sing together. 

Team Charades. Yes, you could play regular Charades too, but this version is entertaining and generates a ton of laughter. In this game, you’ll form teams of 4- 8 people each. When it is your team’s turn, you select one team member to be “the guesser.” All other team members will be enacting whatever is on a card. Someone from the other team(s) show you the top card in a deck and also the other team will time you for one minute. When the timer starts, your team looks at at the card and you all try to enact what is on the card so your “guesser” will come up with the right answer. Once s/he guesses correctly, your team gets to see the next card. You try to get through as many cards as you can before the time is up. Your team members may work together or separately when gesticulating, but they can’t talk. This game is available on Amazon, but you can be creative and make up your own Charade cards very easily. These Charade cards are very simple items like “Tree House, Limousine, Pitcher, etc.. If you have questions or need ideas on how to create your own cards, email us at info@corporategames.com Other team games include Outburst, CatchPhrase,Family Feud, Jenga, Cranium, and many more. You can find all these at local stores and online.

Group Dancing. Now some people are wary of dancing, but once they get up and do a group dance, they want to keep going—adults and even the teens and young kids in the family. You can find instructions on dances like the Virginia Reel and Circle Dances online. You can also find music for these dances. Traditional songs like “Oh Susannah” or “Turkey in the Straw” are perfect for these group dances. The hardest part may be finding enough room for everyone.

The Real White Elephant Game. This game has been around for many years and used for company parties as well as family gatherings. Every person bring a wrapped gift if they want to participate. In the REAL White Elephant game, each person brings something from their home that they don’t use or no longer need. These should be in excellent condition and you can try to put a minimum “value” on what people bring. But we all have items we are happy to give away, so here is the perfect opportunity. It costs nothing, and there is a wide variety in the gifts. If you have never played this game:

1. All the gifts are placed in a central location.

2. Each person draws a number from a hat (from 1 to however many participants there are).

3. When your number is called, you select a gift from the pile and unwrap it for all to see and admire. OR (unless you are number 1)—you can “steal” a gift that someone else has already unwrapped.

4. Popular items can only be “stollen” three times. There should be no “collusion” amongst players to try an obtain a certain item.

5. The last player to go is the person who had number 1—who can then “trade” their gift with one held by another person. This ends the game.

Team Cooking. Many families have some traditional dishes that have been passed down through the generations. These are typically prepared for holiday celebrations. It is a great time to get everyone together to make these recipes. In our family, we have a “sticky rice packets” dish that is composed of short grain rice, Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, onions and other spices. These are mixed in a large bowl, and then everyone gets together to put spoonfuls of the mixture into small packets of foil. These are put in a steamer to heat up. Enjoy with a bit of soy sauce. The generations look forward to this every holiday. Your family probably has a traditional dish as well. Get everyone involved in the preparation. If you are really ambitious, you could have a team cook-off competition. Always fun!

Ornament Making. There are so many “reels” on Facebook that give you instructions on how to make beautiful ornaments out of a variety of craft supplies. There are even ways to cut and make beautiful paper snowflakes. Pick a few of your favorites and get everyone together to make an ornament or two. At our house we like to have everyone make a “Sculpy” ornament. This is a type of clay available at your craft store. It bakes to a very hard, durable finish that is suitable for painting. Here are Sculpy ornaments that we have crafted over the years. You will never give these keepsakes away—especially when your kis made them. (pictures to come).

Whatever you do, try to have something that is interactive and fun—aside from eating and watching football. When you do things together, you create lasting bonds and everyone loves it.

Happy Holidays from Corporate Games Team Building!