Updated: January 05, 2023

40 Best Holiday Icebreaker Questions For Work in 2023

This is a list of festive & fun holiday icebreaker questions to ask teams.

Holiday icebreaker questions are fun, getting-to-know you questions that allow your team the opportunity to grow closer during the holiday season. Examples include, “what is your favorite winter tradition,” “what is the most holiday themed item on your desk,” or “have you built a gingerbread house?”  The purpose of these questions is to help people get to know each other better and make new connections.

These prompts are subsets of icebreaker questions and are similar to Christmas icebreaker questions. You can use these questions as holiday team building exercises and virtual holiday party activities.

This list includes:

  • holiday ice breaker questions for virtual meetings
  • holiday question of the day examples
  • holiday party icebreaker questions
  • winter holiday icebreaker questions
  • funny Christmas icebreaker questions
  • festive icebreaker questions for work
  • holiday conversation starters for work

Let’s get to it!

Holiday ice breaker questions for virtual meetings

  1. What was the one gift you really wanted as a kid? Did you ever receive it?
  2. If you were Santa Claus, what type of cookie would you want to be left out for you on Christmas Eve?
  3. Would you rather cook the Thanksgiving meal or clean all the dishes?
  4. Does your family have a Thanksgiving tradition?
  5. Would you rather have cranberry sauce from the can or homemade?
  6. What 3 words would you use to describe the past year?
  7. What is something you did this year that you would like to take with you into the next year?
  8. What festive things do you do while working from home?
  9. What is your favorite holiday decoration? Show us!
  10. What is your go-to holiday snack?
  11. Show us your favorite holiday outfit. Bonus points for ugly sweaters!
  12. How much does it snow in your area?
  13. Do you send Christmas cards? Show us this year’s photos!

Holiday question of the day examples

  1. What new recipe would you like to try this holiday season?
  2. Do you prefer hot chocolate or apple cider?
  3. What goal would you like to accomplish before the month is over?
  4. Which family tradition from your childhood do you carry into your holidays now?
  5. If you could transport yourself into a holiday movie, which one would you choose?
  6. What is your favorite Christmas carol?
  7. What is the most interesting Christmas present you have ever received?
  8. Finish the sentence: It’s just not the holidays without….
  9. What are you most looking forward to this holiday season?
  10. Who are you spending the holidays with?
  11. Are you traveling anywhere during the holidays?
  12. Name one holiday activity you plan to do this season.
  13. What was your favorite thing about the holidays as a child?
  14. What is your favorite Christmas movie?
  15. How early do you wake up on Christmas morning?

Holiday party icebreaker questions

  1. What is the best/worst White Elephant gift you’ve ever received?
  2. What is your holiday beverage of choice?
  3. What is the ugliest sweater you’ve ever worn to a holiday party?
  4. Do you prefer a snowy Christmas or a snowless Christmas?
  5. What food do you hope is at the holiday party table?
  6. What present are you most excited about giving this year?
  7. What is the best holiday party you have ever been to?
  8. Have you finished your shopping?
  9. Did you bring a guest with you to this party?
  10. If this party could have any celebrity guest, who would you want it to be?
  11. What are your plans for the break from work?
  12. Do you have any New Year’s Eve plans?
  13. Which celebrity’s holiday party do you think would be the most fun to attend?
  14. What is your dream travel destination for the holidays?

Winter holiday icebreaker questions

  1. What is your favorite outdoor winter activity?
  2. What is your favorite indoor winter activity when the weather outside is frightful?
  3. Have you ever made a dreidel out of clay?
  4. What was your favorite hometown tradition when you were growing up?
  5. What was the best holiday themed dish/baked good you ever made?
  6. Have you ever been to a Kwanzaa feast?
  7. Have you ever attended a Diwali celebration?
  8. Do you celebrate New Year’s Eve inside or outside?
  9. Have you ever celebrated the holidays in a different country?
  10. What is your favorite winter festival?
  11. Where is your favorite place on Earth to celebrate the holidays?
  12. Would you rather spend the rest of your holidays somewhere with snow or somewhere warm?
  13. If you don’t celebrate Christmas, what do you do that day instead?
  14. If you could create a new winter holiday, what would it be?

