We can have fun at work during the holidays. Here is one of my favorite activities to do with my team to add a little fun and whimsy to the crazy!

The holidays can be a wild time. So many emotions. Joy, excitement, pain, loss. And sometimes it can be all those emotions at the same time.

An easy idea I did was to find a graphic that matched the holiday and put someone’s face on it.

For example, during Christmas I printed out 12 reindeers and put 12 different staff members faces on the reindeer.

I put a number on the back of each reindeer and then I hid those reindeer around campus.

I told staff if they could find a reindeer and bring it up to the office, they’d get a prize that corresponded with the number on the back!

It was silly. It was simple. But it allowed a little lighthearted fun during a time that could feel overwhelming.

Here are a few tips I’ve learned while doing this…

1. Not every prize has to cost money. Jeans day, leave 1 hour early, recess coverage, arrive an hour late, or even 30 minutes to watch your class at the time of your choosing.

2. Work with local business to get them to donate gift cards that you can give as prizes.

3. Create rules! Adults are competitive!! So I learned quickly I had to make a few rules like…
– You can’t search for pictures while you have your students.
– students can not search for pictures for you.
– no running while searching.
– you can only find one picture.
No rule is too silly. But people get really upset when an overzealous co-worker takes the fun out of it.

4. Just have fun!

In sharing this idea, you may not even know where to start. That’s why I created this FREE Canva file for you to use, right HERE..

All you have to do is click on “File” and then “Make a Copy” and you can make your own edits!

If you don’t already have a Canva account, where have you been!?!? It’s LIFE CHANGING! If you’re an educator sign up for Canva for Education and get all the pro tools FREE.

Sign up for Canva for Education here.

Have fun! And if you end up doing this activity let me know! I’d love to hear how it went!