Ugly Sweater Contest
Corporate seasonal/special for modern teams
A memorable seasonal/special that helps colleagues connect, collaborate, and leave with shared energy.
Last updated: 2026-08-03
450+ corporate teams
Seasonal moments that stick
Quick overview
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Duration
30–120
Minutes total
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Group size
5–30
Participants
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Energy
Med–High
Energy level
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Format
In-person
On-site sessions
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Category
Seasonal/Special
Activity type
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Best for
Teams
Festive team events
What Is Ugly Sweater Contest?
Ugly Sweater Contest team building helps workplaces mark cultural moments with experiences that feel celebratory and inclusive. In practice: Employees wear the most outrageous holiday sweater and vote on a winner, with facilitation that keeps the tone inclusive and workplace-ready.
In a workplace setting, Ugly Sweater Contest is more than entertainment. It creates quick social proof, “we can play and problem-solve together”, which supports employee engagement after the session ends. Facilitators can tune intensity for new hires, executives, or mixed-seniority rooms.
Compared with generic mixer time, Ugly Sweater Contest gives everyone a role and a finish line. That clarity helps startups move fast and helps larger enterprises keep quality consistent across locations. With light facilitation, it becomes a reliable block in your culture calendar.
How it works
A clear session flow from brief to debrief
Follow these steps to run Ugly Sweater Contest with confidence, timing included so you can plan the room or Zoom agenda.
Set the frame
Welcome the group and explain why you are running Ugly Sweater Contest today. Restate the simple idea: Employees wear the most outrageous holiday sweater and vote on a winner. Clarify that the goal is connection and teamwork, not embarrassing anyone.
2–4 minutesPrepare the room or call
Arrange seating, breakouts, or tools so everyone can participate equally. Share timing, roles, and any boundaries unique to Ugly Sweater Contest.
3–5 minutesRun the core experience
Facilitate the heart of Ugly Sweater Contest: Employees wear the most outrageous holiday sweater and vote on a winner. Keep coaching light, rotate attention across the group, and use a timer so momentum stays high. Keep pacing inclusive, do not force one celebration style.
10–45 minutesShare highlights
Invite a few teams or individuals to share a surprising moment from Ugly Sweater Contest. Spotlight listening, creativity, or support, not only who “won.”
3–8 minutesDebrief into work
Ask what behaviors helped during Ugly Sweater Contest and where those show up in projects, meetings, or remote collaboration. Capture one team commitment before closing.
3–7 minutesTeam engagement & team building benefits
Ugly Sweater Contest works as one of our team building activities, scoped for employee engagement, team bonding, and outcomes HR teams can feel in the room.
Inclusive celebration
Ugly Sweater Contest can mark milestones without forcing a single personality style, useful for diverse employee populations.
Leadership reps without slides
Facilitating or spotting during Ugly Sweater Contest gives emerging leaders live practice in clarity, timing, and care.
Stronger personal connection
Ugly Sweater Contest gives colleagues shared reference points beyond job titles, which softens silos and speeds later collaboration.
Engagement that sticks
As one of the more memorable team building activities for employees, Ugly Sweater Contest creates recognition, laughter, and belonging without a heavy agenda.
Safer onboarding moments
New hires can participate in Ugly Sweater Contest with clear structure, meeting peers without pressure to perform in a high-stakes exercise.
Remote and hybrid inclusion
With thoughtful facilitation, Ugly Sweater Contest gives distributed teammates equal airtime in corporate team building moments.
Cross-functional familiarity
When departments mix during Ugly Sweater Contest, shared wins reduce “us vs them” distance and open informal collaboration paths.
Communication under constraints
Ugly Sweater Contest surfaces how people listen, clarify, and decide when time or information is limited, skills that transfer to project work.
Who It’s Best For
Remote & hybrid teams
Facilitators adapt Ugly Sweater Contest for video, chat, and breakouts so remote employees are not spectators in corporate team building.
Small teams
Among practical team building activities for small teams, Ugly Sweater Contest keeps airtime personal so everyone can contribute without rushing.
Startups
Resource-conscious startups use Ugly Sweater Contest to build culture quickly, high signal, manageable prep, and energy that fits a busy build cycle.
Cross-functional groups
Ugly Sweater Contest works when departments meet for the first time: shared structure reduces status gaps and sparks informal collaboration.
