Last Minute Interactive Corporate Holiday Party Ideas in Chicago

While some companies are done with all the winter festivities, including annual bonuses and holiday parties, others have been busy closing the year and finishing annual reports, using the remaining PTO, or simply enjoying holiday season with friends and family, leaving the office holiday party for the beginning of the new year. Well, here it is! It is already January and if you or your company didn’t have a holiday party yet, this list of creative last minute holiday party ideas is for you, your Organizational Environment or HR Manager, or whoever is in charge of making this happening for you and your team! The best part that they are not only creative and interactive but also stress and hassle free, as this venues will take care of your team form A to Z.

The Dil Pickle Club. Interactive 1920’s Murder Mystery Cocktail Party ($)

Art Room Events presents a prohibition era inspired, Interactive Speakeasy Murder Mystery night to remember, full of death, deceit &...cocktails! The concept of a murder mystery dinner is not new. However, an interactive cocktail party format is what makes this experience stand out and a great idea for a company holiday party.

Participating in this experience for a holiday party, your team will take on personas inspired by actual historical figures at the time the Dil Pickle Club was open in Chicago between 1917 and 1935. Guests are encouraged to dress and act the part personally assigned to them, based on their character preferences, for the duration of the experience (2-3 hours).  The Dil Pickle Club was a site of cultural interchange, full of socialites, bootleggers, radicals, activists, artists, and even hobos.

 This experience takes place in a 138 years old mansion, located in Lincoln Park. It is now turned into a speakeasy themed restaurant/event space. The venue has a few private and semi-private rooms to accommodate multiple groups of various sizes at the same time. However, Thursday, Friday & Saturday evenings are getting booked quickly, so don’t miss your chance and inquiry about the venue availability if you already have a date in mind. 

Art Room Events will take care of all the planning for you, making it a completely hassle free-worry free event planning process, so you and your team can have fun mingling with others and getting to know each other’s characters while enjoying food and drinks, participate in investigation, contests, receive more surprising clues, take mugshots, create drama, vote for the suspects, receive awards, and have a blast! Costume accessories and props bar will be available for participants to use free of charge. Although the format of this experience is an interactive cocktail party, the venue offers a great food selection a to put together a buffet for your team to enjoy. 

$$$

This experience might cost your company as low as $25.00/person, based on your group size and catering requirements. However, with the participation, two cocktails/person, and some food catering, you are looking at $50.00-$60.00/person.

Ping Pong ($$)

Over the past years we have seen a huge growth in public interest in a ping pong culture. Today, a happy hour at one of the ping pong joints downtown is almost an inseparable part of our lifestyle, whether it is a casual team outing, celebration or socializing and play. Then why not consider them for your holiday celebration as well?

The concept is self explanatory. However, what to expect during the holiday office party and how different it is from a regular private event? In a nutshell, it is not much different from booking a regular private event experience but you and your team will have fun regardless! Booking a private corporate event you will usually get reserved area/s for your group to enjoy ping pong, the use of ping pong paddles, tables and balls. Depending on the assigned area, you might even have control over the playlist. Ball catchers provided by the venue will help you chase stray ping pong balls, so you never run out. Dedicated event servers and hosts will make sure to take care of your group. Some venues are still offering holiday inspired cocktails.

AceBounce Ping Pong Bar & Restaurant, Spin and KillerSpin House are among Chicago’s favourite ping pong joints, and are all conveniently located downtown. Most of them open at 4:00 pm and have dozens of tables to accommodate multiple groups of various sizes. Based on your budget and other requirements, there is an option to have a private room or a semi private area.

$$$

Each venue has different reservation requirements, depending on the area, drink and catering packages, and your group size. However, with the two hour game, two drinks, and finger food catering, you are looking at a minimum of $45.00-$55.00/person.

Darts ($$$)

Some people say that Darts is the new Ping Pong, so most of the above applies to darts as well, except that your team would play various electronic darts games, instead of table tennis. In fact, one of the downtown venues offering darts games, Flight Club, is operating under the same ownership and management umbrella in the joined efforts with AceBounce, both located on the corner of Clark & Wacker. However, there are some exceptions and neuancies due to a limited space and availability.

$$$

Advanced reservations are available for groups of 6 or more and a fun note to keep in mind if you decide to book your holiday party with Flight Club “online booking for Social Darts is only available for groups up to 12 guests with limited availability and are limited to 1 hour reservations”. To avoid disappointment, make sure to contact the venue directly to assure availability and duration you are looking for. To assure a two hour reservation, minimum spending requirement is based on a group of at least 10 people, with $33.00/person for food and additional bar spending requirements, that are usually calculated per consumption, additional 22% service charge and taxes will apply. Flight Club is a very fun darts place but  be ready for a minimum of $80.00/person for a two hour private event experience with 2-3 drinks and a required food catering package. 

If you are looking for a company outing dart experience without breaking a wallet, check out the beautiful Point & Feather dart club, located on Hubbard street in the hearth of River North, and you will not be disappointed either. In addition to darts tables and semi private areas, Point & Feather offers pool tables and regular dining zones. In comparison with the atmosphere you experience in ping pong venues, both Point & Feather and The Flight club offer a more upscale, relaxing environment, craft cocktails and food menu options to impress your team’s taste buds.

PBS ($$)

In their own words and we’d say they nailed it, “Located in the Fulton Market District, PBS Chicago is in a huge venue, which can still barely contain the fun. This 30,000-square-foot meatpacking factory turned grown-up playground is the place to perfect your game. Grab a bite of culinary nirvana or show off your shuffleboard, ping pong, marbles, bocce court, virtual reality, or bowling skills. Tip- lack of skills is easily made up for with a ton of unwarranted confidence. Boom.” The place is awesome but can be packed and tough to get the activity reservation into (even for a private event), as it is a popular venue for an after work happy hour fun among the West Loop businesses.

$$$

Pricing varies per activity + additional budget for food and drinks. Bowling is $10-$12/hr (includes shoe rental) + $7.00 for socks. Virtual reality $35-$45/hr; Board Games, Card Games, Giant Jenga - Free; Giant Scrabble - $10/hr; Ping Pong, Billiards, Bonzini, and Foosball - $12/hr; vintage arcade is card operated, which can be loaded and reloaded at a kiosk in the arcade area. PBS event management team will assist you with putting together activities for your team and will work with your catering budget requirement. However, the minimum average price per person with 2 hours full of interactive activities (outside of the free ones), 2 drinks of choice and finger food options, will be at the minimum of $55.00-$65.00/person.

Disclosure. This article is not sponsored by any of the businesses mentioned. Prices are estimates based on the information provided by the venues on the open sources on the date written and do not include taxes and gratuity. For current prices and availability please contact venues directly.