How To Include New Employees in Company Christmas Traditions

During the office Christmas party, new employees sometimes sit in the corner, smiling politely and thinking, "I don’t belong here." Why does it happen?

The mistake many HRs make is assuming that organizing the party is everything it takes to onboard new hires. In this article, we’ll look at how to bring newcomers into your holiday rituals the right way so they feel like a part of the team much faster.

Why Assuming That New Hires Will Fit In By Themselves Is a Mistake?

Leaders and HR managers sometimes believe that they can invite new employees to the gathering, and they will quickly blend in. However, that rarely works.

Why This Happens

1. No shared backstory. When long-timers start trading last year’s jokes, old project memories, or company memes, a new hire has nothing to add. They’re not part of the narrative yet, which makes the isolation feel sharper.
2. No connections. Even on friendly teams, most newcomers spend the first month without solid connections. And parties are structured in a way that people drift toward familiar circles — not toward someone they met two weeks ago.
3. Context confusion. A party assumes relaxed conversation. For a newcomer, that’s stressful: they don’t know what’s appropriate, which jokes are okay, or how to act around leadership outside the office.

Participation in a holiday event shortens the adaptation period, and intentional involvement in rituals lowers the risk that a newcomer will feel isolated and start looking elsewhere.

So the HRs and managers should view a Christmas party this as a retention tool. An employee with positive memories of their first holidays at the company is much more likely to stay in the long run.

Also Read:

Improving Office Culture: The Power of Secret Santa for Team Building

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How To Involve New Hires in Company Holiday Rituals

The most important thing is not to leave onboarding to chance. If you do nothing, the party stops being a tool for unity and turns into a barrier that pushes new employees away from the team.

Explain the Rules of the Game

For seasoned employees, holiday traditions feel obvious: everyone knows there’s a Best Holiday Costume contest every December; that it’s customary not to leave before the CEO’s toast; and that the marketing team always hosts fun awards. For a newcomer, all this is the uncharted territory.

The task for the HR or the team lead is to remove this barrier. In a few sentences, explain what rituals the company has, why they exist, and how to join in. Do it at a welcome meeting, in a short email guide to the party, or with a quick intro right before the event.

Once a person understands the context, they stop being a spectator and become a participant. That's what turns the party into a tool for integration rather than stress.

Assign Small Roles

There’s a simple psychological principle: the sooner someone feels useful, the faster they become part of the group.

During the holidays, you don’t need to hand a newcomer the entire event to organize. A small assignment is enough to signal that their contribution matters. Let them help run a quiz, announce funny awards, or photograph key moments and compile a mini photo recap.

Why This Matters

1. The newcomer quickly makes contact with people — the role encourages conversations with everyone.
2. They form the feeling "I’m part of the team, not a guest."
3. The company gains a loyal employee who sees from day one that their participation genuinely matters.

A small role does more than any welcome booklet. Belonging is built through action, not words.

Use Secret Santa as an Onboarding Tool

When better to exchange gifts and meet the team than at Christmas? In a corporate setting, Secret Santa has become a practical team-building tool.

Why Secret Santa Works

1. It removes awkwardness. A new hire doesn’t have to "break into" conversations or figure out how to approach a colleague. Participating in the game gives them a ready-made conversation starter.
2. It creates a positive experience. Even an inexpensive gift within the agreed limit (such as $10) sparks a smile and warm feelings a person can associate with the company.
3. It flattens hierarchy. Everyone plays, from an intern to director. The fact that a leader might hand a surprise to a newcomer helps remove barriers.
4. It lets people show personality. Choosing a gift highlights your attention to others, and receiving one helps you feel noticed.

Secret Santa builds an emotional bond with the team in those first weeks. Organizing the game may seem minor, but in the pre-holiday rush even small tasks drain time and focus.

The MySanta service handles the routine – the draw, wishlists, reminders, and tracking. All you do is set the budget and deadlines for gifts, and enjoy the game with your colleagues.

What the Company Gets?

1. Automated drawing — the system matches Secret Santas to each player without errors or duplicates.
2. Employee wishlists — everyone can note preferences and limits, reducing the risk of forgotten gifts.
3. Transparent control for an HR — the organizer sees gift status: who has already sent a gift and who’s still in progress. No one is forgotten.
4. Anonymity — recipient chats keep the mystery alive till the finale.
5. Scalability — the app is equally convenient for a 10-person team, a company with hundreds of players, and fully remote groups.

Try our MySanta app

You can create wishlists, add exclusions, and communicate with your gifree secretly. Moreover, there is an option to track gifts and ensure that everyone buys a present on time.

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Plan A Party Outside the Office

An in-office party often turns into the usual sit-down: one table here, another there — and the newcomer is back to searching for someone they know. A celebration outside the office creates a very different dynamic.

Why This Helps With Adaptation

It removes hierarchy. At an ice rink, theater, or workshop, the CEO and the intern are in the same situation. Everyone is equal.

It builds shared memories. A trip to the theater or an escape-room quest becomes something people talk about for weeks. The newcomer automatically joins these conversations and stops feeling like an outsider.

It reveals new sides of people. A colleague might be a reserved analyst at work, but during a cooking class they’re cracking jokes and plating dessert. That helps a newcomer "read" the team faster.

Example Activities

1. Ice skating or bowling — easy options for all ages.
2. A group trip to the theater or movies.
3. A creative workshop (ceramics, painting, or cooking).

Off-site celebrations help build trust faster. In an unfamiliar environment, barriers fall faster, and the newcomer gets to feel like they belong to the company faster.

Personal Attention From the Team

Even the nicest gift from the company can’t replace a simple human gesture, such as inviting a newcomer to your table, introducing them to colleagues, or planning a small surprise. These moments are what turn the new person into a teammate.

Ways To Put This Into Practice

1. Long-time employees can invite the newcomer to sit with them at the party, introduce them to neighbors, and share who’s who.
2. Colleagues can prepare a lighthearted gift, such as a mug that says "Our Newcomer of the Year" or a card signed by everyone.
3. The team might create a mini surprise — a group photo printed on the spot as a keepsake of the first company party.

Personal attention from colleagues creates a stronger sense of belonging than any piece of branded merch.

How Not To Overdo With Team Building

Bringing a newcomer into holiday traditions matters. But there’s a risk: from a friendly invitation to join, some companies start to force participation.

What HR and Managers Should Do

1. Create an atmosphere of voluntariness — participation is welcome, not mandatory.
2. Ensure that fun traditions are never humiliating or overly personal.
3. Keep balance — offer ways to join in, but don’t turn the party into a test of belonging.

Real team building is when people want to participate — not when they’re forced into collective fun.

Conclusion

HR can run onboarding with guides and handbooks — but if a newcomer feels like an outsider at their first Christmas party, all those efforts get reset to zero.

The opposite is also true: one well-designed gesture, a small role, or a round of Secret Santa can integrate someone more powerfully than a month of formal meetings.

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