There is a specific problem with corporate Christmas dinners that starts before the dinner: people arrive from different contexts, tired from the year, and the group takes time to connect. The result is a table with isolated conversations for the first few hours and an evening that never quite found its rhythm.
The most effective solution to this problem is not the logistics of the venue or the menu. It is what happens in the 60 to 90 minutes before everyone sits down.
Why a competition programme before dinner works
A well-calibrated competition programme does three things before dinner begins: it mixes people outside their usual groups, creates a shared topic of conversation that lasts all evening, and generates an energy peak that changes the tone of everything that follows.
It is not entertainment. It is social preparation. The difference between a table that converses animatedly and one that needed three hours to warm up is rarely the venue or the menu. It is what happened before.
The competition programmes for the Christmas dinner
Quiz
Thirty questions, tablets distributed, a live host and a real-time scoring system. The Quiz is the most versatile format in this typology. It works for groups of 15 to 300 people, adapts to any indoor space and is easily calibrated for a Christmas theme. The host keeps the pace, the scores create tension and the final reveal gives the evening a moment everyone remembers.
Xmas Game Show
Inspired by the 'Box Game' format, the Xmas Game Show puts one member from each team head to head in 60-second challenges. Everyone plays at the same time, round after round, with the host setting the pace. Pure adrenaline in a completely Christmas format. For groups that want more energy and less strategy than the Quiz.
Taskmaster
Taskmaster is the format with the greatest surprise factor in this typology. Secret envelopes with missions nobody sees coming, a live host who runs the programme with humour and energy. Each round, 1 or 2 members of each team open an envelope and read the mission aloud. What happens next is unpredictable and that is exactly what makes it work. For groups that want humour and improvisation.
How to integrate the programme into the evening
Ideal timing: 60 to 90 minutes before dinner. Enough time to create momentum, not so much that everyone arrives at the table tired.
Transition to dinner: the programme should end with the final results reveal, a symbolic prizes moment and a collective toast that marks the transition to the meal. That transition is the closing of the programme and the opening of the dinner.
Venue: any room with projection and space for teams to move works. A themed venue is not necessary.
When this typology is the right choice
- The team has new members who have not yet integrated
- The group is large (more than 50 people) and needs structure to create cohesion
- The context is celebration and the team needs energy, not reflection
- They have done the classic dinner too many times and want something different without being disruptive
- The budget favours a short-duration programme with high impact
FAQ - Frequently asked questions
Can the Quiz be personalised with company-specific questions?
Yes. Boost Events adapts the Quiz content to the company theme, the year that has passed, internal figures or a specific Christmas theme. We recommend confirming the content brief at least 2 weeks before.
What is the minimum and maximum number of participants?
The Quiz and Xmas Game Show work from 15 people and scale to 300 or more. Taskmaster works from 15 people and scales to 300.
Can you combine two programmes in the same evening?
We do not recommend two competition programmes in a row. What works well is a competition programme before dinner followed by a lighter or gastronomic moment during the meal.
Planning the company Christmas?
Get in touch at events.boostportugal.com/en/contacts and tell us about the group. We recommend the right programme for your moment.
