Office Party Ideas

Office parties are a lot of fun to plan but of course there are always challenges of moderation, taste and the unknown which are emphasized because you’re planning an event for people who you don’t really know. Here you’ll find a couple of fun and easy office party ideas that you can use for your office holiday party or any other party you are planning in the office.

I’m sure you’ve heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s theory states that people’s needs are structured hierarchically and in order for employees to be happy and do their job efficiently these needs have to be fulfilled. Well I believe that a party has a hierarchy of its own with components that need to be present in order for a party to be successful in the eyes of the attendees.

Take Care of These 3 Things to Make Your Party A Success:
Food & Drink – people come to a party to mingle, to see others and to be seen but most importantly to eat and drink. Food is an important tradition for many cultures and your party will be defined by the food and drinks that you serve and especially how you serve them (more about that below).

Entertainment – people go to parties to have FUN so it’s your job as the organizer to create a fun and entertaining atmosphere. Whether this means that you hire an entertainment crew or DJ or organize office party games is up to you.

Décor – when we hear that someone’s coming over our first response is usually to tidy up. Think about the design and décor of your party as one big clean up. Oftentimes a few very inexpensive props will set the mood for a great party. For example adding simple decorations to the drinks you serve will dress up your party and make it extra festive. Here are a few drink decoration ideas.

Office Party Ideas
I like to think about office parties through themes, it’s easier to come up with ideas like that and it’s easier to plan when you have one theme going on. Let’s give you some examples.

The Award Show Office Party Theme:
Do a make over of the office or the hall that you’re renting (or your house) with a red carpet, some photographers, awards for employees that you want to recognize and dramatic lighting and music. It would also be great if you tell your guests to dress up like their favorite or less favorite celebs and do a costume competition during the office party. For additional ideas check out this post: 5 Events corporate managers can learn from.

Potluck or Pizza Party Theme:
This is one of the most popular office party ideas. This theme is all about the food. Some would say the more the better. For a Potluck make sure that you discuss quantities and make a list of who is bringing what, also it’s a good idea to ask each person to fill out a “menu card” for each dish to avoid allergic reactions or surprised taste buds . For a pizza party don’t forget to order side dishes like salads, breadsticks and drinks and try to order from a mom-and-pop shop instead of ordering from a large chain, it is more likely that you’ll be able to customize your order and get a discount if you bargain. You can also turn your pizza party into a pizza making party. Click here for some great ideas.

Casino Night or Murder Mystery Entertainment Theme: these office party ideas are a lot of fun to carry out especially because you can rent facilitators to organize the entire evening for you, which means that you don’t need to worry about props. To make sure that your casino night party or any other game related theme is a success you have to know your participants. Make sure that they actually like gambling or the game that you’re basing your event on, if your attendees aren’t exactly “gamers” then no matter how much time or money you’ll spend on planning the event, it won’t be successful.

So now you have it, the secrets to a successful office party. If you invest into food & drink, entertainment and décor your success is almost guaranteed. Use the office party ideas above to select a theme for your party and get started!