🎄🛍️ Christmas Market Retro
Step into a bustling holiday market where we showcase our successes as bright stalls, pause on stalls that need repair, and keep the festive spirit flowing.
Template Columns
🛎️ New Stalls
Identify fresh initiatives to launch, like opening new market stalls for upcoming sprints.
Base column: Start❌ Closed Booths
Highlight practices that are no longer serving us and should be shut down.
Base column: Stop🎁 Gifted Traditions
Keep the cherished rituals and processes that bring value to our team.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
A holiday‑themed retrospective where successes are displayed as market stalls, problems are closed booths, and valued rituals are gifted traditions.
When to use this template
Best for sprint reviews or quarterly check‑ins when the team wants a fun, visual way to celebrate achievements and prune ineffective practices.
How to facilitate
Set up a virtual board with three columns labeled New Stalls, Closed Booths, and Gifted Traditions
Ask each participant to write sticky notes for ideas to start, things to stop, and practices to keep, using holiday emojis for flair
Group similar notes together and discuss each column, focusing on impact and feasibility
Vote on the top items in New Stalls and Closed Booths to decide what to commit to for the next sprint
Summarize the decisions, assign owners, and capture action items in the shared space
Pro Tips
Limit each person to three notes per column to keep the board manageable
Use a timer of 5‑7 minutes per column to maintain momentum
Add festive icons or background music to reinforce the holiday atmosphere
FAQ
What if the team runs out of ideas for New Stalls?
Prompt with upcoming sprint goals or ask each member to suggest one improvement they’d like to try; you can also revisit ideas from previous retros.
How do we handle disagreements on what to close?
Facilitate a brief debate, then use dot voting to reach consensus, focusing on impact versus effort.
Can this format work for larger groups?
Yes—break the team into small breakout rooms for brainstorming, then reconvene to merge and discuss the consolidated lists.
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At a glance
- Duration
30–45 min
- Team Size
4-12 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
Start, Stop, Continue
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective