--- title: "Holiday party planning poll template for Slack" url: "https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/holiday-party-planning/" description: "Plan the team holiday party in Slack. Templates to pick the date and the activity, check dietary and access needs, and decide on a gift exchange." --- # Holiday party planning poll for Slack When to use it: When you are organising an end-of-year party and want the date, format and details settled by the people who will be there. How often: Once a year The holiday party is the one event where a bad date or the wrong format quietly costs you half the team. Ask early, in short polls, and book after each one closes. December fills up fast, so start in October or November. Every December, scheduling a poll to post later works on the Free plan too, so you can line up your party polls in advance. ## Example polls Paste any of these into the message box in Slack. ```text /poll "Which dates could you make for the holiday party?" "Thursday, second week of December" "Friday, second week of December" "Thursday, third week of December" "None of these" close after 3 days remind 1 day before closing ``` The date poll. Pick every date you can make. *Premium: closing automatically, reminders.* ```text /poll "What should the holiday party be?" "Dinner out" "An activity, like bowling or a cooking class" "A daytime long lunch" "Online games for remote folks" ranked anonymous close after 3 days ``` The format, ranked and anonymous. *Premium: closing automatically.* ```text /poll "Holiday party details" "So we can plan food and access. Takes one minute." close after 3 days --- "Bringing a plus-one?" "Yes" "No" limit 1 --- "Any dietary needs?" short text optional --- "Any access needs we should plan for?" short text optional ``` The details survey. Named, so the organiser can plan for each person. *Premium: surveys (several questions), closing automatically.* ```text /poll "Should we do a gift exchange this year?" "Yes, with a small budget" "Yes, but make it optional" "No gift exchange" limit 1 anonymous schedule tomorrow 9am ``` A gift exchange vote, scheduled for tomorrow morning. Scheduling works on Free throughout December. *Premium: vote limits, scheduled posting.* ## Date first Offer three or four evenings or lunchtimes and let people pick every one they can make. A single-choice vote hides the date everyone could attend. Add "None of these" so people with conflicts speak up, then book the date with the most availability. ## Then the format Dinner, an activity, a daytime event, or something remote-friendly: the format matters more than the venue for who turns up. People with kids often can't do late evenings; people who don't drink skip bar nights. A ranked poll surfaces the option most people are happy with, not just the one with an enthusiastic minority. Make it `anonymous`. People won't say "I would skip a bar night" with their name on it. ## The details Dietary needs, accessibility and plus-ones decide the booking. Ask them in one short survey (Premium), with free-text questions marked `optional`. If your team is remote, add a question about whether people can travel, and plan a remote option if many can't. ## The mistake people make Polling on the budget or the venue when those are already fixed. Ask only what's still open, and say up front what isn't ("Budget is set, we're picking the format"). ## FAQ ### Can I schedule holiday party polls on the Free plan? In December, yes. Scheduling a poll to post later (`schedule ...` at the end of the poll text) normally needs Premium, but it works on Free for the whole of December. ### Should the format vote be anonymous? Yes. People are more honest about not wanting a late night or a bar when their name isn't on the vote. ### How many date options should I give? Three or four. Up to 5 options fit on Free; Premium allows more, but more options means less careful voting. ## Used by - [Slack polls for executive assistants](https://simplepoll.rocks/use-cases/executive-assistants/) - [Slack polls for HR and People teams](https://simplepoll.rocks/use-cases/hr-and-people-teams/) ## Related - [Event feedback poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/event-feedback/): Around a team offsite, company party, conference trip or community meetup: a few days before to shape it, and the day after to learn what to repeat. - [Team lunch poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/team-lunch/): When you are organising a team lunch or a food order and need a decision before someone has to book or order. - [Offsite location poll for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/offsite-location/): When you are planning a team offsite and want the team to weigh in on where and when before you book anything. - [How to schedule a poll in Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/guides/how-to-schedule-a-poll-in-slack/): A scheduled poll is written now and posted later, at a time when people will see it: Monday at 9am rather than Friday at 6pm. Simple Poll can schedule a poll from the /poll text or from the poll form. Scheduling is a Premium feature, though it also works on Free for the whole of December. - [Slack polls for HR and People teams](https://simplepoll.rocks/use-cases/hr-and-people-teams/): People teams ask the whole company for input more than anyone else, which makes them the first to burn out a channel with surveys. The fix is a small, predictable calendar: a few polls with a clear job each, sent at the same rhythm, with results that go somewhere. ## Sources - [How can I schedule a poll to be posted at a later time?](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/102-how-can-i-schedule-a-poll-to-be-posted-at-a-later-time) - [Using Simple Poll for events](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/146-using-simple-polls-for-events) --- Simple Poll is the #1 polls and surveys app for Slack. Add it to Slack: https://simplepoll.rocks/. Pricing: https://simplepoll.rocks/pricing/.