12 WAYS First Responder CREWS CAN SHARE SOME HOLIDAY HUMOR

The holidays don’t slow down for the people who answer the call. Whether you work a patrol car, an engine, an ambulance, or a dispatch console, the season brings more calls, more stress, and more time away from home. A little humor can help, so here are 12 ideas to share some with your crew:

1. The Clean Language Challenge: Pick a partner or a console neighbor and see who can go a full shift without a single curse word. The loser buys the coffee and wears an elf name picked by the winner, so every order gets called out with a straight face.
2. Holiday Coffee Showdown: Everyone drinks more coffee this time of year. Have teammates order for each other from the seasonal menu, and the more ridiculous the drink, the better. Take a photo of each creation, and vote for the winner at the next briefing.
3. The Worst Decoration Awards: Whether you’re driving a beat, heading back from a call, or making a supply run, keep an eye out for the season’s most impressive (or most alarming) displays. Share your finds, and let the crew crown a winner. Tasteful lights don’t qualify.
4. Gingerbread Build-Off: Build a model of your station, precinct, ambulance bay, or dispatch center from graham crackers, frosting, and leftover candy. Judge the results, then take down your own work in any dramatic way you choose.
5. Secret Surprise Notes: Slip a candy cane, a funny note, or a kind word into a coworker’s locker, gear bag, or headset case. Small gestures show your team that someone is thinking of them, especially on a long shift.
6. Shift Bingo: Make bingo cards with the season’s classic scenes: a double-parked shopper, a tangled string of lights, a runaway inflatable Santa, a mall parking lot standoff. First to fill a row announces it in the break room.
7. The Holiday Hazard Drill: Run an entertaining joint training scenario where police, fire, EMS, and dispatch each play a part, such as a stuck Santa, a runaway sleigh, or a tipped-over tree. You’ll practice working together, and you’ll share a laugh doing it.
8. Mystery Cookie Swap: Everyone brings a batch of homemade cookies, and one batch is secretly made with too much salt or spice. Label the ingredients and check for allergies first, and keep the prank to one tray.
9. Holiday Karaoke Break: When the calls finally slow down, turn on the holiday music and let the whole crew sing along, whether you’re in the station, the precinct, the ambulance bay, or the dispatch center. Nothing bonds a team faster than belting out a song badly together, so skip the talent and go for volume. Bonus points for anyone who rewrites a classic with lyrics about the job, like: “Dashing through the snow, with the lights and sirens on, calling in our status, and hoping coffee’s strong...”
10. The Art of Thanks: Who doesn’t use the break room? Create a space for gratitude on a bulletin board, the back of a door, an empty wall, or the fridge door. Invite everyone to post thank-you notes for coworkers, and welcome notes from the community and other departments too. Read a few aloud at shift briefings, and take everything down at the new year so everyone can keep their notes.
11. The Traveling Trophy Trivia
    Hold a friendly holiday trivia contest with mixed teams of police, fire, EMS, and dispatch. Mix in holiday questions, local history, and a few job-related ones. The winning team keeps a tacky decorated trophy (a mismatched ornament or a spray-painted boot works) until the next contest, so bragging rights travel between departments.
12. The Step-Count Challenge
    Set up a team step challenge from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, with prizes for most improved rather than most steps, so everyone has a fair shot. Walking helps with stress, and shift workers can join no matter their schedule. Track the totals on a shared board and celebrate every milestone, such as a collective trip around the state.

A Final Thought

Humor helps, but it doesn’t fix everything. If the holidays feel heavy this year, talk to a trusted coworker, your peer support team, or a counselor. Taking care of yourself is part of taking care of your team.