Questions · Office holiday party

Office holiday party questions that stay safe for work

Conversation starters for the company holiday party: the coworkers you only know from Slack, the boss’s partner, the new hire standing alone by the cheese plate. Nothing about salaries, politics or who’s dating whom.

  • 20 questions
  • EN + TL on every card
  • Free in the app
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Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.

Icebreakers№ 06

Would you rather know the exact weather or the exact traffic before leaving home?

Bago umalis, alin ang gusto mong siguradong alam: lagay ng panahon o lagay ng traffic?

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A note

Imagine you check before a day out. What would you pack differently?

Isipin na nag-check ka bago ang lakad. Ano ang iibahin mo sa mga dadalhin mo?

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The questions

20 office holiday party questions

Every question in English and Filipino/Tagalog, word for word from the Kumustahan decks. Open “Back of the card” for the reflection printed on the other side.

In the line for drinks

6 questions

Ten-second questions for someone you’ve only met on video calls.

  1. Would you rather know the exact weather or the exact traffic before leaving home?

    Bago umalis, alin ang gusto mong siguradong alam: lagay ng panahon o lagay ng traffic?

    Back of the card

    Imagine you check before a day out. What would you pack differently?

    Isipin na nag-check ka bago ang lakad. Ano ang iibahin mo sa mga dadalhin mo?

  2. For a free weekend, would you prefer a full plan or a surprise?

    Sa weekend na wala kang kailangang gawin, kumpletong plano o surprise ang pipiliin mo?

    Back of the card

    Choose a detail that must stay on your weekend plan, even if everything else is a surprise.

    Pumili ng detalye na dapat kasama sa weekend mo kahit surprise ang lahat ng iba pa.

  3. If money were no problem, how would you spend a Saturday with nothing you had to do?

    Kung walang kailangang gawin at hindi problema ang pera, paano mo gagamitin ang isang Sabado?

    Back of the card

    Picture the end of your Saturday. What would make you wish it were still morning?

    Isipin ang katapusan ng Sabado mo. Bakit mo gugustuhing umaga pa lang?

  4. What event would you choose if the ticket were free?

    Kung may libre kang ticket sa isang event, ano ang pipiliin mo?

    Back of the card

    Imagine the event is about to begin. What are you most excited to see?

    Magsisimula na ang event. Ano ang pinaka-gusto mong makita?

  5. When your brain is tired, what is your go-to order?

    Kapag pagod na utak mo, ano yung go-to order mo?

    Back of the card

    The reliable order deserves respect. It shows up when decisions are too much and hunger is already making a case.

    Respect sa reliable order. Lumalabas siya kapag ayaw mo nang mag-decide at gutom na rin ang nagsasalita.

  6. If someone were choosing a snack or drink for you, what’s one choice that would almost always work?

    Kung may pipili ng snack o drink para sa'yo, ano yung halos laging okay sa'yo?

    Back of the card

    Tiny preferences can be an easy way to know someone better. It feels good when people remember the simple things.

    Minsan sa small preferences tayo mas nakikilala. Nakakatuwa rin kapag may nakakaalala ng simple things about you.

At the team table

6 questions

Work-adjacent but not about work: how people operate and what they’re quietly good at.

  1. If someone worked or studied with you for one week, what would they notice about your style?

    Kung may makakasama ka sa work o school for one week, ano kaya ang mapapansin nila sa style mo?

    Back of the card

    Your style may show in pace, focus, questions, breaks, or how you handle pressure. People notice more than we think.

    Pwedeng lumabas ang style mo sa pace, focus, tanong, breaks, o paano ka humarap sa pressure. Marami palang napapansin ang tao.

  2. Which kind of task makes you lose track of time?

    Anong klaseng task yung nakakalimutan mong oras kapag ginagawa mo?

    Back of the card

    The tasks that make time move fast can reveal what absorbs you, energizes you, or quietly fits how your mind works.

    Yung tasks na nagpapabilis ng oras pwedeng clue kung ano ang kumukuha ng focus mo, nagpapagana sa'yo, o bagay sa utak mo.

  3. In a group hangout, which role do you usually fall into: planner, joker, listener, snack person, or something else?

    Sa group hangout, anong role ang usually napupunta sa'yo: planner, joker, listener, snack person, o iba pa?

    Back of the card

    Group roles can be funny because they appear before anyone assigns them. Somehow every hangout finds its planner, joker, listener, or snack person.

    Minsan lumalabas yung role bago pa may mag-assign. Sa bawat hangout, may planner, joker, listener, o snack person talaga.

  4. When you enter a classroom, meeting room, or café, where do you usually choose to sit?

    Pagpasok mo sa classroom, meeting room, o café, saan ka usually pumipili umupo?

    Back of the card

    Seat choices can reveal comfort, strategy, or pure habit. Somehow we all have a spot our body chooses first.

    May sinasabi rin yung seat choice: comfort, strategy, o habit lang talaga. Minsan katawan na ang pumipili.

  5. Choose a memory power: remember every name or remember every route you have taken.

    Pumili ng memory power: tandaan lahat ng pangalan o lahat ng daang nadaanan mo.

    Back of the card

    Give your memory power a name. It can sound heroic or completely ordinary.

    Bigyan ng pangalan ang memory power mo. Puwedeng pang-hero o ordinaryo lang.

  6. What are you good at that your friends rarely get to see?

    Saan ka magaling na bihirang makita ng friends mo?

