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How to Add Some Halloween Spirit to Your Office This Year
It’s officially October, and you know what that means: spooky season! While you may have outgrown the days of haunted houses and candy binges, that doesn’t mean that you can’t incorporate some Samhain celebrations into your workspace.
As we head into the chilly, grey months of winter, why not take this opportunity to add a little seasonal spirit to your office atmosphere? Not only are Halloween events ghoulishly fun, but they are also perfect for boosting employee morale and supporting team building. Break out the plastic fangs and try these six ways to add some Halloween spirit to your workspace.
Throw a Fancy Dress Party
Halloween is the only holiday where you are encouraged to be whoever you want to be. Even though the holiday lands on a Thursday this year, don’t let business casual dress codes ruin this tradition.
Instead, invite your employees to get creative and show up in whatever fancy dress costume they can dream up -- as long as it is work appropriate, of course. Or, get in the team spirit and create a group costume or theme, such as 1980s-inspired or the characters from a popular TV show. Give out awards for best dressed, funniest costume, scariest costume and most creative costume, with prizes such as a Starbucks gift card or an afternoon off, in order to motivate everyone to get involved.
To make these memories -- and those images of the customer service guy in a gorilla costume -- last forever, consider creating a photobooth area. Include props, such as these silly promotional ones, and invite your employees to post their photos on social media!
Provide a Halloween Breakfast or Lunch
Autumn is the time of harvest, and Halloween is the time for treats. Combine these with a deadly delicious breakfast or lunch spread on the 31st that will get even the least festive employees excited.
Whether you make this meal potluck-style or gifted by the company, ensure that you give it a spirited theme. Nothing says Happy Halloween like pumpkin bread, cider donuts and apple juice. Or feel free to get a little crafty with your recipes. Here’s a hint: Ketchup makes perfect fake blood! Design your spread, throw on the “Monster Mash” and watch your employees go crazy.
If you haven’t had a team meal in a while, now would be the perfect time to offer a little eco-friendly, foodie gift for each of your employees. This metal straw set comes with three different shapes, a cleaner and a bag, and it can even be engraved with your company logo. Their pumpkin spice lattes will never taste better!
Go Nuts With Halloween Decorations
Let’s face it: Any workspace can get boring when you’re looking at the same blank wall every day. That’s why Halloween is the perfect excuse to give your office its own fancy dress makeover.
Pop down to your local Halloween or craft store and pick up some cobwebs, spiders and pumpkins oh my! Decorate your shared office spaces, then encourage employees to do the same with their desks and individual areas. Give your office a theme, such as haunted house or pumpkin patch, or offer an additional award for best decorations!
Even if one or two employees don’t take this opportunity to get a little spooky, make sure that everyone’s desk has a bit of scare-factor with this promotional spider logobug. It’s cute and creepy at the same time, and it also ensures that no one gets left out of the festivities.
Make Time For Trick or Treating
Whoever said trick or treating was just for kids? According to Glassdoor, 40% of workers say bring on the free Halloween candy. After all, we could all use something sweet to get us through the work day.
Ask employees to bring in a bag of candy to share with everyone, then invite them to take a break from work and go hand out their treasures. If you have more than one department or floor at your company, allow each team to go throughout the building for their candy collection. Can you think of a better way to get to know your co-workers than letting out your inner child and munching on some sugar?
To add some incentive to the “treat” part of trick or treating, give everyone in your workspace a tote bag printed with your company name or logo. It’s a step up from a pillowcase, and they can continue to carry it, and show off your company, after spooky season has made its last scare.
Encourage Some Festive Volunteering
While Halloween isn’t usually associated with good deeds, there’s never a bad time to give back to your community. Plus, volunteering is a great way to add some spirit to your office while spreading spirit outside of its four walls.
Put all those fancy dress outfits to use by taking your entire team to a local children’s hospital or homeless shelter to pass out treats. Or, encourage each employee to find a season-specific or Halloween-themed volunteer activity that they can do in their own time, such as putting on a bake-off to raise money for charity or getting involved with their children’s school Halloween activities. Then have everyone report back to share all the great work they’ve done!
Reward all the team members who get involved with a cosy Autumnal mug to keep them warm all winter long. This one can be printed with your company logo, and it is made of chalkboard material, so you can write a sweet “thank you” note on the front as well.
It’s officially the spookiest time of the year, so don’t miss out on adding some of that seasonal spirit to your workspace -- hopefully with less screams! Not only will a little Halloween festivity liven up your office, but it will also give your valued employees the energy they need to make it through the rain and cold ahead.
Learn more about these fearsomely fun products that we’ve highlighted here, or browse our wider range of products, at www.inspirepromotionalproducts.ie.
