Apres Ski Christmas Party at Work: the Plan for the Office

An apres ski Christmas party needs neither a mountain hut nor an agency. With wood on the counter, ice on the table and a plan from 4pm to 10pm, your own office becomes a ski lodge – for 15 to 100 colleagues.

Last updated: 12 September 2026

💡 By the way: for the station where two departments raise a glass at the same time, we put together the Party Bundle XL (Go Big).

Hire a ski lodge, book an agency or party in the office?

Of all the Christmas party ideas for the office, the simplest is usually the best: for most teams, the office itself makes the best ski lodge. It costs the least, and whatever you buy stays in the building. A hired lodge and an agency have their strengths, but they cost considerably more per head.

The only thing the office lacks is what makes a ski lodge, and that's in the Party Bundle XL: Shotski and ice luge. Everything else has been there all along, from the high tables to the dishwasher. If the office is too small, or clients and families are coming too, a hired venue is worth a look.

From open-plan office to ski lodge: decor from what's already there

For a ski lodge Christmas party theme, lighting makes the biggest difference. Ceiling lights off, fairy lights and a few floor lamps on, and the open-plan office instantly feels smaller and warmer. Add things that almost everyone on the team has at home:

• Red-and-white checked tablecloths on high tables and meeting-room tables.
• Wooden crates and folding beer benches from the storeroom or colleagues' garages.
• Fir branches from the Christmas tree seller – sometimes the offcuts are free.
• Old skis, sledges and cowbells – a quick poll of the team usually turns up more than you have room for. The cowbell doubles as a starting signal.
• A playlist of apres ski classics, quiet enough that people can still talk.

More ideas for tables, walls and the entrance are in our guide to apres ski party decorations.

Your apres ski Christmas party schedule from 4pm to 10pm

A fixed framework answers most of the organising team's questions in advance. Above all, you need an official end time that's announced beforehand:

• Morning: The second block of ice has spent the night in someone's freezer at home and moves into the office kitchen's freezer compartment next to its twin.
• 4pm: The organising team screws the bindings onto the Shotskis – they come loose in the box, and a small Phillips screwdriver from the facilities toolbox is all you need.
• 5:30pm: Doors open, with hot punch and non-alcoholic drinks ready.
• 6pm: A short speech from management – five minutes is plenty.
• 6:30pm: Food, ideally hearty and from a buffet.
• 7:15pm: Both blocks of ice come out of the freezer and onto their stands.
• 7:30pm: The shot station opens.
• 9pm: The station closes, an hour before the official end. After that there's coffee, Kaiserschmarrn and non-alcoholic drinks.
• 10pm: Official end. Anyone who wants to carry on does so privately.

If you're looking for a few more things to fill the time before the station opens, have a look at our office Christmas party games.

The shot station: Shotski and ice luge as the shared moment

The station is the heart of the evening. On the ice luge, the shot runs down a frozen channel and arrives in two glasses at once; you freeze the block the day before for around eight hours, and even a small freezer compartment will do. At the Shotski, six colleagues raise it together on one command, and the next six at the second ski. For teams of up to twelve, the L (Hausparty) size with one ski and one luge is enough.

This is how a department round works:

1. Each round, two departments send six people each to one of the two skis.
2. A third department or the organising team gives the countdown, and on zero both skis go up at the same time.
3. The organising team takes the last round of the evening – the people who were screwing things together in the afternoon should get their turn on the ski too.
4. Everyone drinks what they like, and non-alcoholic counts just the same. Anyone sitting a round out counts down the next one. There's no timing and no scoring.

Between rounds, someone gives the glasses a quick rinse – with twenty glasses and lots of colleagues, that's a must. Someone from marketing will have their camera up – the photo of six colleagues on one ski ends up in the review of the year in January. Anyone who doesn't want to be in the picture says so beforehand, and photos are only shared with consent. A still ginger shot runs through the luge just as ice-cold as the schnapps – recipes for everyone who's driving tonight are in our non-alcoholic shots.

Food and drink for 20, 50 and 100 people

The quantities below are rules of thumb for an evening from 5:30pm to 10pm. For the shots, we've allowed two rounds per person – anyone who doesn't fancy it skips.

