As the 2014 Winter Olympic Games kick off in Sochi, Russia, generate some buzz around your office using our free eBook: Baudville’s Guide to the Office Games. Our first foray into the Office Olympic Games was an Employee Appreciation Day celebration, and it was such a hit we created a guide to share with you!

Download the guide now and get access to 8 event ideas along with rules, scheduling tips, and engagement ideas.

With only a few more weeks left before Christmas and the New Year, it's time to make the most of your office holiday season. Here are our top 5 favorite holiday party ideas that will make your office jolly!

1. Hot Chocolate Bar – A Chocolaty Take on the Office Potluck
A few years back, we had a blast hosting an office cookie exchange where we all brought in our favorite holiday cookies and exchanged them for our coworkers' favs. This year, try an office Hot Chocolate Bar. Have your coworkers bring in their favorite Hot Chocolate toppings or ingredients and discover a new way to enjoy a favorite treat!
 
2. Deck your office with holiday cheer!
Get your team in the holiday spirit by holding a holiday cubicle decorating contest. Begin by giving your team time to festively decorate their cubes with wrapping paper, tinsel, ornaments, or other holiday items. Then have everyone in the office go around and vote for their favorite cube. Announce the winner, and award them with a little gift, like our Holiday Twist Top Tumblers or a gift card!

3. The Office Snowball Fight
This year, the design firm Barker Gray came up with a cute idea for how to get their southern clients to enjoy a favored tradition of the North: a snowball fight. This also happens to be a fun idea for the office. Merrily wad up some paper, take aim, and throw.  Although you don't have to worry about getting cold and wet, watch out for hazardous paper cuts!

4. Secret Santa or White Elephant Parties
Secret Santa and White Elephant gifting are two of my favorite holiday party ideas. White Elephant parties are especially fun. Have your team members bring in a crazy, funny, or strange wrapped gift to the office. Then play a fun game like Bunco or Bingo. The winner of the game will pick a present to unwrap and keep. For a little added fun and laughter, allow players the chance to swap presents with others.

5. Give Back
One of the best ways to celebrate the holidays is to give back to someone in your community. Take a day, or even a lunch break, to celebrate the holidays by serving others. One year, we decided to skip a lunch break and pack sandwiches for the Kids' Food Basket, whose mission is to fight childhood hunger. The amazing team experience we all had was a gift to ourselves as well.

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Kendra is Baudville's Product Coordinator. Using her awesome powers of organization and research, she brings new and innovative products to our customers. She is a recent graduate and is ready to help with your recognition wants and needs. Watch out, because this young professional just touched down at Baudville!

For more than 20 years, USA WEEKEND Magazine and Points of Light have joined together to sponsor Make A Difference Day, the largest national day of community service. Millions of people join together on this day each year with one common goal: to improve the lives of others. >

Thanks to Newman's Own, you have the chance to win one of thirteen $10,000 grants to support your community, based on your Make a Difference Day event!

If you don't have anything planned yet, don't worry! Here are 5 ideas to get you started for National Make a Difference Day 2013!


1. Work Together As a Team. As we have found in our latest community service endeavor at Baudville, serving together as a team not only feels good, it builds camaraderie and bonds that would never come out of our day-to-day work. So gather your team, decide on a cause, and get out there and make a difference together!

2. Find Your Common Cause. Perhaps your workplace is already connected with an organization that could use your help. Or, perhaps someone in your organization has fallen on hard times – or one of their family members has. Get the word out that you're looking for ways to serve in your community. It could be something as common as serving in a local food pantry, cleaning up a local park, or doing some home improvements for a family in need.

3. Spread the Word! You may only have a couple of team members ready to get out there and pound the pavement with you – don't let that kill your mojo. Invite family members, friends, and co-workers from other departments to give their time and talents with you! Order t-shirts to build your sense of team and act as a keepsake from the event. Our "Making a Difference, It's What I Do" team shirts would be perfect!

4. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. As the team leader, it's up to you to make sure everyone is informed. For first-time volunteers, it will probably be nerve-wracking leading up to the day. What can they expect? Are they ready? What should they bring? What SHOULDN'T they bring? Will they be uncomfortable? Will they offend someone? What should they wear? Should they bring something to eat and drink or will it be provided? How long will it last? Can they bring a friend, or their kids? Try to answer as many of these questions beforehand so your volunteers can put their minds at ease.

5. Have a Great Time & Take Pictures! You will have a great time together as a team – that's a guarantee. Document it with photos, do a few interviews of your volunteers, and the community you're serving, and after you're all done, talk about it. As much as you can. It will make you smile, and it will make you proud. Then start planning a time to do it again. Don't wait until next year – your heart, your team, and your community will thank you.

What are you doing for National Make a Difference Day 2013? Share your plans with us and then share your post-event pictures and stories – we'd love to hear about it!

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As a team member since 2005, Falon has worn just about every hat the 'ville has to offer. She's seen both sides of working life — as an employee and as a manager — so if it sounds like she knows what she's talking about, we're pretty sure that's why. When she's not juggling between the IDville and Baudville brands, she's been known to whip up a mean diorama - just like that!