Halloween Ideas for the Office

What are some fun Halloween ideas for the office?

Halloween is a fun time of year when children typically get dressed up and go door-to-door asking for treats. Adults can join in on the fun too, and workplaces can get into the spirit by providing spooky Halloween activities for their employees. Some activities to incorporate into your Halloween workday can be to:

• Dress up or participate in group Halloween costumes at work
• Have a costume contest and provide the winner with a prize
• Put up Halloween decorations
• Provide everyone’s favorite Halloween candy
• Have a Halloween party in the office
• Plan fun Halloween games for the office

Why would having Halloween activities be beneficial for business?

Whenever employees get together to celebrate a holiday, they tend to enjoy their jobs more. Since the typical workday is 8 hours, co-workers more often than not become really close since they spend so much time together. Celebrating Halloween at the office can be beneficial for business, even if you take part of the workday to do so. Taking the time to have some fun in the workplace can:

• Increase employee motivation
• Relieve some of the stresses they might have
• Increase productivity
• Promote team building if there is a party to be planned
• Boost company morale

Positive company experiences such as a Halloween party or activity can show employees that they are valued at their place of employment which can inspire them to be more devoted to the company.

Halloween falls on a weekday most of the time, so it’s a perfect time to take a bit of a break and give your employees a Halloween celebration. Even if some people don’t take Halloween as seriously as some other holidays, it can be a way to give them a breather or a break from work. At the end of the day, we are all still human and deserve to decompress from time to time with some spooky Halloween fun. Take the time to plan out an activity and provide employees with some fun Halloween ideas for the office so that you can make the day enjoyable, especially before they have to walk around the neighborhood with their children.

What are some ways to celebrate Halloween without spending too much money?

Celebrating holidays such as Halloween can come with a price tag. In order to reduce the cost of supplies, buy in bulk as much as possible. Buying non-perishable items or paper products in bulk won’t break the bank and can help make supplies last all year round. If you are having a Halloween potluck and need paper products, cutlery, candy, or are purchasing decorations, buy them in bulk to save both time and money.

If your budget is running low due to Halloween being towards the end of the year, have a potluck lunch to celebrate instead of catering a meal. Encourage employees to bring in snacks or Halloween-themed dishes to share with everyone. Be sure to account for allergies and dietary restrictions to ensure that everyone can join in on the fun. Have people sign up for what they want to bring ahead of time, so there aren’t multiple dishes of the same item.

What are some ways for employees to get involved in Halloween festivities?

There are lots of ways to include employees in the planning or decorating process. Don’t expect all employees to drop what they are doing and coordinate details for a Halloween party but encourage them all to lend a helping hand where they can. Delegating tasks is a great way to make sure everyone who wants to help out has a job. Some of the tasks can be:

• Coordinating the potluck. Have this person send an email or memo to the group to get an idea of who will be bringing what to the party. Have this person follow up a few days before and send a message again the night before just to make sure there will be enough food.
• Have another person send a message to the group asking them to be creative and wear Halloween costumes at work or to participate in a group costume with co-workers. Be sure to mention this a few weeks in advance so people can purchase or make their costume. Maybe coordinate a costume contest and purchase or make a prize for the winner.
• Organizing a trick-or-treat activity for employees that have children. Have this person ask the group about the level of interest for this activity and come up with a game or a simple scavenger hunt for the children to do to make it fun. If there are conflicts with this activity and people can’t pull their child from school, offer to make Halloween goodie bags for employees with children to take home to them. This shows that the company cares about employees and their families.
• Have someone else come up with Halloween decoration ideas for the office and gather a few more people to help put them up in the morning or the afternoon before. Festive decorations are a great way to get people into the Halloween spirit and brings a nostalgic joy of dressing up as a kid and going trick-or-treating.
• Can’t forget about candy! Have someone send an email or a memo to the group to respond with their top three choices of candy. Once the data is collected, purchase the top five choices out of the bunch and put the candy in Halloween themed bowls around the office for people to munch on. When there’s candy in the office, people seem to be happier.

Don’t forget to clean up after a Halloween party!

Whether you are having a full-blown Halloween party or simply putting candy around the office, remember to clean up afterwards and put everything away. Food items and Halloween treats can attract bugs which can ruin perfectly good candy that can be enjoyed for days or weeks to come. If the candy is chocolate, store it in the fridge. If the candy is fruity or chewy, use Ziploc bags to seal them up and keep them in a cupboard in the break room. If you had a potluck, remember to take the trash out at the end of the day and remind people to pick up their Tupper wear and leftovers to bring them home.

Once everything is put away, clean up any crumbs or spills with paper towels, and spray down any surfaces with Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. Sweep up the floor and spray an air freshener so that when you arrive the next morning, a fresh smelling break room awaits.

Happy Halloween from W.B. Mason!

Halloween is such a fun time of year. Be sure to celebrate the holiday in whatever way your company deems fit. W.B. Mason wishes everyone a happy and safe Halloween, and that your children bring home the good candy to “share.”