Your Office Christmas Dinner Alone Won’t Bring Your Team Closer – Here’s Why It Needs an Activity Too

Every December and at end-of-year parties, we get the same snapshot from workplaces: a long table, a set menu, and hours of stilted small talk with whoever happens to be sitting opposite. But according to a psychologist, the traditional Christmas dinner could be doing the exact opposite of what it’s meant to, leaving colleagues more disconnected.

Sixes Cricket, the UK’s leading social cricket experiences, has teamed up with Dr Charlene Plunkett of The Compassionate Space Ltd to explore the secret to improving team cohesion, as searches for “work Christmas party” are up 439% in the last three months*, as the countdown to this year’s office Christmas party begins. 

Dr Charlene and the team at Sixes Cricket share tips on what employers should consider when planning this year’s Christmas party. By bringing colleagues together on a level playing field, shared activities can help break down workplace hierarchies, spark conversations beyond familiar work circles, and create connections that simply sharing a dinner table may not achieve. Calum Swan, Head of Operations at Sixescricket.com, says, “We host corporate socials every week at Sixes, and we see first-hand how a shared activity can bring colleagues together in a way a traditional work dinner often can’t. It’s not just about getting everyone in the same room; it’s about creating moments where people who rarely interact cheer each other on, share a laugh, and build connections beyond their usual roles.” 

Psychologist reveals why active Christmas parties build stronger team bonds than a sit-down dinner alone.
“At a traditional sit-down Christmas dinner, office hierarchy can resurface without anyone intending it. Junior and senior colleagues seated close together, and because this isn’t a typical work situation, that alone can create an unspoken hum of anxiety,” explains Dr Charlene. “Attachment theory also tells us that even as adults, we gravitate towards colleagues who already feel safe, sticking to familiar faces and safe topics all evening. Add alcohol into the mix, and you get a different problem: it lowers inhibitions and creates a sense of bonding, but a superficial one often leading to conversations people regret the next day.”

1 – Pick an activity, not just a table.
“A new activity breaks down the usual workplace structure. It lets senior colleagues step out of the leader role, while juniors can step into one, opening up a different way of relating, built on joint responsibility rather than hierarchy,” says Dr Charlene. “A shared activity also gives colleagues something to focus on instead of generating small talk, which tends to produce more natural, spontaneous conversation and lets people show sides of their personality that rarely come up in a normal office setting or over a formal meal.”

2 – Opt for activities that mix colleagues and let everyone shine beyond their usual roles.
Removing desks, meeting rooms, and job titles opens the door to new dynamics, but it doesn’t automatically flatten them.  “In a sit-down setting, naturally talkative people can still lead the conversation, while quieter colleagues stay on the periphery. A physical activity works differently; it lets people reveal personality through what they do, not just what they say,” says Dr Charlene. “Socialising outside the office builds emotional bonds, and that’s valuable, but it can also create in-groups and out-groups. Structured activities that pair up colleagues who wouldn’t normally interact avoid that problem, and the payoff carries back to the office – teams who’ve shared an activity are more likely to approach each other for help, simply because they’ve learned that colleague is approachable.”

3 – Share an experience that pushes colleagues out of their comfort zones. 
Sharing food builds social bonds, but learning something new together is often more memorable.  “A fun, novel experience creates an optimal level of stress, enough to push people slightly outside their comfort zone, without tipping into a genuine fight-or-flight. Healthy stress helps to focus attention, making experiences more memorable, the kind colleagues are still talking about weeks later,” says Dr Charlene.

4 – Use inclusive, low-pressure competition that everyone can take part in.
“Everyone responds differently to playful competition; it comes down to temperament and past experience,” explains Dr Charlene.  “Someone who grew up in a highly competitive environment and felt they never measured up may find friendly competition stirs up that same old anxiety. Someone who thrived in competitive sport might relish it, but can just as easily take a friendly game more seriously than intended.” “HR teams can keep competition light by keeping prizes playful rather than high-stakes; a chocolate medal does more good than a serious prize that raises pressure. And it’s just as important that people can opt out of a game as easily as they opt in.”

5 – Plan enough to give the event structure, but leave room for spontaneity.
An overly organised social naturally loses its laid-back feel and becomes more formal.
“One clear, well-run activity like bowling or social cricket, with the option to sit back and watch, stands the best chance of success. It gives the competitive crowd a reason to play, and everyone else a shared talking point with colleagues they don’t know well,” says Dr Charlene. “Choosing the right activity matters just as much as structuring it well. Check in with feedback beforehand; the clearest sign an event has tipped into ‘forced fun’ is last-minute cancellations, or small groups quietly disengaging once it’s underway.”

To conclude, Dr Charlene Plunkett outlines what employers should consider when booking their next team activity: “Before you lock in those Christmas bookings, think about individual needs. The best activities give people more than one way to join in, so nobody’s forced into the deep end, and watching who naturally leads versus who’s happiest supporting tells you more than any ice-breaker could. Look for something that scales, whether that’s eight people or fifty split into groups, and keep it simple: the best socials need no instruction manual to join in. If the planning’s more complicated than the activity itself, you’ve got the wrong event,” says Dr Charlene.