Large enterprises
Enterprises scale Ugly Sweater Contest with breakouts, table hosts, or timed stations so intimacy survives even when headcount is high.
Preparation
What You’ll Need & Facilitator Tips
What You’ll Need
- A facilitator who can keep time and psychological safety
- A clear goal for the session (kickoff, bonding, celebration, or skill practice)
- Theme decor or digital backgrounds that feel inclusive
- Program flow that respects cultural and dietary needs
- Photo moment or memory capture option
- A short gratitude or recognition segment
Facilitator Tips
- Keep the program paced, seasonal events often run long.
- Create a memory artifact (photo, note, playlist) people can keep.
- Close with gratitude that feels specific, not generic.
- Make Ugly Sweater Contest inclusive across cultures, faiths, and dietary needs.
- Avoid forced cheer; offer opt-in participation styles.
- Blend celebration with recognition of real team wins.
Variations
Variations & Adaptations
Adjust the format for remote rooms, large groups, low prep, or themed workshops, without changing the core game.
01
Large-group adaptation
Split into tables or channels of 6–10. Each pod runs Ugly Sweater Contest, then nominates one highlight for the full group.
02
Remote adaptation
Run Ugly Sweater Contest on video with chat prompts, reactions, or breakout rooms. Keep instructions on screen and assign a chat moderator.
03
Low-prep / no-materials version
Strip Ugly Sweater Contest to verbal or chat-only prompts so you can launch in a regular meeting with almost no setup.
04
Themed variation
Theme Ugly Sweater Contest around onboarding stories, customer empathy, values, or a product launch so play reinforces a business narrative.
Browse the library
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Ugly Sweater Contest, quick team building exercises for work
Ugly Sweater Contest is one of the team building activities teams use when they want team building activities for work without a heavy workshop agenda. Gotezu facilitators scope the session for your group size, format, and outcomes, whether you are planning corporate team building activities for an offsite or team building activities for employees in-house.
When teams choose Ugly Sweater Contest
HR and people leaders pick this format for kickoffs, culture resets, and employee engagement days where the goal is genuine connection. It fits alongside other indoor team building activities in a longer office team building activities or stands alone as a focused quick team building activities.
Related team building ideas
- Team building activities, explore similar formats in our activities library.
- Team building activities for work, explore similar formats in our activities library.
- Corporate team building activities, explore similar formats in our activities library.
- Team building activities for employees, explore similar formats in our activities library.
- Indoor team building activities, explore similar formats in our activities library.
- Office team building activities, explore similar formats in our activities library.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people can do Ugly Sweater Contest?
Most teams run Ugly Sweater Contest with about 5–30 people. For larger headcounts, split into smaller rooms or tables so participation stays high.
How long does Ugly Sweater Contest take?
Plan for roughly 30–120 minutes, depending on group size, debrief depth, and whether you add competitive rounds.
Is Ugly Sweater Contest suitable for remote or hybrid teams?
Often, with adaptation. Use video, chat, and breakouts so remote teammates get equal airtime during Ugly Sweater Contest.
What are the benefits of Ugly Sweater Contest for employee engagement?
Ugly Sweater Contest boosts employee engagement by creating shared energy, recognition, and safer familiarity, especially useful at kickoffs, offsites, and culture resets.
Is Ugly Sweater Contest good for small teams or startups?
Yes. Small teams and startups often prefer Ugly Sweater Contest because it creates visible culture signal without requiring a massive production budget or multi-day agenda.
Do we need special equipment for Ugly Sweater Contest?
Requirements vary by format, but most seasonal/special sessions need only a prepared facilitator, a suitable space or platform, and the core materials for Ugly Sweater Contest, not a full event build.
How do you keep Ugly Sweater Contest workplace-appropriate?
Brief clear boundaries up front, model the tone, offer opt-in intensity levels, and redirect anything that risks exclusion, unsafe behavior, or oversharing.
Can Ugly Sweater Contest work as a corporate team building opener?
Absolutely. Many L&D and HR teams use Ugly Sweater Contest before workshops or strategy sessions because it warms the room without stealing the entire agenda.
If Ugly Sweater Contest feels like the right fit, or you want a mix of formats for employees, startups, and enterprise groups, explore more activities or talk to Gotezu about a tailored agenda.
