35 Epic Office Party Ideas That’ll Have Everyone Buzzing for Weeks
Office parties are a great way of building a positive community in the work place and adding fun elements to our daily grind. However, organizing them can be a bit stressful especially when it feels as if every possible theme party has been planned before. I am here to offer some help with the creative “writer’s block” that may happen when organizing an event for the company. Here are 35 epic office party ideas that’ll have everyone buzzing for weeks!
1. COMPANY TRIVIA NIGHT
There is one day of the year where the perfect excuse to throw a party arrives and that is your company’s anniversary! This is the ideal moment to celebrate the years that the company has been able to achieve its visions and goals, and what better way to celebrate than by hosting anniversary party games?
Make things interesting by creating a list of questions related to the company (its founders, the year it was created, the color of the logo etc.) and hold a company trivia night. Of course, like every good trivia night, the winners will take prizes! The prizes can include anything from coffee gift cards to an extra holiday day.
To add the cherry on top of this great event, make sure you have a few anniversary decoration ideas under your sleeve. They can be really funny ones such as embarrassing pictures of your boss and co-workers (with their consent of course), or classy such as big numbered balloons that showcase the number of years the company is celebrating (you can purchase the balloons here).
2. TROPICAL CHRISTMAS
Office Christmas parties might seem like the hardest ones to organize since it may feel as if all the cliché parties have been planned before. However, one really cool office party idea for this holiday is “Tropical Christmas.” If there is one thing that Friends taught us, as Hello Giggles says is that, “If your radiator won’t shut off in time for your holiday shindig… Just call it a tropical Christmas party.”
Not only does this office party have a killer Christmas party theme name, it is also a great example of Christmas party costume themes. Feel free to get creative with dressing up in your finest tropical vacation attire so that you can enjoy Christmas in the tropics.
The decorations can be simple; just buy a few cool inflatables with fun shapes (such as watermelons, flamingos or donuts) and Hawaiian necklaces (and don’t forget to give one to Santa). Don’t forget to buy some refreshments such as Hawaiian punch, lemonade or Popsicle sticks so that you can beat the heat!
3. DECADE THE HALLS
Decade the halls is a 2 in 1 party! Not only is it an amazing example of creative Christmas party names and funny Christmas party names, it is also a really cool dress up party theme. This office party idea consists of a Christmas of decades where your co- workers can pick their favorite era and come dressed up as such. Whether it is the Roaring 20’s, Rocking 60’s, or Groovy 70’s, this party will be an epic one!
Feel free to make a playlist that includes the best and most memorable songs of those eras so that the guests can show off their best moves, and the office can “throw back” in style. Get creative with the decoration; there are so many possibilities! Pick lots of funky lights, a disco ball, and maybe an old-school photo booth so that your co-workers can make memories of a night they will want to remember.
There are also many office Christmas party games for large groups that you can add to the event. You can plan a secret Santa exchange that goes along with the theme of “Decade the Halls,” where co-workers buy fun and cool gifts so that they can give out to other peers. You can also include a fun raffle where the winner gets a free trip to the movies where they showcase old- school movies such as Back to the Future.
4. UGLY SWEATER PARTY
Yes, we all have that situation where your Uncle Jerry twice removed gave you something that you could barely call a sweater that you simply wore once in front of him and then locked it away so it would never see light of day again. However, this is the one time of the year where you can pull out the sweater and wear it with absolute pride. Hey who knows, thanks to your Uncle Jerry’s questionable taste in fashion, you might win a very cool prize. You might want to send him a holiday card this year after all.
5. END OF THE YEAR KARAOKE FEST
End of the year parties are the best way to welcome the New Year. Stray away from boring and bland by hosting the coolest end of the year karaoke fest! Start by renting the karaoke machine here and simply sit back and watch the magic happen. Enjoy performances by your boss and co-workers as they get up on stage and jam out to their most embarrassing guilty pleasure songs (The Piña Colada song anyone)?
Amp up the party by adding extra party activities such as limbo, pin the microphone on the singer, Hoola hoop competitions, and fun new year’s resolution activities. Don’t be afraid to be creative. Karaoke is one of the coolest entertainment ideas out there and it will guarantee an epic office party to wrap up the year and welcome an even better one.
