🎄☕ Cozy Christmas Retro
Gather around the virtual hearth to reflect on our sprint, sharing warm wins, chilly challenges, and festive plans for the next sprint.
Template Columns
🔥❄️ Warm Beginnings
Identify new practices to start that will keep our team’s spirit bright and productive.
Base column: Start🛑⛄ Frosty Halts
Highlight habits or blockers to stop that are cooling our momentum.
Base column: Stop🎁✨ Keep the Cheer
Celebrate and continue the actions that spread joy and efficiency across the team.
Base column: ContinueAbout this template
A festive, three‑column retro that lets teams celebrate wins, identify blockers, and decide new practices in a holiday‑themed setting.
When to use this template
Use when you want to inject holiday spirit and keep the retro light‑hearted while still driving actionable outcomes.
How to facilitate
Welcome the team, play a short holiday tune, and explain the three columns: Warm Beginnings, Frosty Halts, and Keep the Cheer.
Ask each participant to write one warm win or new practice they’d like to start on a virtual sticky in the Warm Beginnings column.
Collect the sticks, read them aloud, and let the group briefly discuss each item, noting any patterns.
Move to Frosty Halts, where everyone adds a blocker or habit to stop; discuss the impact and agree on which to prioritize.
In Keep the Cheer, capture actions or behaviours that should continue; celebrate the successes together.
Facilitate a quick dot‑vote on the top two items from each column, then turn the selected items into concrete sprint actions with owners and due dates.
Close the retro by sharing a holiday greeting or virtual toast, reinforcing the positive momentum.
Pro Tips
Use a festive background or virtual fireplace to keep the mood light and engaging.
Limit each discussion to 2‑3 minutes per item to maintain energy and stay within time.
Encourage participants to add emojis or holiday icons to their sticks for visual fun.
FAQ
What if the team runs out of ideas for Warm Beginnings?
Prompt with examples like a daily stand‑up tweak or a new code review checklist to spark thinking.
How do we keep the retro from becoming just a holiday party?
Stay focused on actionable outcomes by voting and assigning owners for each selected item.
Can this format work for non‑holiday sprints?
Yes, replace the festive language and visuals with a neutral theme while keeping the three‑column structure.
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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
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective