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Non-Party Office Halloween Traditions

In the last YES! Your Human Resources Solutionblog, we talked about how to throw a fun, safe, and professional Halloween party that won’t send your HR team into a tizzy. This week we’re going to continue with the spirit of the season and explore other Halloween traditions that foster motivation and teamwork—because while everyone loves a party, it’s great to mix in new activities to keep employees on their toes. And unlike an elaborate party, these fun activities can be planned on short notice.

Start an eerie office tradition with these exciting ways to celebrate Halloween:

Decorating contest. Who has the best eye for otherworldly ornaments? Encourage employees to “spookify” their individual work areas for Halloween, or build teamwork with group decorations at the department level. Award prizes for different categories, such as funniest, scariest, most creative, and best overall.
Trick-or-treating. Going door-to-door or cube-to-cube is a great way to judge the office decorations and collect goodies while doing it. It’s also a great way to build an open and friendly work culture. Provide festive goodie bags and encourage employees to bring treats to share. And yes, the treats can be healthy!
Pumpkin-carving contest. Carve out a chunk of the day for staff to carve pumpkins. This is a great activity to coincide with a lunchtime party. Like the decorating contest, carving can be done by individuals or by teams, with prizes awarded for different categories (scariest, funniest, best use of props, most intricate). Be sure to take pictures of everyone with their jack-o-lanterns!
Halloween breakfast or luncheon. Don’t have the time to decorate an office or cubicle, or perhaps customers will be in the office on Halloween? No problem! For a holiday breakfast, consider pumpkin bread or muffins, warm apple cider, and pumpkin-spice coffee. Anything goes at a Halloween luncheon, whether it is potluck or catered. To stick with the holiday theme, think about pumpkin dip or even pumpkin chili!

Whether through food or festivities, just about everyone loves to celebrate Halloween, especially at work! So transform the petrifying power of this holiday into morale and good will for another spooktacular year. But to really be a big winner this day, let folks go home 30 minutes early to get ready for trick-or-treating. Nothing says “good will” like being sure Mom or Dad is home to help the kids get into their costumes!

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