December may still be a couple of months away, but if you’re tasked with sorting the work Christmas party in London Town, now’s the time to get those plans going. From alcohol-fuelled immersive experiences to competitive games, let’s leave the sales targets behind. After all, there’s only one thing every employee is looking forward to in December, and it ain’t the end-of-year All Hands meeting.
1. Feast on festive fun and festive dishes at Monopoly Lifesized
Monopoly isn’t just for Christmas Day with your family: if you’re looking for a cool Christmas party activity to do in London with the work lot, give Monopoly Lifesized a go. Exactly as the name suggests, this Tottenham Court Road venue offers a life-sized version of the iconic game, and sees competitors go from room to room as they work their way around the ‘board’. There’s also the addition of mini-games.
From November 27 until the end of December, you can then move your group over to The Top Hat restaurant, and tuck into a menu of seasonal dishes, each with a Christmassy twist. Opt for a sit-down sharing meal, or canape service, depending on your group size.
2. Sip cocktails in another world at Avora
Really and truly escape the mundane reality of your day job by heading into another world with your colleagues. Avora: New World Cocktail Experience is an immersive cocktail adventure from the creators of the famed Alcotraz experience; despite being based in Hoxton, London will be far from your mind at this work Christmas party.
Your team will enter the world of Avora through a laboratory portal (in matching jumpsuits, no less), and follow an intriguing storyline that’ll see you drinking cocktails, encountering ‘Avorians’ and, ultimately, being faced with a moral conundrum.
3. Step into the Wild West at Moonshine Saloon
If heading into another world isn’t yours or your colleagues’ bag, perhaps stepping back in time is preferable? Another immersive cocktail experience by the team behind Avora and Alcatraz, Moonshine Saloon is a Wild West-themed cocktail experience that encourages all you outlaws to join the illicit moonshine empire.
There’ll be no complaints to the company about lack of drinks, as here you’re asked to smuggle in your own illicit moonshine (i.e. BYOB). The bartenders will then transform your booze into four personalised Old West cocktails. Throughout the experience you can roll the dice – quite literally – as you play a selection of games, chat with the local cowboys and cowgirls (actors), and perhaps even opt to embody specific characters. Things may get a little hairy… but will the sheriff foil the operation?
4. Try your hand at competitive curling
Grab the team and head over to Kings Cross this November or December, where you’ll find six colourful curling lanes. If you’re unfamiliar, the game is simple: teams compete against one another to get points by sliding their puck closest to the target. The team with the most points wins.
Alongside the curling lanes at the Kings Cross Christmas Curling Club, there’ll be live DJs keeping the vibes lively, playing 90s bangers. Tickets are just £8 per head, meaning there’s more company dosh to go behind the pop-up bar – plus a donation from each ticket sale will go to charity. Win win.
5. Celebrate with drinks from a bespoke menu at Mr Fogg’s
If you’re not familiar with Mr Fogg’s bars, where have you been?! The well-loved brand offers unique concepts across 10 venues – including a Victorian-inspired pub, a floral oasis, and a space inspired by the character Phileas Fogg – each delivered with floor-to-ceiling flair. The drinks served are just as quirky as the bars themselves, making them a pretty good option for a special work Christmas party.
For larger group bookings, Mr Fogg’s offers bespoke, themed drinks menus: your team can choose your three favourite cocktails from the menu, rename them for the night to whatever you wish (will you be naughty or nice?), plus you’ll get a host of wine and beer too.
6. Take over an immersive art exhibition
Make like Harry’s design agency in Love Actually, and host your work Christmas party at an art exhibition – without the betrayal of Emma Thompson, though. Similar to Dopamine Land, businesses can exclusively rent out a space at Claude Monet: The Immersive Experience (Brick Lane) and Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience (Spitalfields), and spend the evening bonding under 360-degree projections of famous artworks, such as Monet’s Water Lillies and Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
7. Win epic prizes – if you’re lucky – at high-octane Hijingo
Hijingo in East London has taken bingo and made it millennial – which sounds, to us, like a winning work Christmas party recipe. The multi-sensory experience combines bingo, live entertainment, motion graphics and a whole lot of fun. You and your colleagues can win big too. In between games, there is a bustling bar, serving cocktails, beer, wine and snacks.
8. Brave the outdoors with a Christmas-themed scavenger hunt
This idea is a little ‘out there’ for a work Christmas party – quite literally – as it’ll see you walking out and about in London, during the winter. BucketRace’s Christmas Scavenger Hunt calls for teams to go up against one another in a series of challenges on December 9. The winners need to complete all required tasks to nab the crown.
There are two categories to choose from: the ‘Central London’ option includes tasks such as reading out Shakespeare in front of Shakespeare, and photobombing a selfie in front of Buckingham Palace; while the ‘Christmas’ option includes filling a stocking with coal, and riding in a sleigh. After you’ve completed the scavenger hunt, we recommend warming up with a visit to a good ol’ London pub.
9. Challenge your team to some retro games at Platform
Gaming bar Platform offers a lively bottomless brunch in London that makes for a good Christmas party activity. Enjoy 90 minutes of free-flowing drinks, pizza, and a whole host of retro computer games; imagine yourself in the World Cup with Fifa, or put your pedal to the metal with Maria Kart at either their Canary Wharf or Shoreditch spot.
Both Platform outposts boast a plethora of gaming booths, each kitted out with a large screen, Playstation and Nintendo Switch, and an extensive video game library.
10. Enjoy a night out at The Clapham Grand
The Clapham Grand have a whole lot of festive activities this December – though they’ve not released their top-secret full schedule just yet. We can reveal, though, that if your work lot wants to let loose, this is the place to go.
Make a beeline for MASSAOKE Xmas on December 9: exactly what it sounds like, raucous mass karaoke. Alternatively, go wild for comedian and drag star Myra Dubois, as she returns for her seventh Christmas show at the Grand.
11. Flex your creativity with the lights down low
Head to South Kensington for a unique Christmas party this winter: a fun-fuelled art masterclass in the dark. Intrigued? Paint In The Dark invites friends, colleagues, and office frienemies to flex their art skills, creating unique works with glow-in-the-dark paint. You’ll be guided by a talented art facilitator, and there’ll be beer, wine, and soft drinks on hand to really get the creative juices flowing. And for those a little unsure, don’t worry: the room isn’t pitch black, it is low-lit with fluorescent colours.
12. Putt the ‘Christmas’ into ‘Christmas party’ at Swingers
Rounding off our list of fun work Christmas party ideas in London is Swingers crazy golf courses in the West End and The City. Fuel up on delicious food from well-known London brands, such as Patty & Bun and Pizza Pilgrims, then tee up on a range of unique courses as you battle against your colleague for the top spot. There are cocktails aplenty to keep the party going too.