Celebrate Everyone: How to Plan Inclusive Holidays at Work

The holidays should be a joyous time of celebration and excitement for employees, regardless of where they’re from, their religious beliefs, or their cultural traditions.

This may sound easier said than done—how do HR teams and leaders plan fun and inclusive office holidays that celebrate everyone?

While traditional Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween celebrations are a fantastic place to start, there are important considerations to make when planning holidays to celebrate at work to ensure everyone feels equally celebrated.

Let’s dive into diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and how companies can combine DEI and holiday celebrations effectively.

Benefits of DEI in the Workplace

44% of Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and nearly 50% of Gen Z employees (born between 1997 and 2012) are racial or ethnic minorities, and as these generations grow in the workplace, celebrating holidays in an inclusive way gets more important. As of 2024, these two generations make up over 50% of the workforce as it is!

As the workforce grows more diverse, it’s important to match that diversity with holidays celebrations that reach everyone. These efforts can lead to some impressive benefits:

80% of employees want to work for a company that values DEI.
Employees who feel included and valued are 3X as likely to feel excited by and committed to their organization.
Inclusive companies are 36% more likely to financially outperform those who aren’t as diverse.
40% of job seekers consider whether a company is inclusive to all people when weighing a job offer.

The benefits of DEI are clear, and with the workforce expanding and including employees of different races, cultures, locations, and tradition, the holiday season is the perfect time to expand your inclusive horizons.

8 Strategies for Inclusive Holiday Celebrations at Work

With the above statistics and benefits in mind, it’s clear that a Christmas dinner or Halloween treat may not be enough to keep employees engaged and excited, especially with a diverse workforce.

Here are some holiday work ideas that will spread the love to everyone.

1. Gather Employee Feedback Early

Before the holiday season even begins, it’s important to learn more about your employees. One of the best ways to do this is sending out a survey with questions like:

Which holidays would you like to celebrate at work?
Which holidays would you like to have off?
What cultural events or celebrations are meaningful to you?
Does the company calendar not include holidays you wish it did?
Do you have any dietary restrictions we should know about for holiday parties?
Is there anything else we should know about your cultural or religious beliefs when it comes to company celebrations?

Only by understanding what employees want can companies plan holiday celebrations that hit the mark.

2. Include More Holidays in Your Company Calendar

By default, Google Calendar includes holidays in the United States. So if you don’t have a diverse and inclusive company calendar, many international or lesser-known holidays will fly under the radar, leaving employees who celebrate these days feeling uncared for.

Here are just a few inclusive holidays to keep on your radar:

Rosh Hashanah. A Jewish holiday that focuses on faith, family, and reflection. Celebrated in the fall.
Day of the Dead. Latin American holiday honoring the lives of departed loved ones in colorful and fun ways. Celebrated on November 1st and 2nd.
Diwali. This is India’s largest holiday and is celebrated over five days around October or November. Diwali is an important religious holiday and includes family, food, and lights.
Hanukkah. This is an eight-day celebration sometime around November-December. It’s a religious holiday that focuses on bringing light into the world.
Chinese New Year. The new year celebration for the Lunar calendar, Chinese New Year is a big 15-day celebration in January-February. Typically, employees in China get a full week off from work to spend with family.

These are just some examples of holidays that fall in the typical holiday season that companies can (and should) add to their calendars. Not only does this allow employees who celebrate to feel more appreciated, it spreads awareness to other employees and fosters more acceptance and inclusivity.

3. Offer Floating Holidays

Just look at all of the holidays that employees may or may not celebrate. Giving a day for Thanksgiving and a couple days for Christmas just isn’t enough, especially for employees who celebrate family-centric holidays and need to travel to visit their loved ones.

Floating holidays are the perfect solution. By giving everyone a few floating holidays toward the end of the year, you allow them to take off the days that mean the most to them. Companies don’t have to give everyone Diwali off, but they should allow employees who celebrate Diwali to take off time for themselves.

4. Plan Inclusive Workplace Celebrations

For diverse holidays that are more conducive to casual celebrations at work, companies need to acknowledge them through some kind of celebration. Think Day of the Dead, Chinese New Year, Diwali, etc. To celebrate these holidays in an inclusive way, consider these tips:

Host a holiday trivia game. This allows employees to learn more about the holiday and its respective culture, and it spreads awareness.
Cater thematic food. Most holidays, regardless of culture or location, have traditional and signature food. Spread the holiday spirit by catering as many of these thematic dishes as possible.
Put up tasteful decorations. It’s best not to put up religious symbols around the workplace, but decorations are a great way to celebrate holidays. If you’re worried about what decorations are appropriate, talk to employees who celebrate the holiday.
Hold fitting activities. For the Day of the Dead, let employees color their own sugar skulls. For Chinese New Year, have them build paper lanterns. Etc.

These are great ways to spread awareness of holidays in a respectful and fun way. Just remember, religious holidays, or those that don’t have a commercial aspect, may be best left to employees to celebrate on their own.

As always, if you’re not sure which holidays are appropriate to celebrate at work, talk to your people! Don’t assume they do or don’t want a party without double-checking.

5. Have Dietary Options Available

Holidays parties wouldn’t be complete without food, but if employees don’t see anything they can eat or drink, the party will be ruined for them. For example:

Some employees don’t eat pork, so a Christmas ham shouldn’t be the only option.
Some employees may not drink alcohol, so include water or soda in addition to champagne or wine.
Keep those who are vegetarian, gluten intolerant, etc. in mind as you meal plan for the celebration.

One fun option would be to ask employees to provide recipes or dish ideas for each holiday celebration. This way, you can pick and choose dishes that will please everyone.

6. Include Remote Employees

The best way to make remote employees feel uncared for or undervalued is to throw an in-person holiday party without any way for them to participate. So when planning a holiday party for any holiday, find a way to bring far-flung employees together.

Companies could fly these employees to their headquarters or provide a travel fund for them to use themselves. On the flip side, companies could plan a second holiday party exclusively for remote employees, complete with online activities and company-provided food delivery.

7. Encourage More Awareness

One of the best ways to make employees feel included is to spread the word about what’s important to them and their background. Think about these two examples:

A Jewish employee is used to everyone at work ignoring Rosh Hashanah, an important holiday to him. No one wishes him well, he doesn’t have time off, and he has to rush home to find time with his family.
The company spreads information about Rosh Hashanah, including how to say the traditional holiday greeting, “shanah tova.” The Jewish employee is greeted by employees and given well wishes, and he gets to use a floating holiday to take a day off to spend with his family.

One of those employees is going to feel valued and supported, which leads to greater engagement and loyalty. Spread awareness of holidays with company emails full of facts, trivia games, or even presentations from local experts.

8. Focus on Employee Recognition

For any holiday celebration, putting the focus on employees is always a safe bet. All employees do great work and deserve to be noticed, so consider these strategies:

Spotlight cool achievements that each team accomplished during the year.
Host an award ceremony and give trophies to employees who won predefined categories.
Set up a table of thank you cards and allow employees to write in them and give them out to their colleagues.

These are fun ways to celebrate your employees, regardless of where they’re from, where they work, or what traditions they hold dear.

Learn how Awardco can help you build your own holiday program that incorporates rewarding recognition!

Make Workplace Celebrations More Festive for All

This year, make holidays more rewarding, fun, and far-reaching by focusing on diversity and inclusion for your celebration. We hope these strategies will make that easier for you, but remember—talking to your employees is the most important thing you can do.

To get more helpful holiday tips, check out our other holiday blog posts: