TOP 15 halloween event ideas to bedazzle the whole office
Summer’s finally over, trees are losing their leaves – it’s high time to forget about holidays and prepare for the scariest night in the year! With the Halloween around the corner, take a look at 15 spooky Halloween office party ideas to spice your office up!
Perks of organizing (Halloween) office party
Companies more and more often concentrate on the benefits of implementing event strategies to their marketing activities. One of its elements is a corporate event. Internal parties are an efficient way to integrate team members. Office events are a tool, which offers wide possibilities to create an employer brand on the both, internal and external level.
Team members’ integration
An informal, relaxed atmosphere that characterizes office events makes it easier for the employees to get to know each other and the company’s culture. Later, this can contribute to the stronger connection with the workplace and provide employees with a feeling of working for the right company. A feeling of belonging to the certain workplace, where employer cares not only for the work they do but also how they feel there.
Gathering information and feedback
Looking from the perspective of the employer, organizing an internal event can be beneficial in terms of creating a further employer branding strategy. Events that gather employees in one place give a chance to acquire data that later, allows an employer to know team preferences. It’s easier to orientate in team members’ preferences in the informal aura and also, it’s much easier to gather authentic feedback when people are chilled and simply happy.
You can use the help of mobile applications, such as Eventory to keep track of the data and create valuable reports. Let’s be honest, no one wants to tell their boss what’s wrong in the office, but a bar, games, and drinks can help! When you got that first-hand information you can plan the Employer Branding strategy even better. After all, you know what is desired and will be enjoyable for your team!
Holidays will help you throw the office parties
One of the ways to make internal parties a big hit among your employees is to plan them in consideration of popular holidays that appear on the calendar. Firstly, you’re avoiding random date choices. Secondly, this way you don’t need to sweat your brain out, thinking about the event themes – pop culture already did it for you!
What’s more, this way you organize an event in the vibe that already has positive connotations, so you’re one step ahead. As we all have our pumpkins ready for the end of October, I present to you 15 ideas on how to spice up Halloween office activities! Hope you find some inspiration on this list.
#1 Hype’s high, office’s scary
Keep everyone excited about the event! Ensure that your team can’t wait till the party is on. You can prepare special internal emails that will keep employees updated with the time left, everything spooky style, of course!
Also, make sure that the whole office is increasing the level of Halloween excitement among your team members. Prepare crazy decorations long before day zero. Let your employees get in the mood, exchange everyday use tools into holiday attributes. And yes, I mean also things like a fridge and bin – this way, regular office activities will become Halloween office activities. How fun is that!?
#2 Venue with the (creepy) history
Choosing the right venue for the event is often a struggle of every organizer. You need to remember to consider your attendees’ preferences before you choose the space. If you don’t, they may even end up secretly hating the idea of coming to the party! So, do a quick research, find out what areas are the most convenient for your employees to get to, what they like – bars or more classic places.
Now, try to adjust the venue to the Halloween theme. Find a place with a history. Cities are full of architecture ghosts and haunted houses. Why stay in the office? Halloween theme ideas can create themselves in the spooky venues around the corner!
#3 Eerie decorations
As I mentioned, decorations can help you with creating hype around your event and getting the employees into the Halloween mood. Also, you can surprise the whole office and decorate it out of nowhere, changing the workspace into a fun working environment.
Another idea is to use the process of preparing decoration for the event. Suggest organizing an afternoon session, with drinks and snacks, during which the team will create werewolves, blood stains, pumpkins and other things that could Halloween-up the space.
Such an event is a perfect, creative activity which integrates and relaxes the whole team. Also, employees can have a real impact on their everyday workspace. Download our e-book and learn other ways to strengthen employees’ bond with the employer. Grab your copy of 10 event essentials to boost your Employer Branding!
#4 Deadly fun games
Some might say that there’s no better thing to have fun and integrate than through games. In fact, 38 % of people asked sets the entertainment as a priority while attending corporate parties (source: EventMB, 2018).
Following the statement, I encourage you to prepare for your team a couple of Halloween office party games. Choose from a variety of options and fit the games to your teams’ preferences and temperament.
There’re different options to gamify your Halloween office party, but in case you can’t decide – grab a couple of Halloween contest ideas for work:
- Best costume at the office – transform your office into a catwalk for the mummies, werewolves, vampires, zombies and everything your team could think of. Then, organize an open voting and name the queen or king, of your Halloween workspace.
- Best decorated desk – let your employees flow with their working space and create a personal Halloween wonderland. Official contest and fun rewards will motivate them and the office will spice up!
- Halloween lunch of the day – tell team members to prepare spooky food and choose the best cook from hell!
With contests comes the struggle of determining a winner in a fair voting, but how to organize it in the most pleasant way? Use mobile apps, such as Eventory, to get quick votes and results!
#5 (Scar)faces of Halloween office party
Once again, your team’s preferences are the key. Determine whether the employees like to party hard at the regular parties or prefer calm sitting like brunches. Maybe they like to put on some costumes and play beer-pong or maybe they’d like to listen to the eerie stories.
Depending on the information you have, you can decide on the best profile of the party. The options are, in fact, limited only by your creativity, but here are examples:
- Fancy dress parties
- Luncheons (and any other party for the Foodies)
- “Learn how and have fun” parties
- Trips and going outs
To make sure you hit the right spot of your team’s preferences, ask them what they’d like to do and throw a Halloween office party of the year!
#6 Trick or treating
Classic, huh? Take this Halloween “must have” to the office level and make it a Halloween office activity! It can enrich a regular workday and relax employees. Let them wander around the workspace in groups, desk by desk to collect treats from colleagues. If they don’t have a treat – organize funny penalties (singing a song and so on).
Also, you can try to take it outside the office. After hours, the whole team can take a walk to the neighborhood around the office, promoting a company outside and gathering candy for the after party! A real killing two birds with one stone!
#7 Fancy dress party
Also a classic. Just throw a party and set the dress code for the Halloween costumes. You can decide on one theme (such as Hollywood stars or Cartoons) or leave it to the attendees. Choose matching decorations and take care of a good (and creepy) catering. It’s a classic move, but what can integrate the team more than a party?
#8 Halloween office breakfast
Another idea for Halloween office party is organizing a Halloween themed breakfast. This way, you save employees from some part of a workday and relax them with interesting food. How to make it work? You can either order a catering which will prepare Halloween looking food or simply ask your employees to bring something with them.
Is there a greater way to start the spookiest day of the year than with eating sausages looking like cut fingers, or a mashed pumpkin hummus ‘brain’? Highly doubt that!
#9 After-hours Halloween luncheon
If your team members aren’t really the morning types, you can think of organizing a lunch for them. The same rules as for the breakfast – eyeballs, brains, and other awful looking, yet tasty food and fun atmosphere full of Halloween office party games. It’s a nice break from the regular work and huge fun for the Halloween lovers!
#10 Pumpkin carving contest
A “learn how and have fun” type of party. Gather a bunch of pumpkins at your office and organize Pumpkin Carving workshops for your team! Teach them how to do it. This way, they have a reason to actively participate in the event, it develops their skills, relaxes them. Also, their hard work is rewarded in a fun way. Another benefit is that the pumpkins can help you decorate the office, with the team’s hands!
#11 One-theme workday
This option won’t disrupt the workflow at the office. Do your research and find out what are the common interests of your team – maybe they like the same tv series? Yes? Then, here you go, tell your employees to dress up as certain characters and watch the office transform into a movie set.
Also, to make it something more than just a costume day, prepare some quotes characteristic for the theme. Set the rules that at this day the whole employee-to-employee communications should be (if possible) carried with using those quotes. A great fun and the work is still done, it’s a win-win situation, wouldn’t you agree?
#12 Murder at the house party
Create a spooky atmosphere in the office by organizing a game where the participants look for the murderer. Prepare the script, hide the hints and watch how your employees have fun exploring horrifying truth walking around their everyday workspace. But be sure to not make the game too easy and obvious.
#13 Family event
Regular Halloween office parties can be a no-go for employees that want to spend this fun time with their families. Make it easier for them by organizing an office event where both, parents and kids will find something for themselves!
#14 Free day trip
Last but not least idea for a Halloween office party is… going out of the office. Yes, I told you that the city is full of its ghosts. Arrange a trip for the employees. Go explore haunted houses, or follow the path of the murderers in the city. If you look for such attractions, be sure you find something!
#15 Spooky invitations
It’s not a surprise that when you’re thinking about making an event a success you need attendees. Therefore, the rule is to make sure that everyone knows about the ultimate Halloween office party in advance – so they don’t make any other plans.
Then make invitations exciting – after all, it’s Halloween and you can go crazy with the forms. You can, for example, try to create little coffin invitations, invitations in the pumpkin or, truly, whatever you find appealing. Let it be colorful, adjusted to the party theme and promising good fun. Remember that your party may compete with other offers people receive – make sure people get excited about your event.
Also, remember to include all the vital information (about the dress code, profile of the party, venue and so on) to avoid misunderstandings. Remember this Bridget Jones fancy dress party faux pas? Right, keep everybody well informed then!
Join your forces with phantoms and throw a party like no other
Internal events are one of the best ways to ensure employees that the company cares about them not only in terms of work but also as elements of a team. They lift up morale, support better integration of the team and strengthen their bond with an employer. Also, during such events organizers can dive into the crowd to get the feedback and get to know the ideas, views, and preferences of their team, which is a great value itself.
With the Halloween season around, it’s hard not to seize the opportunity to throw a Halloween office party. The theme creates endless possibilities to work with. There’re fancy dress parties, haunted houses to visit, Halloween office party games to win. Everything to improve employees’ mood and satisfaction with work.
So what, trick or treat?