Beer and wine come on top, to suit the team's taste. To turn the shot quantity into glasses: they're calibrated to 4 cl (40 ml), so one litre gives you 25 fills, whoever is pouring. From around fifty colleagues, a second question comes up: should everyone keep their glass? Then the Event-Bundle is the way to go – everyone gets a ski boot glass with a binding, and the smallest pack size is enough for around sixty guests. How much spare to allow for is covered in our guide to shot glass favours. If you want the company logo on the glasses, that works from around a hundred glasses via a request to vertrieb@apres-allstars.com.

Budget per head: the HMRC £150 limit and what counts

If you're planning an office Christmas party on a budget, the figure to know is £150. Under HMRC's annual function exemption, a staff party stays tax-free for employees as long as it costs no more than £150 per head per tax year – including VAT, and including transport and accommodation if you provide them. The party has to be open to all employees, or to all employees at one location. The total cost is divided by everyone who attends: if someone brings a partner, the partner's share counts towards that employee's £150. If there's more than one annual event, the costs are added together. If everyone takes their glass home as a keepsake, count it into the cost per head to be on the safe side.

The key point, and the one most people search for as an allowance: £150 is a limit, not an allowance. If the cost per head goes over it, even by a pound, the whole amount becomes taxable, not just the excess. For the details, talk to your payroll team – this isn't tax advice.

The maths for your own office usually works out well. At forty people, the XL station costs well under a tenth of the £150 per head – and nothing next December. We designed the glass shape ourselves; the glasses are made by a partner in Austria, the bindings come from the Chiemgau in Bavaria, and assembly happens at the sheltered workshops in Piding (Lebenshilfe) and Caritas Wendelstein – so if procurement asks where it all comes from, you have a good answer.

Getting home, drivers, duty of care: responsibility without a lecture

Three things make sure the party ends without any aftermath:

• Plan the way home: The times of the last trains and tubes and a taxi or minicab number go up by the exit, along with car shares for people who live further out, and the designated drivers are fixed before the station opens.
• Nobody has to: The boss doesn't push anyone to drink, and non-alcoholic drinks get equal billing on the table.
• Know your duty of care: Since the Worker Protection Act 2023 came into force on 26 October 2024, employers have to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment – and that includes the Christmas party. The Equality and Human Rights Commission advises assessing the risks and making clear in advance what behaviour is expected. At an official work party, the employer can also be held liable for how staff behave (vicarious liability). One more reason for a clearly announced official end, after which anyone who carries on does so privately.

Frequently asked questions

How much should a work Christmas party cost per head?

There's no fixed benchmark. The most important limit for planning in the UK is HMRC's annual function exemption: up to £150 per head per tax year, the party stays tax-free for employees – including VAT, and only if it's open to all employees or to all employees at one location. A partner someone brings counts towards that £150. If the cost goes over the limit, the whole amount becomes taxable, not just the excess.

What is the employer responsible for at the Christmas party?

Since the Worker Protection Act 2023, employers have to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and that includes the Christmas party: assess the risks and make clear in advance what behaviour is expected. At an official work party, the employer can also be held liable for how staff behave (vicarious liability). A clearly announced official end helps, after which anyone who carries on does so privately.

What do you wear to an apres ski Christmas party?

A checked shirt, a Nordic jumper or traditional Alpine dress, plus comfortable shoes, because you'll be on your feet all evening. If you like, bring a beanie or headband from the slopes.

What do you eat at an apres ski Christmas party?

Hearty food from a buffet: sharing boards on arrival, mac and cheese or goulash as the main course and Kaiserschmarrn (Austrian shredded pancake) with coffee.

How many glasses do you need for 50 people?

For a station, the twenty glasses in the Party Bundle XL are enough, because people take turns and the glasses are rinsed between rounds. If everyone is to take their glass home, the Event-Bundle with sixty glasses is the right size.

Hire a ski lodge or party in the office?

A ski lodge brings atmosphere, but it means travelling there and back. The office is cheaper and the way home is short – with lighting, decor and a shot station, even the meeting room gets that ski lodge feel.

Sources: HMRC, Employment Income Manual EIM21690 (s. 264 ITEPA 2003); Equality and Human Rights Commission, “New sexual harassment law and workplace Christmas parties: what employers need to know” (December 2024). As of: September 2026.