Halloween is coming up, which means your workplace is probably filled with candy corns, pumpkins and people asking to wear costumes to work.
The question employers are always asking themselves when this time a year rolls around is: Should I allow employees to wear costumes to work?
There are several pros and cons to costumes, of course. But if you’d prefer to err on the safe side (since allowing costumes can sometimes bring about liability issues for employers), here are some costume-free ideas for celebrating Halloween at work:
- Have a pumpkin-carving contest—Either pick teams and have employees carve the pumpkins together at the office, or have employees carve the pumpkins at home and bring them into work for judging. Choose different categories for employees to compete in, such as “most traditional” or “most un-boo-lieveable.” Offer low-cost rewards for the winners, such as a certificate for a jeans day, an assigned parking spot or an early-release day from work.
- Have a Halloween-themed treat day—Allow employees to bring in their favorite Halloween treats to pass. Be sure to supply the cups, napkins, paper plates, plastic silverware and drinks, such as apple cider.
- Allow employees to wear jeans on Halloween—This is a great alternative to costumes, since so many employees want to wear jeans to work.
- Have a Halloween movie day—Bring in popcorn and drinks, and let employees watch a Halloween movie (or two) during the day.
- Trick-or-Treat at the office—Have each department bring in candy or small treats, then have employees go around the office, visiting each department (or each person’s desk) and picking up some candy.
- Hold a pet costume contest—Have employees bring in a picture of their pet wearing a Halloween costume and let everyone in the company vote on their favorites. The top three choices win prizes, such as gift cards to a pet store.
- Have a team scavenger hunt—Put together a list of items, form employees into teams and send them around the office to find the items on the list. First team to have all the items wins.
- Have a candy corn guessing contest—Fill a large jar with candy corns until it’s full, counting each piece as you put it in. Then put the jar in a neutral location and have employees submit a guess of how many candy corns are in the jar. The winner takes the jar home, and maybe an additional prize, as well.
There are many different ways to celebrate Halloween at work without wearing costumes. Just get creative and have fun.
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