As we near the end of the year, many Western companies invite their employees to what is traditionally called a Christmas Party. These events are a lovely opportunity to acknowledge everyone’s hard work and celebrate achievements made throughout the year. They’re also a chance to spend time together, an increasingly rare moment of in-person connection in the age of hybrid and remote work.
Yet although Christmas is a dominant cultural reference across many Western workplaces, it’s not a universal experience. Not everyone celebrates it, and not everyone relates to the traditions surrounding it. For many, December carries emotional and cultural expectations far beyond Christmas: family rituals, religious traditions, holiday celebrations, and end-of-year rituals that all come together in a myriad of different ways and differ widely from person to person.
Recognising this diversity isn’t about dampening festive cheer, but about acknowledging the wide range of experiences that coexist in modern, international teams. When companies take steps to include this multitude of perspectives, they strengthen their employees’ sense of belonging and trust. Two qualities that are essential for healthy workplace culture.
Why Workplaces Often Default to Christmas-Only
Christmas can often feel omnipresent. It’s embedded in cultural habits, reinforced by school traditions, and amplified by shops and public spaces. Because Christmas is the majority tradition in many Western countries, there’s a strong unconscious assumption that it’s also everyone’s tradition.
On top of that, shops and public spaces fill up with Christmas decorations, sweets, and gift ideas long before December even begins. When everything is branded towards Christmas, it’s easy for workplaces to fall into autopilot: Christmas cards, Santa-shaped chocolates, Secret Santa exchanges, and end-of-year gatherings automatically labelled as Christmas Parties.
Even attempts to be inclusive, like replacing “Merry Christmas!” with “Happy Holidays!” can end up feeling superficial if they aren’t supported by intentional, structural inclusion.
So what actually makes the workplace more inclusive?
What Inclusion Actually Looks Like
True inclusion acknowledges that while some employees celebrate Christmas, others celebrate Hanukkah, Yule, Bodhi Day, Las Posadas, Pancha Ganapati, or none of the above. Some may also have significant cultural dates around the New Year period, or even in January.
Simply wishing everyone “Happy Holidays!” doesn’t change the fact that those who don’t celebrate Christmas often have to use their personal leave for their own important days while being required to take Christmas off. This sparks the broader debate about how public holidays align with and reinforce specific religions, but that’s a topic worthy of another article.
Within the workplace, inclusion begins with offering people real choice: the choice to participate, the choice to be visible, and the choice to shape how seasonal celebrations unfold.
It’s a proactive process, not a quick fix or an attempt to balance out a perceived problem, and means asking employees what matters to them, rather than assuming their preferences based on tradition or majority behaviour. Inclusion becomes meaningful when decisions are made with people rather than for them.
Events, Decorations, and Team Activities
This shift in mindset becomes especially important when planning events and decorations. Inclusion starts with ensuring that no one feels pressured to take part in a religiously framed tradition if they don’t wish to.
Often, simply renaming the event can make a significant difference. An “End-Of-Year Celebration”, “Winter Gala”, or “Holiday Party” creates more space for everyone than the typical “Christmas Party”.
Winter-themed decorations like lights, greenery, and snow-inspired motifs tend to feel inviting without suggesting religious affiliation. The intention shouldn’t be to “balance” Christmas symbols by adding a token representation of other traditions, unless employees from those cultures specifically request it.
Similarly, food and activities should be chosen thoughtfully: cultural potlucks, reflective year-in-review activities, or collaborative charity initiatives often feel more inclusive and engaging than holiday-specific rituals.
How to Acknowledge Other Cultural Practices
Part of creating an inclusive December also involves acknowledging other cultural practices without making them performative. Highlighting global celebrations on internal calendars, intranet pages, or company newsletters provides visibility and fosters curiosity.
Offering employees the option to share their traditions (without pressure or expectation) can create meaningful moments of connection. Flexible leave policies, which allow employees to swap public holidays for culturally significant days, demonstrate respect in a tangible, practical way.
Managers play a particularly important role here; a simple conversation about how to support each employee during important cultural periods can make a profound difference in how included a person feels.
Case Examples of Truly Inclusive Workplaces
Across different sectors, some organisations have already begun to model what inclusive December practices can look like:
- A tech company replaced its Christmas Party with a Winter Gathering, inviting employees to contribute food, games, or traditions meaningful to them.
- An international school created a month-long “Celebrations Around the World” display focused on learning rather than performance, letting students and staff explore unfamiliar holidays together.
- An NGO introduced a flexible holiday policy so that employees could observe days that mattered to them without sacrificing personal time.
- A remote-first company created a dedicated December channel where people could share family traditions, recipes, or photos: an optional space that brought warmth without placing responsibility on anyone to represent their culture.
From these examples, one thing becomes clear: inclusion is not a box-ticking exercise. It requires curiosity, care, and a willingness to step out of established routines.
For managers and HR teams, the work often begins with small, thoughtful actions such as asking employees what they prefer, reviewing event labels and communication styles, rethinking decorations, or offering brief moments of cultural learning during meetings.
These gestures collectively signal that the workplace is paying attention, that it values all employees equally, and that it’s committed to creating an environment where diverse cultural identities are acknowledged rather than overlooked.
In the end, creating an inclusive December isn’t about erasing Christmas or diluting meaningful traditions. It’s about widening the lens so that everyone feels recognised.
When workplaces ask instead of assume, when they design events intentionally rather than habitually, and when they show openness to learning about the different backgrounds that make up their teams, the result is a genuinely welcoming end to the year for everyone.
Leave a Reply