HOLIDAY PARTIES

Holiday party speech examples

The speech at a work holiday party has one job: thank people for the year in a way that could only be about them. Then let them get back to the party.

A chatbot can write a holiday speech in seconds. It doesn't know about the week the system went down or who stayed late to fix it, and it won't be the one holding the microphone. The examples below are made up, so keep their shape and fill in your own year. First comes a template. Then come speeches from a small business owner, a CEO, a manager at a team dinner, the person running the party and a remote team's lead, plus a short toast. After those: Christmas or holidays, how long to talk, what to leave out, a hard year and how to rehearse it.

A holiday party speech template

Examples 1, 2, 3 and 5 below follow all five beats. Example 4 is the host's welcome, and example 6 trims the beats to a quick toast. Fill in the blanks, then cut anything you wouldn't say to the whole company.

Welcome everyone and thank whoever planned it: "Hi, everyone. Thanks for coming. If we haven't met, I'm ___, and I ___. Thank you to ___ for planning tonight."
Pick one or two moments from the year: "The moment I'll remember from this year is ___."
Thank each team for what it did, and the families if they're there: "Thank you to ___ for ___."
Say one line about next year: "Next year, ___."
Raise a glass: "Please raise your glasses. To ___. Enjoy your night."

Spend most of your time on the moment and the thank-yous. One story your team will recognize does more than a recap of every quarter.

Six holiday party speech examples

The companies, people and numbers are made up. Each one runs under 200 words, a minute or so out loud.

1. From a small business owner

A plumbing company with fourteen people, at a restaurant dinner with their families.

Hi, everyone. Thanks for coming out tonight, and thank you to Denise for finding a restaurant with room for all of us and your families.

This year we answered about 3,000 calls. The ones I'll remember came during the ice storm in January. Pipes burst all over town, and for four days this crew worked twelve-hour shifts. The only complaint I heard all week was about the gas station coffee.

Thank you to the techs for every frozen crawl space, and to the office for keeping 3,000 calls straight. And to the families, thank you for all the dinners that went cold while we were out on a call.

Next year we're hiring two more techs, so the crawl spaces get split more ways.

Please raise your glasses. To the best crew in town. Enjoy your night.

2. From a CEO to the whole company

A software company of about 250 people, in a hotel ballroom with a microphone. Example 4 is the welcome that comes before it.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Laura, the CEO, and I get two minutes before dinner. Thank you all for coming, and thank you to the party committee, who have been planning tonight since September.

In March, a children's hospital in Ohio called our support line at two in the morning. Their scheduling system was down, and the night nurses couldn't see who was coming in next. Our support team had two engineers on the call in ten minutes, and the system was back before the shift changed. Last month, that hospital signed on for three more years.

That's how this year went across the company. Sales brought the customers in, engineering kept the promises sales made, and support picked up the phone at two in the morning. Thank you, every one of you. And to the partners and families here tonight, thank you for sharing them with us.

Next year, I hope we're still the company that picks up at two in the morning.

Please raise your glasses. To all of you. Enjoy the night.

3. From a manager at a team dinner

An accounts payable team of nine, at one long table.

Okay, everyone. I'll keep this short, because the appetizers just got here. Thanks for coming, and thank you to Jen for booking the table.

In June we switched to the new payment system. I thought we'd be behind for months, and we were behind for two weeks. Then this team found the vendors the old system had been paying twice, and we got about forty thousand dollars back.

So thank you for the late nights in June, and for staying patient while the rest of the company learned the new forms.

Next year, I'd like every one of us to take all of our vacation days. I'm putting that in writing.

Please raise your glasses. To the best team in the building. Enjoy your dinner.

4. A welcome from the party's host

From whoever planned the night, before the boss speaks. It swaps the year for the night's plan and hands over instead of toasting.

Hi, everyone, and welcome. I'm Carlos, and I'm on the committee that planned tonight. A few things before we eat.

The buffet opens right after our CEO speaks, starting with the tables by the windows. The photo booth is next to the dance floor, and the prints are free. The raffle is at 8:30, and you have to be in the room to win. If you need a ride home tonight, the company is paying for it, and the code is in this morning's email.

Thank you to Ann, Marcus and Tess, who spent three months planning this. And thank you to the hotel staff, who have been setting up since noon.

And now, here's our CEO, Laura.

5. For a remote team on a video call

Hi, everyone. Can you all hear me? Good. Thanks for logging on, especially Priya and Tom, since it's almost midnight where they are. And thank you to Sam for mailing everyone cookies. Please don't open them yet.

This was our first full year working remotely, across four time zones. In April we launched the mobile app. The night before, half of us were on a call until 1 a.m., while the other half were just starting their morning. The handoff worked anyway, and people have downloaded the app about 80,000 times since.