6. AROUND THE WORLD
We are extremely lucky to live in such a globalized world where we can learn about and appreciate all cultures. Celebrate your office’s diversity and team by hosting an around the world party. Office potluck themes often lack, well, a theme, so this is the perfect way to give some direction and focus to the gathering.
Ask your peers and boss to cook and/or buy a dish that is representative of their culture and upbringing. This around the world themed party will be the perfect excuse to show off your fabulous cooking skills and to eat as much food as possible! Add a finishing touch to the office party by hiring a corporate band such as Brass Animals to add some live music to the event; they are super funky and take requests! Check out their website here.
7. BEERS & BBQ BASH
Although the end of the summer may be quite sad, you can make it a celebration by hosting end of summer parties. There are endless summer party themes that you can host, but there is no better way to say goodbye to longer and hotter days by hosting a beers and barbeque themed bash! Make use of your office’s nice balcony or rooftop, or, if you don’t have one, find a rooftop that you can rent! The fresh summer air will be the ideal setting to celebrate the season’s ending. Nothing pairs better with a delicious barbeque than beers, so go out on the grill, crack the can open, and enjoy this epic office party.
8. FURRY FRIENDS & FOOTBALL
There are three things that are impossible to dislike and they are: fall time, football and furry friends. I can’t think of better sports theme party ideas to host than one where all
three are involved. Celebrate the start of a new season (both sports and weather) by having all of your office co-workers and peers bring their friendly pets to the office for a day. Further down the list I have included more fall party themes that will inspire you!
9. THROWBACK THURSDAY
College was easily one of the most exciting times of anyone’s life so why not get creative with college theme party ideas? My favorite one, which is also a summer theme idea, is Throwback Thursday. Have everyone at the office dress up as they did or would have back when they were in college! They can also wear their Alma matter’s t-shirts and bring in their coffee mugs in order to celebrate the four amazing years that was college. Feel free to decorate with different college banners and logos and to play the music that was popular back in the day. Make this a throwback Thursday to remember.
10.HOME RUN RAFFLE
Aside from American Football, there is one other very important sport that is embedded in American culture and that is baseball. Baseball season is the perfect excuse to throw an epic baseball themed office party that will have everyone on their toes. You can set up four different bases around the office that include a variety of snacks, music and activities. To end the night on an even better note, host a raffle where the winner gets two free tickets to go catch (pun intended) a baseball game!
11.MUSIC MONDAY
The start of the week is an extremely difficult time, so what better way is there to beat the Monday blues than by having a day where music is played in the office? Office party ideas don’t necessarily have to happen only once or twice a year, but may sometimes take place once a month in order to shake up the work environment.
Once a month make a raffle that picks one employee to take the lead on DJing. They get to pick the music that will be played in the office that day. This is a great example of an office party that offers cool entertainment ideas while still promoting a productive working environment. Make sure to leave a “quiet-room only space” in case people need to take phone calls or host meetings.
12.YOGA AND MIMOSAS
There is something extremely refreshing and inspiring about the springtime. Theflowers, the rain, and the freshness of the air all make me want to plan different springparty themes. However, there is so much time in the season for a party to take place, which is why I picked my favorite theme, yoga and mimosas!
End of the year can be incredibly saturating and draining both mentally and physically. This is why starting the year with an office community yoga class followed by mimosas is the perfect way to refresh and reconnect with your mind and body. Watch yourself spring back to life!
13. ANTI-NEW YEARS
There are endless ideas for office parties, but my personal favorite is one that falls under the category of funny party themes. It is what I like to call the Anti-New Years party. It is a summer party theme, preferably held in June so that it falls in the middle of the year. The idea of the party is to celebrate our anti-resolutions! As Forbes so kindly highlights, “Studies have shown that less than 25% of people actually stay committed to their resolutions after just 30 days, and only 8% accomplish them.”
Instead of sulking over these statistics, we might as well pay an omen to them and celebrate our inability to follow through with these resolutions! Have fun with it, at the end of the day we still have another 6 months to accomplish them, so you might as well party right now.
14.ST. PATRICK’S POTLUCK
This idea is easily the best example of my proudest party name idea. St. Patrick’s Potluck consists of bringing in different dishes in order to celebrate the luckiest day of the year. Feel free to come up with extra party activities that will have everyone buzzing about this holiday. Also, remember to wear green for luck!
