Fun Halloween Office Party Ideas

Halloween is just around the corner, and with all the costume commercials and reruns of Halloween movie favorites already hitting the airways, everyone is starting to feel the autumn vibe! With Halloween being the second most popular holiday, its no wonder that most business owners choose this  fun and fabulous theme as an excuse to reunite their employees and get everyone together for a bit of fun. Halloween is the perfect opportunity to deck out the office for the fall and lift everyone's spirits, and there is no better way to do this than with an office party! So don your costumes and be prepared for some great tricks and treats that everyone is sure to enjoy! Muahahaha!

Costume Party!

Costumes are pretty much a given if you're going to host a Halloween party. Not only are they super fun, but they actually have pretty good psychological effects on your employees as well. A chance to dress up and express oneself is what Halloween is all about, and a providing an opportunity for employees to have a bit of fun freedom with everyone can be very beneficial to a work environment. If you're considering throwing a Halloween costume party for your employees, don't forget to set some work-appropriate guidelines so everyone knows what kinds of things are off-limits, but don't forget to have tons of fun! Consider going with a costume theme in which everyone dresses up as a famous movie monster or super hero. Holding a friendly contest with candy prizes for the employees who dress the scariest or the funniest brings everyone together and creates an easy conversational topic that can last the whole year! Here's a few great work-appropriate costume ideas to inspire some ghoulish games:

1.) Superhero

2.) Monsters

3.) Cartoon Character

4.) Pirates 

5.) Best "Office" Costume

Dress Up the Desks!

If you're going to throw a costume party anyway, what better way to get the Halloween vibe going than by dressing up those cubicles to set the theme? The fun doesn't just have to be limited to you and your co-workers. Dressing up all the office furniture is a fabulous way to let your employees get a little creative during their break times, and maybe even instill a little friendly competition if the spookiest setup gets a prize. You can even get the fun going a little early, perhaps around the start of the month, with just a few fall-themed decorations such as laminated dried fall-leaf magnets stuck onto some file carts and the break room fridge. Uncarved mini pumpkins make super cute paperweights and can become instant jack-o-lanterns at the Halloween party with a few faces doodled on them with a black marker! For the party itself, let loose all your tricks and treats by sprinkling candies on your co-workers desks for them to find. Halloween spider webs are fairly cheap decorations that can be stretched across comfortable office chairs and modern office desks while store bought tissue-paper lanterns with Halloween faces drawn on them all work to make the office extra fun and spooky!

Yummy Treats!

Food is an essential at any party, but Halloween provides some great opportunities to get a little extra creative! Organize a Halloween-themed potluck where all your co-workers can bring a little something yummy for everyone to share. Most offices have some handy folding tables for events and parties lying around somewhere. Dress one or two up with orange, purple, or black plastic table cloths from the dollar store so people have a place to set their goodies. Snag one of the food and beverage carts from the break room or cafeteria to provide a space to put yummy Halloween beverages like punch and sodas. Use your office computers to look up some amazing Halloween recipes to share with your co-workers! Some great Halloween treats to consider are caramel apples, Halloweenies (hotdogs), Zombpizza, decorated cupcakes, toasted pumpkin seeds, and of course, candy!

Fun Tricks!

Halloween games are a great opportunity for employees to get to know one another a little better and have fun doing it. It may sound silly, but pin-the-bones-on-the-skeleton and bobbing for apples (or bonuses, if you can get your boss to agree) can be super fun when everyone gets involved. In fact, your office is probably already equipped with everything you need to create awesome party games. Drawing faces on pumpkins with the markers in everyone's pencil drawers is a creative way to have a pumpkin-carving contest without all the mess. Contests can include trash-bin basketball (a game most office employees are already familiar with), who can create the longest paper clip chain, Halloween themed drawing contests, a computer chair rase, and mummy wrapping (in which teams of co workers see who can wrap a person in toilet paper the fastest!) These Halloween game ideas are not only great fun, but they also bring employees together and help induce teamwork. This way, your simple Halloween office party can be a clever way to reinforce friendships all around the office that will last long after the holiday season!

Keep Fun Professional!

As easy as it is to slip into the fun of spirit of the season, remember that work should come first. Parties are clever, enjoyable ways to bring everyone together, but remember they can also divide. Halloween is a special holiday, filled with ghostly ghouls and other scary beasts, but set guidelines so that everyone knows the office party should be more about whimsy than fear. Make sure everyone knows the limits on the costumes they can wear - nothing too revealing or too frightening. For the food portion, check with your co-workers to make sure no one has allergies to common ingredients like nuts or milk, and let the rest of the crew know if someone does. Safe games to play are wonderful ways to bring your employees together, but remember they should stay safe. The best way to ensure that nobody is tempted to shirk their work responsibilities is to hold your Halloween party in the evening after the workday ends. That way, no one feels too obligated to stay trapped behind their reception desk or modular workstations. We hope these tips have helped you out to cast a spell of fun on your office! Happy Halloween!