5 Best Holiday Party Ideas for Work in San Francisco
By Joshua Hirsch, Founder of Sidewalk Food Tours & Cooking Classes
Planning a company holiday party in San Francisco can be harder than it sounds.
You want something fun enough that people actually look forward to going, but not an activity that makes employees feel like they’re being forced to “team build.” You need something that works for different personalities, gives coworkers a chance to talk, and, ideally, includes really good food.
After organizing food tours, cooking classes, and corporate events since 2011, we’ve learned something pretty simple: food is one of the easiest ways to bring a group together.
People don’t have to be athletic. They don’t have to perform in front of their coworkers. And they don’t have to spend three hours making small talk across a banquet table.
They can simply eat, explore, cook, laugh, and enjoy San Francisco together.
If you’re looking for an interactive holiday party idea for work in San Francisco, here are five food-focused experiences we’d consider.
San Francisco is best with SWFT!
1. Explore San Francisco on a Private Team-Building Food
Tour
Best for: Teams that want to eat, explore the city, and socialize without a structured team-
building exercise
We’re admittedly a little biased on this one, but there’s a reason we’ve been taking corporate groups on food tours for years.
A private food tour works especially well for a holiday party because the experience gives people plenty of opportunities to talk without asking them to spend the entire event sitting in one place.
On a Sidewalk Food Tours private San Francisco food tour, your group spends approximately three hours exploring one of the city’s great food neighborhoods with a local guide.
Along the way, you’ll stop at 4–5 food establishments while your guide shares the history, people, culture, and stories that make the neighborhood interesting.
It’s not just walking from restaurant to restaurant.
The food and the neighborhood are part of the same story.
Choose the neighborhood that fits your group
North Beach is a great choice for groups interested in San Francisco’s Italian-American history, food, and colorful past.
Chinatown gives your team an opportunity to explore one of the city’s most fascinating neighborhoods while tasting foods and learning about the people and traditions that helped shape it.
The Mission District combines great food with Latino culture, neighborhood history, murals, and one of San Francisco’s most distinctive communities.
Why we like food tours for company holiday parties
One thing we’ve noticed from hosting corporate groups is that people naturally mix and mingle on a food tour.
Coworkers may sit with one group of people at a tasting, walk with someone else on the way to the next stop, and end up talking with another group later in the tour.
That matters.
At a traditional holiday dinner, you can spend most of the evening talking to the two people seated next to you. On a food tour, the group keeps moving and the conversations tend to move with it.
And unlike some team-building activities, nobody has to be particularly good at anything.
You just have to come hungry.
For larger company events, we can divide participants into smaller groups with their own guides
so the experience remains personal and manageable.
Learn more about San Francisco Corporate Team-Building Food Tours
2. Cook Together in a Team-Building Cooking Class or Competition
Best for: Groups that want a hands-on, indoor holiday party with plenty of interaction
If your coworkers are competitive—or just like to cook and eat—put them in the kitchen together.
Sidewalk’s San Francisco team-building cooking classes and competitions are two-hour, hands-on events led by a professional chef.
Depending on the experience you choose, your group can work together to prepare a meal or split into teams for a friendly cooking competition.
For the competitions, teams aren’t just cooking. They’re working against the clock and trying to impress the chef with their taste, presentation, and timing.
Don’t worry: nobody needs to know how to cook before showing up.
That’s part of the fun.
Our chefs guide the group through the process, offer tips and techniques along the way, and help make sure everyone participates. At the end, the team gets to sit down and eat what they’ve made together.
Why cooking works for holiday team building
We’ve organized food-related team-building events for corporate groups for years, and cooking creates a different dynamic from a restaurant dinner.
There is always something happening.
Someone is chopping. Someone is mixing. Someone is asking the chef a question. Someone is convinced their team has already won.
People have a reason to talk and work together without the interaction feeling manufactured.
It’s also an indoor activity, which makes it particularly useful when planning a San Francisco company holiday party in November or December.
Our San Francisco cooking experiences can accommodate groups from 12 to 60 participants, with a variety of cuisine choices and dietary accommodations available with advance notice.
Explore Team-Building Cooking Classes in San Francisco
3. Learn How Chocolate Is Made at Dandelion Chocolate
Best for: Smaller groups and teams filled with chocolate lovers
San Francisco has an impressive artisan chocolate scene, and Dandelion Chocolate’s Mission District factory offers a chance to go beyond simply eating it.
Groups can learn more about how cacao is transformed into finished chocolate and explore the chocolate-making process through Dandelion’s educational experiences.
We like this idea for a holiday outing because chocolate already feels appropriate for the season, and the activity gives coworkers something interesting to learn and taste together.
