• Holidays provide a great excuse for everyone to get together and meet new people.Christmas tree branch with blue Christmas ball image by emka from Fotolia.com
  
  Icebreaker games provide a fun way to introduce new people to one another. A holiday party can offer the ideal opportunity for employees to meet people in other departments that they may not otherwise cross paths with. An icebreaker helps everyone to get to know those around them, while simultaneously providing creative ways for individuals to remember one another.
  
  

Carol of the Names

• This game requires quite a bit of bravery, but choir or theater groups with outgoing individuals will have a great time with it. Have everyone stand in a circle. One by one, each person has to step forward and share their name with the group by singing it to the tune of a popular holiday song. For example, instead of “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,” one might sing “Amy Smith, Amy Smith, Amy Smith’s my name.” After the individual has sung their tune, the group as a whole then sings it back to them to reinforce the name. This repetition will make it easier to remember names later on.
  
  

G is for Ghost

• Associating the first letter of someone’s name with another word can be a handy way to remember it. In this game, players stand in a circle and go around introducing themselves and coming up with a holiday-themed word that begins with the same letter. For the remainder of the party, you can refer to everyone by their new holiday moniker, such as Patty Pumpkin or Scary Steve. Once everyone has introduced themselves, have them rearrange the circle so that everyone is standing in alphabetical order. To make this part of the game extra challenging, you can forbid everyone from talking. If they need to remind someone of their name, they will have to act out the holiday word they chose.
  
  

Fond Memories

• This game allows everyone to learn more than just the name of the other players. Gather everyone into a circle and pass a soft ball from one person to another to determine whose turn it is. When a player catches the ball, he must introduce himself and share his favorite memory or favorite activity associated with the holiday that is being celebrated. In the first round, the ball must be thrown to a new person each time. Once everyone has had the ball once, the game changes. At this point, the individual who catches the ball must repeat the name and memory of the person who threw it to him. If the catcher can’t remember these facts, he’s out of the game. Toward the end you’ll likely end up with several people who remember all of the facts about the players around them, so be prepared to hand out multiple prizes and end the game with more than one winner.