This weekend is the last weekend to celebrate and partake in the Halloween festivities, and it’s usually now where things can tend to get a little crazy. From imaginative costumes to the informal party atmospheres, it may feel a little unclear as to how to maintain your professional persona in a celebratory manner.
What you may find the most entertaining time of the year can quickly become HR’s worst nightmare!
To make sure that you still have plenty of fun – while preventing any workplace violations – our HR team here at MCDA CCG have devised a handy list of dos and don’ts for your Halloween office party!
1. Do: Organize Fun Halloween Activities
If you’ve voluntarily contributed your efforts to help with event planning, it can be easy to get carried away – especially if this is your favorite time of the year. Even though you want to ensure that the event is successful, it’s important to have fun with your employees as well.
Pumpkin carving activities and costume contests are Halloween classics that never get old. Consider filling goody bags with Halloween candy and simple gifts to hand out to the rest of the staff.
These are just examples of some simple activities that will go a long way toward making the event more fun for everyone, including yourself!
2. Don’t: Encourage pranks or unplanned activities
Sometimes, employees can get too carried away with the Halloween spirit and decide to carry out pranks or unplanned activities without HR approval. Unless everyone has consented, these types of activities can potentially hurt feelings or even spark a dispute. Inform the rest of the workplace that all activities should follow set guidelines, and if they want to introduce an idea, they should first get approval.
3. Do: Bring Food
It wouldn’t be a fun event without any food, so embrace the holiday spirit and get involved by making some Halloween-themed treats! Whether you are a novice baker or an expert culinarian, there are numerous recipes online sure to fit your skills.
4. Don’t: Come Empty Handed
Traditionally it’s frowned upon to show up to a gathering, party, or event without presenting something when you arrive. While you should never feel obligated to go overboard, a simple treat, drink, item, etc. demonstrates you are team-minded and that you appreciate the work that goes into planning the event.
5. Do: Encourage Participation
Decorations, costumes, pumpkins; Halloween is full of innovation, and it’s important that everyone gets to show off their creativity. Encourage all attendees to enter themselves into at least one of the hosted contests to get a chance at winning!
6. Don’t: Be Too Competitive
If, however, you have a competitive streak and plan on joining on all the games, make sure not to go overboard and create unnecessary tension with a member of your team. If you do end up losing, keep yourself in check – no one likes a sore loser.
7. Do: Have Fun
This one may seem a little obvious, but it’s just as important as the rest of this list. Whether or not you were involved in the planning, a lot of work goes into the event, so make sure that you enjoy it!
8. Don’t: Be Too Noisy
While you may find it funny that your costume makes special noise effects, incessant use while it will start to annoy those around you. Don’t be that person.
9. Do: Help With Clean Up
Make sure that you offer your efforts to help clean up after the event. Don’t be the kind of person to dash off without muttering a word!
If the organization of the event was a group effort, consider designating clean-up tasks to everyone – otherwise, don’t be surprised when the Halloween décor lasts until Christmas!
10. Don’t: Use Glitter
Let’s face it, body paint and glitter may seem like a great idea at the time, but no one likes to clean it. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to get rid of it entirely, so it’s best to just skip it.
We hope that you find this list useful! Halloween office parties are a fantastic opportunity to bond with your teammates and celebrate all the hard work that you do.
However, we strongly encourage you to keep these dos and don’ts in the back of your head to make sure that you don’t go overboard!