Templates · Themed & fun

Christmas Retro

A year-end retro in three tenses, what could have been different, what works now and what the team wishes for, plus a column for fun.

What it is

A retrospective for the last days of the year. Three columns take the three tenses: Christmas past for what could have been different, Christmas present for what works great and for appreciation of colleagues, Christmas future for what people want to have. A fourth column asks for a favourite Christmas food and is there for the pleasure of it.

Goal

To close the year together: look back without settling scores, thank each other, and leave with a few wishes that are ready to become commitments in January.

When to use it

It is the last retro before the end-of-year break, and it can cover more than a sprint: a quarter, a project, the whole year. It suits a session where the mood counts as much as the output, and a remote team, for whom the food column gives a moment of ordinary conversation.

When to pick another format

Do not assume that everyone on the team celebrates Christmas. When some do not, Likes, Wishes, Wonders or the Appreciation Retro give the same warm tone without the holiday. When the year ends on a serious problem, the festive dress rings false: take Went well, To improve, Action ideas. In the autumn there is Halloween: Spooky Sprint.

How to run it

1. Christmas past: ask what could have been different. The wording matters: different, not whose fault.
2. Christmas present: ask what works great today and who deserves thanks. A thank-you names a person and what they did.
3. Christmas future: ask what people want to have in the future, for the team, the product or their own work.
4. Christmas foodie: ask for a favourite Christmas food. It needs no vote and no discussion. It also works as a warm-up, filled before the three others.

Read the thanks aloud. Group and vote on the past and the future, then turn a few wishes into actions with an owner. Write them so that they still make sense after the break, when nobody remembers the discussion.

Columns

To start a retrospective from this template, see Create a retro.