15. AMERICA’S GOT NO TALENT
Similar to the anti-New Years party, America’s got no talent is a funny party theme. I am sure most of us have watched America’s Got Talent in complete awe as someone puts a sword in his or her throat while they juggle. So why not do the complete opposite at the office? Come up with your best-worst talent and showcase it at the office. Set up a small stage and performance setting and pick three judges that will be in charge of picking the winner.
This party is ideal for last minute talent show ideas and to put on funny skits in front of your co-workers and have a good laugh. The winner can get a prize that is worth a free ticket to a comedy show or something similar. Have fun with it and show your office that America’s got no talent.
16. TIK TOK, PARTY WON’T STOP
Tik Tok is easily one of the most popular apps, which allows you to record a short music video to some of your favorite songs and artists. Organize an epic office party where you divide your peers into different teams and you challenge them to record the best and most creative video on the app! Select three un-biased judges that will decide the winning team. The winners can get a free subscription to their choice of app on their smartphones.
17. MURDER MYSTERY (HALLOWEEEN EDITION)
Halloween, in my opinion, is one of the coolest and more creative holidays, so it would be a shame for it to go uncelebrated! Use this spooky time of the year as an excuse to organize a murder mystery office party. It is super easy and convenient since there are many online resources that offer “party ready pack.” Simply purchase it and start using immediately! Check this one out. No one knows how to celebrate in style more than Michael Scott from The Office, so go ahead and copy their murder mystery idea and watch the fun unfold.
18. EARTH DAY (APRIL 22)
As fun and entertaining as hosting a party may be, it is equally as rewarding to celebrate a holiday by giving back to the community and world. Celebrate Earth Day (April 22nd) by taking an office trip to go plant a tree together. This is a great team-buildingactivity and it is also a really productive way of giving back to our beautiful mother earth.
19. INTERNATIONAL COFFEE DAY (SEPT. 29)
The world in general, I am convinced, runs on caffeine. Luckily September 29th gives us the ideal reason to celebrate our favorite morning drink. Although International coffee day, unfortunately, is not a national holiday it can be an epic office party idea. Bring in free coffee and donuts to the office as a way of showing appreciation to the employees as well as our best friend, caffeine.
20. THE DUNDIE AWARDS
Every Office fan knows that the most important time of the year (after Christmas) is the Dundie awards. This is the day where the boss celebrates his or her fellow employees by giving out tailored awards. These awards, although funny, are a great way of showing appreciation to one’s peers. Make a reservation at the company’s favorite local restaurant and share an evening of laughter, applauses and memories that will result in an epic office party
21. SUMMER FOOD TRUCK
Food seems to pair beautifully with absolutely anything in the world, including trucks! One really great summer party theme is a food truck festival. Pick a day of the week designated for the office to take a long lunch break under the summer sun. There are endless types of food trucks so there will be enough options for everyone at the office to eat. This is a great way of socializing and connecting with your peers and co-workers, and I have learned from experience that some of the best friendships are made over food.
22. 4TH OF JULYING
4th of July celebrations tend to involve the same things year after year. And although barbeques and fireworks are great, there are ways of getting a little bit more creative with the holiday. Gather up some of the funniest and weirdest historical facts about America and play the trivia game that I like to call “4th of Julying.” The game basically consists of having participants guess whether the historical fact is real or fiction. The winner can get a cool prize like a cooler or a new barbeque set.
23. BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
Battle of the books is the cooler version of a book club. Pick 3 different books that your co-workers and boss have to read over a given period of time. Then decide different teams that consist of your peers. Define a given date when the battle of the books will take place. What will happen the day of is that different teams will battle one another by answering trivia based on the 3 book selections. The competition will go in rounds, and the last team standing wins! Come up with creative prizes such as amazon book gift cards that the winning team will get.
24. LIVE MUSIC
Similar to music Monday, pick a day of the year where you bring in live music to the office. There are so many bands that play corporate events around the United States, such as the Brass Animals. They let you pick the songs you want them to play and also take requests. Check them out here. This is the best entertainment for a Summer Friday at the office.
25. HAT PARTY
If you need to find an excuse to host an office party, pick out your favorite hat and call it a day! Hat parties are the easiest way to showcase your sense of your style and fashion and simply have a good time!
26. BARTENDER BATTLE
Bartender battle is a really cool event that can easily be done in the office kitchen. Pick out your favorite mixology drink and challenge your co-workers to compete against one another to decide who made the best version of it! The winner may win a bartending kit. This is a great and fun way to tap into employee’s inner bartender and to try a few new drinks while competing.