    Back of the card

    Imagine a friend seeing you do it for the first time.

    Isipin na unang nakita ng friend kung paano mo ito ginagawa.

Party-game round

5 questions

Read one aloud, everyone answers, the table votes.

  1. Choose a fake job title that fits your personality.

    Pumili ng fake job title na bagay sa personality mo.

    Back of the card

    A fake title can be more accurate than a real one. It gives a playful name to the thing people already notice.

    Minsan mas accurate pa ang fake title kaysa real one. Binibigyan lang niya ng playful name yung napapansin na ng tao.

  2. Give yourself a funny award for something you are surprisingly good at.

    Bigyan mo sarili mo ng funny award para sa bagay na surprisingly magaling ka.

    Back of the card

    A funny award makes small talents official. Some skills may not belong on a resume, but they still deserve a ceremony.

    Ginagawang official ng funny award ang small talents. Hindi man pang-resume, deserve pa rin ng ceremony.

  3. Pitch one useless invention you would still buy.

    I-pitch ang useless invention na bibilhin mo pa rin.

    Back of the card

    A useless invention can still understand your heart. Sometimes the appeal is not usefulness, just delight.

    May useless invention na gets pa rin ang puso mo. Hindi laging usefulness ang point; minsan delight lang.

  4. If someone funded one helpful idea for your neighborhood, what would you build or improve?

    Kung may sasagot sa gastos, ano ang gagawin o aayusin mo para makatulong sa lugar ninyo?

    Back of the card

    Picture its first day in use. What would you be happy to see people doing?

    Isipin ang unang araw na ginagamit na ito. Ano ang ikatutuwa mong ginagawa ng mga tao?

  5. If you could remove one tiny daily inconvenience forever, what would you remove?

    Kung kaya mong tanggalin forever ang isang tiny daily inconvenience, ano ang tatanggalin mo?

    Back of the card

    Tiny inconveniences can be louder than they deserve. Removing one forever would feel like a quiet luxury.

    Minsan ang ingay ng tiny inconveniences. Kapag natanggal forever yung isa, quiet luxury na agad.

Late, with the people who stayed

3 questions

For the last table, once the speeches and the raffle are done.

  1. What difficult situation are you proud of handling?

    Anong mahirap na sitwasyon ang proud kang naharap mo?

    Back of the card

    You can pass or keep the situation private. What did handling it help you notice about your own abilities?

    Puwedeng mag-pass o itago ang sitwasyon. Ano ang napansin mong kaya mo pala matapos mong harapin iyon?

  2. Which small adulting skill are you proud you can do now?

    Anong small adulting skill ang proud kang kaya mo na ngayon?

    Back of the card

    Adulting skills can be funny and real at the same time. Paying, fixing, calling, cooking, asking: they all count.

    Nakakatawa pero real ang adulting skills. Magbayad, mag-ayos, tumawag, magluto, magtanong: counted lahat yan.

  3. What can you do now that would have surprised you a few years ago?

    Ano ang kaya mo na ngayon na hindi mo inakalang magagawa mo ilang taon na ang nakaraan?

    Back of the card

    Picture showing your younger self how you do it. What might surprise them first?

    Isipin na ipinapakita mo sa mas batang sarili mo kung paano mo ito ginagawa. Ano kaya ang una niyang ikagugulat?

How to use them

Before you ask

The safest office holiday party questions are about small preferences and playful what-ifs, because they let coworkers be people without asking anyone to share something they’d regret on Monday. Ask someone’s go-to order when their brain is fried, or which fake job title fits them, and you’ll learn more than another round of “busy season, huh?”.

Work parties have their own awkwardness. You know someone’s calendar but not their weekend, teams cluster by department, and the partners who came along don’t know anyone. Questions that sit next to work, like the kind of work that makes the hours disappear, bridge that gap. Everyone can answer them, the plus-ones included.

If you’re organizing, a short question round between dinner and the gift exchange beats a trivia game. Read one card aloud, go around the table, and give a small prize for the best answer.

Good for

  • Company holiday parties
  • Department lunches and team dinners in December
  • Remote teams meeting in person for the first time
  • Holiday parties where partners are invited
  • White-elephant gift exchanges

Tips

  1. Talk to the plus-ones first. They’re the ones with nobody to talk to.
  2. Avoid salary, bonuses, reviews, politics, drinking and dating. If in doubt, ask about food.
  3. Break up the department tables by giving each table one question to answer together.
  4. Managers: answer first and keep it light. The room takes its tone from you.
  5. Keep the question round to about fifteen minutes, then move on to the gift exchange.

Decks for this

Office holiday party

Frequently asked questions

What are good conversation starters for an office holiday party?

Small preferences and playful what-ifs: your go-to order on a tired day, a fake job title that suits you, how you’d spend a free Saturday. They’re safe for work and easy for coworkers and their partners alike.

What topics should you avoid at a work holiday party?

Salaries and bonuses, politics, religion, who’s dating whom, how much anyone is drinking, and performance reviews. Keep to food, travel, hobbies and harmless opinions.

What’s a simple game for an office holiday party?

A question round: one person reads a card, everyone at the table answers in a sentence, and the table votes for the best answer. It needs no setup and works for teams that don’t know each other well.

Can we run this from a phone at the party?

Yes. Open the free Kumustahan app, choose the Icebreakers and Just for fun decks with Keep it light, and pass the phone around the table.

Bring a better question to the table.

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