The Christmas Party Treasure Hunt! 5 Problems They Solve.
Posted on: 25/11/2022By Tim Carter (Owner of Black Cat Treasure Hunts)
It`s September and the audacity of including the word Christmas in the same sentence is, I agree, outrageous! Normally I would advise you to stop reading at this point, but just this once maybe you should carry on...
It`s September and the audacity of including the word Christmas in the same sentence is, I agree, outrageous! Normally I would advise you to stop reading at this point, but just this once maybe you should carry on...
Christmas themed treasure hunts or, more relevantly, treasure hunts just before an office Christmas party should be booked now not only to avoid disappointment, but also because they are so effective as an activity. Here are key problems they solve and why:
1. Pre-Christmas party transition from a training day: There are two types of scenarios for companies before the office Christmas meal/party. First of all, you can arrange a training day because your type of business is not conducive to attracting a lot of customers at that time of year. Alternatively, your team works up to the last minute possible because it is very busy!
I used to work within the first scenario. In theory it sounded a good idea. Close for the day..be a bit more relaxed and look forward to the evening`s festivities. The only thing was the management felt guilt ridden at shutting and therefore duty bound to institute an intense day of performance analysis allied to out of the box idea generation. Great, but no-one was in that mindset. Presentations on how well (or not) different parts of the business are doing do not really hit home if you are trying to remember if you chose Christmas pudding or mince pies for dessert.
Also...forcing you to produce groundbreaking, original ideas on a particular day is just `not right` in my opinion. The only top ideas I wanted to come up with a week or two before Christmas Day would be for late, well received Christmas present purchases. This type of day normally fell flat and I usually felt flat in the hours in-between the end of training and the start of the Christmas party. True a couple of swift beers tended to rectify the situation, but this solution could have been avoided.
A treasure hunt on the other hand will instantly bring people together, have fun problem solving and coming up with original ideas to meet photo and video clip challenges. Exploring...discovering and lighthearted banter between teams is just the way to transition from maybe a morning of fast-moving training to an evening party. I guarantee you will not be in that slightly despondent mood resulting from the alternative.
2. Pre-Christmas party transition from a very busy day. This is sometimes easier than from the hideousness that is a Christmas training day, but you do run the risk of taking work small talk straight into the Christmas party. No-one wants to be sat next to that person when pulling a cracker! Don`t be that person! The transition is achieved by going into a treasure hunt that takes you abruptly out of work mode via a lighthearted situation that also combines with the competitiveness of teams.
Yes you may have to book that Christmas meal for a bit later, but any self-respecting party shouldn`t start before 8pm anyway. Re-live your youth with a dance after 10pm too!
3. Ice Breaker: Whether you turn up at the Christmas party from a mind-numbing training day or feeling slightly frazzled after a frenzied 8 hours of Christmas related sales it`s quite possible your table arrangement will have you sitting next to a person you don`t know very well. Maybe they work in a different department or possibly you normally work from home and they are generally office based. Either way a period of polite `get to know you`chit chat will be required. I don`t know about you, but I hate all that stuff, especially at the start of a Christmas party.
Now...if you had been in a team treasure hunt your office manager could already have arranged for you to be looking for answers to clues and re-creating a scene from The Sound of Music with Lucy from accounts and Bob the cleaner. This undoubtedly relaxes everyone involved and gives you a much better understanding of their personalities. You instantly have something to talk about later as you pass them the spuds. You don`t need to ask Lucy what her preferred spreadsheet is, nor do you need to check with Bob how he rates the new disinfectant.
4. No hierarchy: Modern companies are, I`m sure, much better adapted to taking on the needs of their employees and encouraging inclusivity than they used to be. Nevertheless, there is a good possibility you work in a company with several layers of senior and middle management. Even those of you in a situation with a flat management structure will still have people with distinct roles and responsibilities.
The last thing you want to be thinking about just before a Christmas meal and party is whether your line manager liked your idea for `Jeans and t shirts Monday` or that the takings were £3.82 down after taking thousands during the day. No!...what you need is to be in a treasure hunt team where people from all levels are mixed up. When I am explaining guidelines at the start and doing the judging/marking at the end I neither know nor care really which role different people have. If people want to tell me later then that can be quite interesting /amusing. It is also helpful and maybe a nice change for senior managers to take a back seat and be part of a wider team. When it comes to rounding up the performances of all the teams at the end there will always be different roles represented in each team. This is particularly effective and takes out any bias or favouritism.
5. Points make prizes, but not great ones! Yes, it is true that each question and challenge have points allocated to them. Teams are positioned according to the number of points gained rather than the speed to complete the hunt. The focus is on the highlights for each team not on the quality of prizes. On some occasions I think that the team in last have been awarded a slightly preferable prize to the winners! Some companies like to build the outcome of the treasure hunt into an alternative prize giving night, which can also be an effective motivational tool.
My aim is for everyone to have fun and contribute not to be desperate to win a fantastic prize. This makes it much more likely that number 3. above will be achieved too. If you take out the tension of winning the `big prize` you get rid of jealousy and replace it with feelings of pride and amusement at what you achieve.
So, there you have it. Five vital reasons to contact me (Tim) on (01323) 655346 or info@blackcattreasurehunts.co.uk to book your pre-Christmas party treasure hunt. You will not regret it.
5. Points make prizes, but not great ones! Yes, it is true that each question and challenge have points allocated to them. Teams are positioned according to the number of points gained rather than the speed to complete the hunt. The focus is on the highlights for each team not on the quality of prizes. On some occasions I think that the team in last have been awarded a slightly preferable prize to the winners! Some companies like to build the outcome of the treasure hunt into an alternative prize giving night, which can also be an effective motivational tool.
My aim is for everyone to have fun and contribute not to be desperate to win a fantastic prize. This makes it much more likely that number 3. above will be achieved too. If you take out the tension of winning the `big prize` you get rid of jealousy and replace it with feelings of pride and amusement at what you achieve.
So, there you have it. Five vital reasons to contact me (Tim) on (01323) 655346 or info@blackcattreasurehunts.co.uk to book your pre-Christmas party treasure hunt. You will not regret it.
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