Funny Christmas icebreaker questions

  1. Did your family take professional or purposeful staged pictures for the family Christmas card?
  2. Have you ever regifted a present? Have you ever been caught?
  3. What is your favorite holiday guilty pleasure?
  4. Be honest: Should Christmas lights and decorations be on display before or after December 1st?
  5. What “12 Days of Christmas” gift would you want to receive under the tree this year?
  6. Which ornament on your tree has the best story?
  7. Do you think Die Hard should be considered a Christmas movie?
  8. Which one of Santa’s reindeer would you want to invite over for Christmas?
  9. What is your holiday mishap story?
  10. What is the most annoying thing about Christmas?
  11. If you got coal this Christmas, what would be the most likely reason?
  12. Is it ok to snoop for presents? Why or why not?
  13. What is your go-to excuse for dodging holiday plans?

Festive icebreaker questions for work

  1. What was the best present you ever received for a holiday?
  2. What holiday song do you secretly love and listen to on repeat?
  3. Which of your coworkers would bring fruitcake to the office holiday party?
  4. Which of your coworkers is most likely to still believe in Santa Claus?
  5. Which of your coworkers do you think has a closet filled to the brim with ugly holiday sweaters?
  6. Which of your coworkers would you most like to get/to get you for Secret Santa?
  7. Which of your coworkers do you think is the hardest person to shop for?
  8. What is your favorite holiday treat to stumble upon in the breakroom?
  9. Who has the best holiday office decorations?
  10. How do you stay cozy during the winter?

Holiday conversation starters for work

  1. Do you like to shop for presents early or wait until the last minute?
  2. What is the best present you’ve ever received during Secret Santa?
  3. What are your plans for the holiday season?
  4. What is a new tradition you want to start this holiday?
  5. If you were trapped inside a snowglobe, what would you imagine the town to be like?
  6. What is the most unique or meaningful Christmas ornament you own?
  7. Would you ever sleep in an igloo?
  8. What winter thing do you wish they would sell year-round?
  9. What do the kids in your family want for Christmas this year?
  10. What is the top item on your Christmas list?
  11. How do you get in the holiday spirit?
  12. What famous figure would you like to spend the holidays with?

Final Thoughts

Holidays are some of the best times to come together and make lasting memories. What makes icebreaker questions so nifty is that they get the conversation started and take away the pressures of where to begin. You can use these holiday icebreaker questions at the start of meetings, as an introduction to the holiday party, or as a tool during holiday team building exercises. Whenever you decide to use them, remember to have fun!

For more holiday fun, check out office Christmas party ideas and holiday party themes.

FAQ: Holiday icebreakers

Here are answers to common questions about holiday icebreakers.

What are some good holiday-themed icebreaker questions to ask coworkers?

Some good holiday-themed icebreaker questions to ask coworkers are:

  • Which ornament on your tree has the best story?
  • Which family tradition from your childhood do you carry into your holidays now?
  • If you were trapped inside a snowglobe, what would you imagine the town to be like?
  • What was the one gift you really wanted as a kid? Did you ever receive it?

Good holiday-themed icebreaker questions get personal but do not delve too deeply into someone’s personal life. They have teammates reminiscing about their holiday memories or consider what they’d do in a holiday scenario.

When and how can you use holiday icebreaker questions at work?

You can use holiday icebreaker questions at work to begin a meeting, kick off the holiday party, or as a tool in holiday team building exercises.

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Author:

People & Culture Director at teambuilding.com.
Grace is the Director of People & Culture at TeamBuilding. She studied Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, Information Science at East China Normal University and earned an MBA at Washington State University.

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