Thank you to the developers for building it, and to support for answering every email that came in that first week.

Next year, I hope we get everyone into one room at least once.

Okay, now you can open the cookies. Hold up whatever you're drinking so we can see it on camera. To the team. Happy holidays.

6. Short and sweet

Under 100 words, well under a minute. It fits a party with several speakers, or a toast you're asked for on the spot.

Hi, everyone. I'm Dana, and I promised to keep this short, so here goes.

This year we moved offices, hired eleven people and still made every deadline. Thank you, all of you.

Please raise your glasses. To the team, and to a good new year.

Christmas party or holiday party?

Use the word on the invitation. If it says Christmas party, wish everyone a merry Christmas. If it says holiday party, wish them happy holidays and a good new year, since the people in the room may celebrate different holidays or none.

How long should a holiday party speech be?

If you're the only speaker, two or three minutes is plenty. A host's welcome can be a minute. If several people are speaking, agree on the order and a total time beforehand, since three speakers who each plan five minutes add up to fifteen. Time yours standing up and out loud.

If it runs long, cut next year's plans first, then a story.

What to leave out

Next year's plans and targets, and a tour of the numbers. One sentence about next year is enough. The rest belongs in a meeting.
A long list of names. Thank each team for what it did, since it's easy to miss someone. Save awards for their own moment.
Inside jokes that only one team gets.
Jokes about drinking, or about anyone in the room.
News people will have questions about, like changes to pay, benefits or jobs. Save it for a meeting where they can ask.
Politics, and religion beyond the holiday greeting.
Too much about you. Tell your own stories only when they show what the team did.

If it was a hard year

If the year brought layoffs or months of overtime, the room already knows. Say so in a sentence or two after your welcome and thank people for carrying the extra work. Then go on to the year's good moments. Don't promise what you can't control, like that there won't be more cuts.

This year was hard. In August we said goodbye to twelve colleagues, and many of you took on their work along with your own. Thank you for carrying it. Tonight is about you.

How to give it

Wait for the room. Ask whoever runs the music to turn it down, and don't start until it's quiet.
Speak early in the night, once people have a drink and before the room gets loud.
With a microphone, test it before people arrive. Keep it the same distance from your mouth when you turn your head.
Without one, stand where everyone can see you and talk to the people at the back.
Learn your first two sentences and the toast word for word. Keep the five beats on a card for everything in between. How to memorize a speech has a method.
When you thank a team, look at them.
Say the toast last, with your voice going down at the end, so everyone knows when to drink.
On a video call, ask everyone to mute until the toast, and look at the camera when you thank people.
Asked to say a few words with no warning? Run the five beats in your head and keep it short. Impromptu speaking has more on talking off the cuff.

If your voice tends to shake, see how to stop your voice from shaking.

Rehearse your holiday party speech with an AI coach in Charisma Lab

Charisma Lab is a speaking coach on your iPhone. In Speak, tap the center and tell the coach you're practicing a holiday party speech for your team. Say it out loud one chunk at a time, like the welcome, the story or the toast. A pause of about two seconds ends a take, so end each chunk where you'd wait for a laugh. You hear the take played back, then the coach tells you what to fix and sends you back in.

If there won't be a microphone, open Voice Cam on the home screen and record your speech, with the camera or audio only. Each recording runs up to a minute, so record a longer one in parts. As you talk, it shows your volume, pitch and pauses, plus an estimate of your pace in words per minute. Check that your volume holds up to the last word of each sentence. Setup is free and includes a short live session with the coach. After that, the app needs Pro, which is $14.99 a month in the US. See pricing.

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FAQ

How do you start a holiday party speech?

Welcome everyone and thank whoever planned the party. If some people don't know you, say who you are. Then go to one moment from the year. For more ways in, see how to start a speech.

How long should a holiday party speech be?

Two or three minutes if you're the only speaker, and about a minute for a welcome. Time it out loud.

What do you say in a holiday speech to employees?

Thank them for the year with one or two moments they'll recognize. Thank each team for what it did, say one line about next year and raise a glass. Examples 1 to 3 do it from an owner, a CEO and a manager.

What do you say in a short holiday toast?

Who you are, one line about the year, a thank-you and the toast. Example 6 does it in under 100 words.

Should I say Christmas or holidays in my speech?

Use the word on the invitation. At a holiday party, happy holidays and a good new year covers everyone in the room.

How do you end a holiday party speech?

Raise a glass to the team and wish everyone a good night. Then stop talking and let the party start. How to end a speech has more on toasts.

More practice guides

Updated November 3, 2026.