🎄🎶 All I Want for Christmas is Feedback!

Gather 'round the virtual fireplace for a festive retrospective! Unwrap wins, let go of what's not jolly, and sing for improvements. Let's sleigh this sprint with cheer and make our wishlist for the next one!
45–60 min
4-12 people
Based on: Start, Stop, Continue
🎄🎶 All I Want for Christmas is Feedback!

Template Columns

🎁 Start Gifting New Ideas

Share new actions or innovations we should start to add more sparkle to our teamwork.

Base column: Start
⛄ Stop the Holiday Hassles

Suggest things we should stop that are freezing our progress or dampening our holiday spirit.

Base column: Stop
✨ Continue Spreading Cheer

Highlight traditions, practices, or behaviors we should keep to ensure our project remains merry and bright.

Base column: Continue

About this template

A festive, holiday‑themed start‑stop‑continue retrospective that helps teams celebrate wins, drop blockers, and brainstorm new ideas.

When to use this template

Use when you want to inject fun and seasonal spirit into a sprint review, especially at the end of a quarter or before holidays.

How to facilitate

1

Set the mood by sharing a holiday image or music and explain the three columns: Start, Stop, Continue

2

Ask participants to write individual sticky notes for each column within a timebox

3

Collect and group similar ideas on the virtual board, encouraging brief discussion for each cluster

4

Vote on the most impactful items using emoji reactions to prioritize actions

5

Summarize the top voted items, assign owners, and capture them in the sprint backlog

Pro Tips

Use a themed timer, like a ticking Christmas bell, to keep energy high

Encourage phrasing items as “We will…”, “We stop…”, or “We continue…” for clear action language

Reserve a few minutes for a quick holiday shout‑out where team members thank each other, boosting morale

FAQ

What if the team is not in a holiday mood?

Keep the template flexible—use the same start‑stop‑continue structure without the decorations, focusing on the purpose rather than the theme.

How do we handle a large number of items?

Group similar notes together and use dot voting to surface the most important ones, limiting discussion to the top‑ranked items.

Can we use this format for non‑holiday sprints?

Absolutely; the columns work year‑round, and you can swap the festive language for neutral terms while keeping the same process.

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At a glance

  • Duration

    45–60 min

  • Team Size

    4-12 people

  • Columns

    3 columns

  • Base Format

    Start, Stop, Continue

Tags

holiday
start-stop-continue
team building
celebration
action-oriented

Ready to get started?

Use this template to run your next retrospective