A good end of year activity includes the teams who work away from head office. This article sets out 12 ideas grouped by format, each with the audience, an indicative budget and a watch point, plus a way to reach remote sites and shift workers.
Contents
Why an end of year activity matters for cohesion
December is often the only collective pause that companies share before the holidays. Done well, an end of year activity reminds everyone that they belong to a group larger than their own team and site. That is what cohesion is about: occasions when colleagues talk to each other and recognise each other, even if they do not work together day to day.
The most common risk is to put all the effort into a single date, such as a Christmas party at head office. Field teams, distant branches and shift workers are then excluded in practice. An activity spread across December, with formats that people can join remotely, reaches more people than a one-off event.
12 activity ideas grouped by format
On site (head office or branch)
1. Internal Christmas market. Stalls run by teams (baking, handmade items, gift ideas), in aid of a charity or open to free participation. Best for: sites with a shared space. Low budget. Watch point: if food is sold, name someone responsible for basic hygiene rules.
2. Team decoration contest. Each team decorates its space around a given theme, with a collective vote. Best for: sites with offices or open-plan floors. Low to medium budget. Watch point: set the same maximum budget for every team.
3. Shared meal or drinks reception. A relaxed moment at the end of the day, with a game or a raffle. Best for: sites small enough to fit in one room. Medium to high budget depending on the caterer. Watch point: if alcohol is served, offer visible alcohol-free options and a safe way home.
Remote and multisite
4. Shared video call. A live quiz or music round at a fixed time for sites that can connect together. Best for: office teams working daytime hours. Low budget. Watch point: this format excludes teams who cannot stop work at a set time, so add a version people can join later.
5. December connected challenge. Employees collect points linked to an activity (physical activity, quizzes, content) over several weeks, with a ranking by team or by site. Best for: any size, and well suited to multisite because everyone joins from where they are. Low to medium budget depending on the prizes. Watch point: adjust the scoring so it does not put people with physically active jobs at a disadvantage.
6. Collective video message. Short video messages from each team or site, shared with everyone before the holidays. Best for: any size. Low budget. Watch point: get the agreement of every employee who appears on film.
Charitable
7. Collection for a local charity. Toys, warm clothes or food, with a target per team or per site. Best for: any company, and suited to multisite since each site collects locally. Low budget. Watch point: check that the charity can take donations from several sites.
8. Volunteering afternoon. Gift wrapping for a charity, an organised street outreach round or a visit to a community project. Best for: a group of volunteers, hard to repeat on every site on the same day. Medium budget (time spent). Watch point: taking part must stay genuinely voluntary.
9. Donation in return for participation. Each employee who takes part in an activity triggers a company donation to a chosen cause. Best for: any company. Variable budget depending on the scale you set. Watch point: announce the scale before the launch.
Sport and well-being
10. December steps or physical activity challenge. Individual or team totals, with a ranking that rewards regularity over performance. Best for: any company, and accessible to field teams. Low to medium budget. Watch point: prefer a team ranking so that less sporty colleagues are not put off.
11. End of year well-being session. A short group session (stretching, breathing) to unwind before the break. Best for: sites with a spare room, or as a video format. Low budget. Watch point: choose a slot that does not eat into the last files to close.
Playful
12. Christmas puzzle hunt. A trail of puzzles for mixed teams, on site or in a digital version for remote teams. Best for: mid-sized sites, adaptable to multisite in digital form. Medium budget if a provider designs the game. Watch point: mix the teams on purpose to create links between departments that rarely meet.
Reaching field teams and shift workers
This is where most end of year activities fail. An email invitation or an event set during office hours never reaches shift workers, workshop teams or people on the road. The 2026 United Heroes x OpinionWay HR Barometer, a survey of employees in France, shows that 42% of employees consider the gap between head office and the field to be the biggest one in their company, rising to 52% in large groups.
A few principles narrow that gap:
- Prefer asynchronous to live. An activity open over several days gives everyone time to take part at their own pace.
- Use mobile, not only email. Some field teams have no work email address. A mobile channel, or a notice relayed by line managers, reaches more people.
- Give field managers a role. They are the ones who pass the information on, so involve them early, not only at the final announcement.
- Adjust the scoring of physical activities. A ranking based on raw effort puts people who are already on their feet all day at a disadvantage.
Method: preparing an activity that works
A realistic preparation calendar
Fix the format and the budget by mid-November. Communicate in two steps: a general announcement three weeks before the launch, then a reminder in the week it starts. For an activity spread across December, plan a nudge halfway through, when participation often drops.
Including colleagues who do not celebrate Christmas
Every activity in this guide works without a religious reference if you present it as an end of year activity rather than a Christmas one. Make taking part optional and vary the formats so that none relies on a single symbol.
Alcohol and safety, in one sentence
If alcohol is served at a social moment, always provide visible alcohol-free alternatives and a safe way home for colleagues who need one.
Measuring participation
An activity without follow-up cannot tell you whether it met its goal. At a minimum, track the sign-up rate and the actual participation rate over time, and add a short feedback survey once it is over. This matters most for formats spread over several weeks, where running out of steam along the way is the main risk.
How United Heroes supports end of year activities
For the quality of work life topic, United Heroes offers an Advent Calendar challenge designed for multisite companies and shift patterns. Every day in December until Christmas, employees can earn up to 24 points, the equivalent of 24 minutes of physical activity, and find out straight away whether they have won a prize through an instant-win mechanic.
The challenge is individual and works with any activity, so each person can take part from their own site at their own pace, with no shared time slot. Daily notifications and game mechanics keep participation going, and a dedicated private group lets participants share photos, messages and wins, including with colleagues who never cross paths at the office. The company stays in charge of the prizes.
This format answers the two most common limits of classic end of year activities: it does not depend on a single venue, and it lasts all of December instead of one evening. You will find this challenge and other formats on our cohesion page.
Frequently asked questions
Which Christmas activity suits a multisite company?
Choose a format that does not depend on a shared place or time: a connected challenge open over several weeks, a charity collection organised locally on each site, or a collective video message. An internal Christmas market or a drinks reception work well on a single site, but do not cover remote sites without a local version.
What budget should you plan for an end of year activity at work?
The budget depends mostly on the format, not on the size of the company. A charity collection, a decoration contest or a connected challenge rely first on internal organisation and modest prizes. A drinks reception with a caterer or an escape game with a provider need a larger budget. Set the budget before the format, not the other way round.
How do you include employees who do not celebrate Christmas?
Present the activity as an end of year highlight rather than a Christmas party, make taking part optional and vary the formats so that none relies on a single religious symbol.
How far ahead should you prepare an end of year activity?
Allow about six weeks for a simple format, and more if an outside provider is involved. Fix the budget and the format by mid-November so you can communicate calmly before the launch.
How do you reach field teams and shift workers over the festive season?
Prefer a format open over several days to a live event, use a mobile channel or line managers rather than email alone, and adjust the scoring of physical activities so that people already on their feet all day are not at a disadvantage.
Should you hold a single evening or spread activities across December?
The two complement each other, but one evening on its own reaches only part of your teams, usually those at head office. Spreading an activity across the month, through a connected challenge or a gradual collection, lets you include remote sites and shift workers without waiting for one particular day.
Take it further
To carry the thinking further, consider also rewarding the year with end of year gifts, alongside a collective activity. For more formats throughout the year, our cohesion page shows how United Heroes brings colleagues together. If you choose the full-month format, our guide to setting up an advent calendar at work details each step.
Product Marketing Manager at United Heroes