If you want to make employees, customers, and your community feel the holiday spirit this winter, there’s no better way to do it than to give back as an organization — sharing with, and participating in, your community in a meaningful way.
When you’ve found the right way to give back as a business, it will feel true to your brand, serve a real purpose, and make the eyes of your team light up. If you’re ready to give it a try, start with these six ideas to find inspiration for the best holiday fit for your organization.
Share Your Holiday Party
That annual debate you have over the best place to have your holiday party? Shift the conversation, and look for a party location where you can invite others to celebrate with you — choose a spot like a local senior or community center, and extend invitations to the people there. Cookies and conversation will feel even more special when you can share them with people who might not have a party otherwise.
Give Gifts That Matter
Ah, the annual office gift swap. It’s a time-honored way of giving your co-workers clutter. But you can mix it up a little this year by giving the gift exchange a meaningful theme — perhaps deciding that all gifts given should save the recipient time or declaring that every gift that’s swapped should help someone stay healthy.
If your team would rather not spend money on gifts at all, you can still give presents by creating an around-the-office chore swap, where people offer to do hated daily tasks, like emptying the office refrigerator or refilling the copier, for the holidays.
Donate Together
Another option is to skip the gifts altogether and ask your staff to pitch in the money they might have spent on a gift exchange to a group gift that’ll go to the charity of the team’s choice.
You can amp up the excitement for this plan by matching donations as a business.
Or chip in those funds and send your team’s top shoppers to buy physical items for a charity that needs them (toys for a children’s charity, for instance). Another option is to decide on which charity you’ll support the prize for an employee who wins a contest or a game that you’ll play at your holiday party.
Donate What You Do
Another inspiring way to make the season special is by giving away the thing your business usually charges for to customers who otherwise couldn’t afford it. This has the double benefit of helping the community and of making the everyday work your team does feel especially worthwhile and meaningful.
Make It a Challenge
Giving can be a fun way to build team spirit too — join annual challenges that encourage people to do something for charities and donations. Maybe your female staffers can’t join No-Shave November, but they can help raise funds for the male employees who do. You can find other charity events to consider on sites like DonorBox.org.
Think Beyond December
Giving back during the holiday season doesn’t have to start in December. You can build your entire year around the “big finale” you’ll celebrate in December to make an even bigger splash. Choose the cause or organization you’ll support, and raise funds for them once each season. As the year comes to its close, you can revel not only in the good you’re doing during the holidays, but in the giving you’ve done all year long.
From Weddings to Tech, our Zazzle Contributors are experts on a wide variety of topics and information. We hope their advice and ideas will help you be inspired!
Love the share your holiday party idea. You could make a twist on that idea or combine it with your other ideas.
Many of these community organizations like skilled nursing facilities (i.e. nursing homes) and senior centers usually throw holiday parties. However, the number of staff members who can spare the time for such events is limited and what they can offer is limited too. That’s where your team comes in.
An alternative to having a holiday party for yourselves (or in addition to it) is volunteering to ramp up the community group’s holiday party. Maybe your team could put on a talent show for the folks there. If possible, your idea of donating what you do could be part of the festivities. Or combine it with the idea of donating together. You could ask your team to buy gifts for the people at the community organization and your group brings them to their holiday party to distribute.
Great article!
Hi Angela, we love the idea of turning a holiday party into a volunteer opportunity, thanks for the suggestion!