It’s Christmassssssssss! Ok, it’s only the 6th, but let’s face it, once the calendar flips over into December, we might as well all be wrapped in tinsel for the duration of the month.

Unfortunately, for the majority of us, we still need to work throughout this most festive of months, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little festive fun along the way now does it? So, read on to find out how you can encourage a little festive cheer in the office this December…

*WARNING please take all advice with a heavy dose of sodium chloride.

Christmas tunes:

Love them or hate them, nothing puts a spring in your keyboard-weary fingers like the sound of Slade, Mariah or the Pogues blasting out the bangers across the office – so, crank them up and be sure to scream them at the top of your melodically-challenged lungs, ensuring that your favourites are played on repeat throughout the day.

And if there’s anyone who really hates Christmas music, or just any type of joy in general? Then just crank it up even louder and turn their desk into a dance podium especially made for you – that ought to drown out their bar humbug complaining.

Eat all the pies:

If you usually have a chocolate digestive with your afternoon tea, DITCH ITTTTT and stock up instead on a load of delicious mince pies, because guess what? They are little tasty bursts of Christmas morning and pastry is actually zero calories throughout the whole of December, who knew?

If you want to be extra nice to your colleagues, why not make your own mince pies at home and bring them in for your colleagues to sample? What tends to go down especially well, is if you make them the traditional way with real mince, but don’t tell anyone before they eat them…

Decorate, decorate, decorate!

How will anyone ever know whether it’s Christmas or not if your office doesn’t look like a magically festive grotto? (of north-pole fame, not Heffner’s).

So, get the tree out, drown it in tinsel of every colour and make sure that the Xmas lights are as blindingly bright, and club-esque, as possible. Because nothing says ‘tis the season quite like a 9am office rave that lasts all day long.

Get you game face on:

The closer it gets to Christmas, the harder it becomes for some people to stay motivated and focus on actual work, as they’re likely already dreaming of what presents are waiting for them under the tree, or who they’re going to accidently-on-purpose snog at the Xmas party. So, why not shake things up and keep everyone’s brains working by introducing some daily Christmas games to proceedings?

By firing up some healthy office competition, friendly office games can help to build team bonding and encourage the festive spirit. It can also, however, end in anger, tears and a Santa shaped hole in the stud-wall when Kevin from accounts loses Pictionary for the third lunchtime in a row, but hey, survival of the fittest, right?

Secret Santa:

A truly classic yuletide gig of offices far and wide, good old Secret Santa. You know how it goes, everyone writes their name on a piece of paper, pops it in a bowl and names are drawn until everyone has their very own mystery gift to buy for an unsuspecting colleague.

The real beauty of Secret Santa is the premise that you have to buy a gift for a member of staff that you probably don’t know that well, with the added stress of having to effectively nail being funny, thoughtful and only borderline offensive, all within the very strict budget of £3.50. It can be a tough break for the weaker ones amongst us, but whoever triumphs in their Secret Santa gift-buying truly is the saviour of Christmas.

Fabulous fashion:

Next week on Friday 14th it’s officially Save the Children Christmas Jumper Day, which is a great cause that encourages people to wear their Xmas jumpers to work for one day. But why restrict your Xmas knitwear to just this one occasion in December? Why not wear novelty attire every single day?

It sure would brighten up all those dreary board meetings that no one really wants to be at in December, especially when half of the office are on a cruise around the Caribbean funnelling Pina Coladas whilst you’re trying to focus on slide 76 of Janice’s itinerary for the Christmas party. And what’s more, due to the hectic colour combinations employed on most Christmas jumpers, it’s much more difficult to notice any mulled wine, mince pie or melted chocolate Santa stains, perfect!

So, now that you’re all equipped and ready to ensure that your office is super festive this December, don’t forget to drop us a line to talk about any last minute Christmas campaigns you might be thinking about, or to discuss your brand’s next steps for 2019!

Happy December!