27. BAKE-OFF
Admit it, we have all wanted to participate in Gordon Ramsay’s famous Master Chef TV show. This epic office party is the ideal way to make your dreams come true without having the pressure of Mr. Ramsay himself yelling at you. Along with your co-workers, pick out 3 recipes, once for an initial plate, another for the main dish and lastly a dessert. Create different teams and watch the magic happens as they compete one another for the best dish of the night. Best part of the event? You get to eat the food at the end of the night!
28. CHAMPAGNES & CHARADES
There may be a better pairing than champagne and strawberries, and that is champagne and charades! Watch your peers tap into their inner actor/actress as they act out different actions, movies, or songs. This can get really funny real quick so get ready for a night of intense laughter and tears of joy. Make sure to bring a camera or use your smartphone to capture some of the night’s highlights and make a short video of the best moments from that epic office party.
29. FAVORITE TV SHOW CHARACTER HALLOWEEN DRESS UP
Whether you are currently obsessed with Khaleesi from Game of Thrones or the ever so classic Michael Scott from The Office (US), make sure you come ready to represent your favorite TV show character this Halloween. You’d be surprised to see the wonderful and creative outfits that your co-workers come up with, whether they are DYI’d or purchased. Put out some of your favorite candy so that there can be some trick or treat fun during the day and pair it out with really spooky decoration. At the end of the evening, choose the 3 winners!
30. CIDER, CHOCOLATE AND SWEATERS
What would the fall season be without cider, chocolate and cozy sweaters? That’s right, nothing! This is why organizing a fall celebration at the office is the perfect way to spend a cozy week at work. Bring in some of the best local hot cider and hot chocolate and ask everyone else to come in with their coziest and favorite sweater. No need to have a fireplace, just use the magic that is the internet to look up some fireplace sounds so that you can create a super snug atmosphere. Something that will make the event even more memorable is a smores station where you can make your own. Cooking smores is a really great way to connect with one another and to celebrate the beginning of one of the coziest seasons.
31. HOLIDAY CARD PHOTO BOOTH
There is no better way to depict a close-knit company culture than by taking and sending an annual Christmas holiday card. Rent out either a photographer or a photo booth station that is Christmas themed and simply say cheese! Have fun with the event by taking cute, funny, and serious photos! If you want a picture of all of you in the air, like Michael Scott in The Office (US), make sure you all jump on 3! To top it off, add a nice message that you think best represents the company so you can send it out to all of your partners, clients and supporters in order to wish them happy holidays.
32. CINCO DE MAYO
Margaritas, piñatas and traditional Mexican music make the perfect combination for a good time! Luckily, Cinco de Mayo is the ideal day of the year for that combination to take place! Host an epic office party by decorating the office, buying ingredients to make office margaritas, and ordering food from a local Mexican cuisine restaurant. Don’t forget to buy a piñata and fill it with gift cards, candy, and other goodies.
33. WHO IS THAT BABY?
Getting to know your co-workers can be more efficient when it involves embarrassing pictures. To bring the people at the office a little bit closer, host a “who is that baby?” party. This consists of asking your co-workers and boss to bring pictures of when they were babies and have a guessing game of who is who. To make it even more challenging, ask those who are parents to bring pictures of their babies (if they feel comfortable with that) and make the game more interesting.
34. WHO SAID IT?
Similar to our 4 th of July event (# 22 on the list), “who said it?” is a pop culture trivia game that consists of picking tweets from politicians, artists, celebrities and so on and picking quotes that kids have said and asking your contestants to guess whether a politician or a kid said it! It can be incredibly funny and surprisingly challenging. Add some delicious snacks and refreshments to the equation and you got yourself one of the most epic office party ideas ever!
35. MENTAL HEALTH DAY
Mental health is extremely important in our day-to-day life and spending time to work on ourselves mentally ensures that we live a more relaxed and fulfilling life. This is why it is extremely important for company’s to promote positive mental health, and what better way to do that than by planning an office party that focuses on providing beneficial services to your employees?
Take a day to commemorate your peers and yourself by setting up small activities such as free massages, yoga and meditation sessions. Set up hydration stations with flavored water, tea and other snacks that can help everyone de-stress. Enjoy a day off and watch how working on your mental health with result in amazing and positive changes.