It’s also a nice option for a team that wants a culinary experience but doesn’t necessarily want a full cooking class or three-hour outing.
4. Try a San Francisco Craft Beer Experience
Best for: Casual adult groups and teams that enjoy craft beer
For an adult team where drinking is appropriate for the company culture, a craft beer experience can be a relaxed alternative to the standard office holiday happy hour.
SF on Tap offers brewery-focused walking experiences built around San Francisco’s beer scene.
Instead of simply reserving a few tables at a bar, the experience gives the group something to explore together while learning more about local breweries and beer.
This is probably best suited to smaller teams looking for an informal holiday celebration rather than companies searching for a structured team-building event.
And, of course, if you choose an alcohol-centered activity for a company event, make sure it’s a comfortable fit for everyone attending.
5. Book an Interactive Private Dinner at Naked Kitchen
Best for: Teams that want a private dinner but still want the evening to feel like an experience
There is nothing wrong with a company holiday dinner.
Sometimes that’s exactly what the group wants.
But if you’re going to do dinner, you can still make it more interesting than simply reserving a large restaurant table.
Naked Kitchen hosts private culinary events in a San Francisco Victorian and offers experiences that can include chef dinners, cooking activities, tastings, and mixology.
This type of event can work particularly well for a group that wants plenty of time to sit together, give a holiday toast, recognize employees, exchange gifts, or entertain clients while keeping food at the center of the evening.
Snag a bite by the bay with a Sidewalk Food Tour of San Francisco
What We’ve Learned About Planning Corporate Food Events
After years of working with corporate groups, one of the biggest pieces of advice we can give a holiday-party organizer is:
Don’t choose an activity just because it sounds impressive on paper. Think about how your group actually likes to spend time together.
Some teams want to compete.
Some want to explore.
Some want to sit down with a glass of wine.
And some groups simply want to eat really good food and have a chance to talk without discussing work.
There isn’t one perfect company holiday party for everyone.
The trick is finding the experience that fits your particular group.
Food Tour vs. Cooking Class: Which Is Better for Your Team?
We get this question from companies planning team outings, so here’s the easiest way to think
about it.
Choose a private food tour if your group…
• Wants to explore San Francisco
• Likes trying several different foods
• Wants plenty of time for casual conversation
• Would enjoy neighborhood history and storytelling
• Prefers a relaxed activity rather than a competition
• Wants the experience of visiting several food establishments instead of staying in one
venue
See Our San Francisco Corporate Food Tours
Choose a cooking class or competition if your group…
• Wants a hands-on activity
• Enjoys a little friendly competition
• Wants an indoor event
• Likes learning something new
• Wants coworkers actively working together
• Would rather stay in one location for the event
See Our San Francisco Team-Building Cooking Classes
How Far in Advance Should You Plan a San Francisco Holiday Party?
Holiday dates can fill quickly, especially when a company needs a particular day and start time.
For our cooking classes, we generally recommend contacting us at least two weeks in advance, although we can sometimes accommodate events with less notice.
For a November or December company holiday party, however, we’d rather hear from you earlier.
The more flexibility you have with the date and time, the easier it usually is to put together the experience you want.
Planning a Holiday Party for a Large Group?
Large groups don’t necessarily need to settle for a banquet room.
We’ve worked with corporate groups of different sizes, and both food tours and cooking events can be structured for larger teams.
For a food tour, a larger party can be divided into smaller groups with individual guides.
For cooking events, our San Francisco classes and competitions can accommodate up to 60 participants.
If you’re responsible for organizing the event, tell us your approximate headcount, preferred date, and what kind of atmosphere you’re looking for. We can help you figure out which format makes the most sense.
Make This Year’s Holiday Party About Doing Something Together
There are plenty of restaurants in San Francisco where you can reserve a table for your company holiday party.
But if you’re searching for something more interactive, consider giving your coworkers an experience instead.
Walk through Chinatown, North Beach, or the Mission while discovering the neighborhood through its food.
Get everyone into the kitchen and find out which team can actually cook.
Taste chocolate.
Explore San Francisco’s craft beer scene.
Or turn the traditional holiday dinner into something a little more interesting.
The activity doesn’t need to be complicated.
After hosting food experiences since 2011, we’ve found that some of the best group events have a pretty simple formula:
Good food. Interesting surroundings. And enough time for people to enjoy being together.
Planning a San Francisco Company Holiday Party?
Sidewalk Food Tours & Cooking Classes can help you plan an interactive food experience for your team.
Plan a Private San Francisco Team-Building Food Tour
Plan a San Francisco Team-Building Cooking Class or Competition
Tell us your preferred date, approximate group size, and whether you’re interested in a food tour, cooking class, or cooking competition, and we’ll help you find the right experience for your holiday party.