When they're not? People eat dinner, make small talk with the coworkers they already know, stay for the required amount of time and quietly start checking when it would be socially acceptable to leave.

The difference usually isn't how expensive the party is. It's whether you've given people enough reasons to actually interact.

If you're planning a company holiday party in Toronto this year, here are a few ways to make it feel less like a work function and more like a celebration.

1. Do a White Elephant Gift Exchange

There's a reason White Elephant gift exchanges work so well at office parties.

Instead of everyone simply opening a gift, people can steal gifts from each other, negotiate trades and become strangely competitive over something nobody knew they wanted 20 minutes earlier.

Set a reasonable budget — something like $20–$30 — and encourage gifts that are funny, useful or universally appealing.

The key is keeping participation optional. Anyone who wants to join brings a wrapped gift, while everyone else can still watch the chaos unfold.

For smaller and mid-sized teams especially, it's an easy way to get everyone laughing together.

2. Set Up a Photo Booth

Yes, we're a photo booth company, so we're admittedly biased.

But there's a reason photo booths work particularly well at corporate holiday parties.

Not everyone wants to dance. Not everyone drinks. And structured networking activities can sometimes feel like…more work.

A photo booth doesn't require any of that.

Someone grabs their work bestie for a photo. Then the whole department joins. Someone convinces the manager to get in. By later in the evening, completely unexpected groups of coworkers are taking photos together.

And unlike most party entertainment, guests actually leave with something from it.

For a holiday party, you can customize the photo design with your company branding, event name, holiday graphics or something as simple as:

Instant prints can double as a small party favour, while digital copies make it easy for everyone to share their photos afterward.

3. Try a Table vs. Table Trivia Competition

If you have a seated dinner, use the tables you already have.

Create a short trivia competition with a mixture of general knowledge, holiday questions and questions about your company.

You can even add a few inside jokes:

Keep it short — around 15–20 minutes — and have each table submit one answer sheet.

Add a small prize for the winning table and suddenly dinner becomes considerably more entertaining.

4. Give Out Funny Company Awards

Skip the generic certificates.

Instead, create awards people will actually want to hear announced. Think:

The best awards are affectionate rather than embarrassing. You want people laughing because they recognize the person immediately — not because someone has been put on the spot.

Mix a few silly awards with genuine recognition for an easy end-of-year moment.

5. Have a Holiday Cocktail — or Mocktail — Menu

Instead of simply offering a standard bar, create two or three drinks specifically for the evening.

Give them ridiculous company-themed names if your culture allows it.

And make sure there's at least one genuinely good non-alcoholic option.

A signature mocktail means people who aren't drinking still get something more interesting than being handed another sparkling water.

Put the menu on a small sign at the bar and it becomes another little detail that makes the party feel intentionally planned.

6. Play a “Who Said It?” Game

Before the event, ask employees to anonymously submit something funny about themselves. For example:

During the party, display a few submissions and have everyone guess which coworker said each one.

This works particularly well for teams where people work together frequently but don't necessarily know much about each other outside of work.

Just make sure submissions are voluntary and keep the questions light.

7. Add a Few Games People Can Play Whenever They Want

Not every activity needs an announcement and everyone's attention.

Sometimes the best entertainment sits quietly in a corner until someone discovers it.

Depending on your venue, you could set up giant Jenga, Connect Four, cards, a mini putting challenge or another simple game.

The important part is choosing games that take approximately 30 seconds to understand.

Nobody wants to learn a 14-rule board game at a holiday party.

8. Have a Proper Dessert Moment

Dessert deserves better than quietly appearing after dinner.

A donut wall, cookie decorating station, hot chocolate bar, late-night dessert table or even a simple tower of holiday treats gives people another place to wander over and gather.

It doesn't necessarily need to be elaborate.

Sometimes a beautifully presented table of cookies and brownies at 10 PM is all you need.

9. Create a Great Playlist Before the Event

Don't leave music as an afterthought.

If you're hiring a DJ, give them an idea of your team's age range and music preferences. If you're handling the playlist yourself, ask employees to submit one song they want to hear before the party.

You'll end up with an extremely questionable playlist.

That's part of the fun.

And once someone's submission starts playing, they're probably dragging their coworkers onto the dance floor with them.

10. Don't Schedule Every Minute

This might be the most important one.

You don't need:

People spend enough of their working lives looking at calendars.

Give the party some breathing room.

Have a few activities available throughout the evening — a photo booth, games, drinks and food — and perhaps one or two organized moments like trivia, awards or White Elephant.

Then let people decide how they want to enjoy themselves.

The Best Corporate Holiday Parties Don't Feel Like Work

You don't necessarily need a huge entertainment budget to create a memorable company holiday party.

You need good food, good music and a few things that give people an excuse to interact with coworkers they might not normally spend time with.

And sometimes that's enough.

Planning a Corporate Holiday Party in Toronto?

88 Photobooth provides open-air photo booth experiences for corporate holiday parties, office celebrations and company events across Toronto and the GTA.

Our corporate photo booth experiences can include custom-branded photo designs, instant prints, digital sharing and a backdrop selected to complement your event.

Whether you're planning an intimate team dinner or a larger company holiday party, we'll help make the photo booth feel like part of the celebration — not something that was simply placed in the corner.

Good food gets eaten. Drinks get finished.
But the photo strip might still be sitting on someone's desk months later.

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