You know the drill. Three courses, a table plan that puts you next to someone from accounts you’ve never spoken to, and a DJ nobody asked for. It’s fine. It’s just… the same as last year, and the year before that. If your team has quietly stopped looking forward to the office Christmas party, the format is probably the problem, not the people.
The sit-down meal still tops the popularity charts nationally, and there’s nothing wrong with it if your team genuinely wants that. But a growing number of employers are choosing venues and formats they’ve never used before, because familiarity has started to feel like an excuse rather than a tradition. Here’s what’s filling that gap.
Why so many teams are ditching the traditional dinner
Set-menu dinners work when your team wants a quiet, low-key evening. They fall flat when what people actually want is to laugh, compete and remember something specific about the night. A meal blurs into the next one. A casino night, a treasure hunt or a race night doesn’t.
There’s also a practical reason interactive formats are gaining ground. Only around 40% of staff say they’re actually keen on having a work Christmas party at all, so if you’re going to run one, it’s worth making it something people wouldn’t rather skip. An activity gives quieter team members something to do besides small talk, and it gives everyone a shared story to tell on Monday.
Office Christmas party activities worth trying instead
Casino nights
Blackjack, roulette and poker tables with fake money, real dealers and a leaderboard everyone cares about far more than they expected to. It works for big groups and small ones, needs no experience, and gives people something to do with their hands that isn’t just holding a drink.
Race nights
Screen-based horse racing with sweepstake-style betting, commentary and genuine noise. It’s easy to run alongside food and drink, so you don’t have to choose between a proper meal and an actual event. Teams tend to split into rival syndicates within about ten minutes, which is exactly the point.
Festive treasure hunts
Teams move around a venue or town centre solving clues, cracking codes and completing daft festive challenges against the clock. It’s active without being athletic, so nobody’s fitness level matters, and it naturally mixes up who’s talking to whom. Big group or small, it scales without losing the fun.
Festive workshops
Wreath-making, gingerbread decorating and cocktail-making classes have all become genuinely popular alternatives to dinner, and it’s easy to see why. They’re relaxed, hands-on, and everyone leaves with something they made. They also work well for alcohol-free celebrations, which matters given that 22% of Gen Z office workers don’t drink, the highest of any age group.
Mixed-activity evenings
If you can’t decide between a quiz, a game show format and a casino table, don’t. A mixed evening rotates guests through a few shorter activities rather than committing the whole night to one thing. It suits teams with a real mix of ages, interests and energy levels, because everyone finds at least one part they enjoy.
What UK companies are actually spending
Budgets have moved around a fair bit in the last couple of years, and it’s worth knowing where you sit against the average before you start planning. Spend per head climbed steadily through 2022 to 2024, but early indications for 2025 point to SMEs pulling back again as costs bite elsewhere in the business.
None of this means you need a huge budget to run something memorable. A well-run activity evening can cost less than a three-course meal with wine, because you’re paying for an experience rather than covers, and you know the final number upfront. That matters when nearly six in ten workplaces say they’re scaling back or cancelling celebrations altogether to save money.
A quick word on the £150 tax exemption
HMRC lets you spend up to £150 per head (including VAT) on an annual staff event tax and NI-free, as long as it’s open to all employees. Go even a pound over and the whole amount becomes taxable, not just the excess, so it’s worth building your activity cost, food, drink and any transport into one number before you book anything.
It’s still a work event, so plan it like one
UK employment law treats the Christmas party as an extension of the workplace, which means employers can be held responsible for how staff behave there. That doesn’t mean the evening has to feel like an away day. It just means the same standards apply, and it’s worth a quick reminder to the team beforehand, especially if alcohol is involved.
Fun first. The team-building bit looks after itself once people are actually enjoying the room.
Choosing the right format for your team
- Big, sociable team that likes a bit of competition: a race night or casino night gives everyone something to rally around.
- Mixed ages and interests, or a team that doesn’t know each other well: a treasure hunt or mixed-activity evening mixes people up naturally.
- Sober-curious or mostly non-drinking team: a festive workshop keeps the focus on the activity rather than the bar.
- Remote or hybrid team: a virtual quiz or watch party still works, and costs a fraction of an in-person night out.
- Tight budget this year: a January date often costs less and takes pressure off December diaries too.
Whatever you choose, the honest test is simple: would your team rather do this than go home early? If a set-menu dinner still passes that test for your office, keep it. If it doesn’t, there’s a whole calendar of alternatives that cost roughly the same and get remembered for the right reasons.
We run fully hosted office Christmas parties across the UK, from casino and race nights to treasure hunts and mixed-activity evenings, built around your team, your budget and your venue. Take a look at our office Christmas party page for what’s included and how it works.
