Whether you are heading up the party planning committee or are just looking to liven up the workplace, here are some of the best Halloween Office Party ideas to spook things up a bit!
The 9 to 5 grind can get a bit repetitive and stressful. You come into work with the same schedule every day and count down the days to Friday, right? This of course changes around the holiday season, so liven things up for Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving to make it fun for all.
Start it off with a fun Halloween party and lots of great Halloween food from your co-workers and boss!
We all look forward to this time of the year where we can decorate, dress up and have a little fun.
So, what’s the first holiday party to look forward to? Halloween! There is a special kind of excitement for Halloween parties. The bowls filled with candy, ghostly decorations, and costumes to show off your coworkers slightly odd interests or favorite characters.
Halloween Office Party Ideas
How to start planning a Halloween party at the office
The sky’s the limit for holiday parties, especially Halloween parties.
Party Planning + Budget
Gather a party planning committee, give them a budget and start planning your Halloween party.
Start with the theme of the party. Great Office Halloween party themes to use would be:
- Murder Mystery party
- Haunted House
- Ghost White Party
- Zombie prom
Decorations for a Spooky Office Party
Next, you will want to choose your decorations for your theme. You can choose to purchase items or craft some yourself.
If you are looking for the cheaper route, run to your local craft store and buy some decorations to create yourself for your party.
Keep reading below to find some great DIY decoration ideas!
Plan the Food
Now the most important part, the food!
Decide on what treats and food you will have at the party.
You can choose themed finger foods or catering—depending on your budget this is entirely up to you.
You can also have some co-workers bring themed desserts or items as well. Create a signup sheet for foods needed for the party and have everyone in the office pitch in their favorite dish!
If using the Halloween theme as a retirement party for someone as well, be sure to add a spooky message or other fun retirement cake saying on dessert as well!
Entertainment and Office Party Games
Lastly, choose a few games to play to keep everyone entertained and engaged. There are many different games you can decide to do based on your theme.
Read below some game ideas for different themes.
Are you ready to start planning your Halloween Office Party?
Decorating Ideas for an Office Halloween Party
This is one area you don’t want to take lightly. You will want to create a ghostly Halloween atmosphere for everyone to walk into and enjoy. Make the office unrecognizable.
- DIY Decorations: On Halloween, we like to focus on the treats and the costumes but the decorations are what pull the whole aesthetic together. Without decorations, it’s just a get-together. So get crazy with some DIY decor.
- Pumpkins all around! Buy some pumpkins at the store and decorate them or place them around.
- Create a candlelit evening by gathering some old wine bottles, spray painting them, and using them as candle holders.
- Don’t forget the leaky cauldron… get an aluminum bucket, spray paint it black and put some dry ice in it.
Cubicle Decorations: Based on your Halloween party theme, decorate each office and cubicle for each worker. Don’t limit yourself to one space for decoration. Go all out and decorate the entire office space if you can.
Hold an Office Cubicle Decorating Contest for Halloween
Or for even more fun and friendly competition, hold a contest for your co-workers for the best-decorated cubicle/office. Top winners can either be selected by the boss, the party committee or voted on by all of the coworkers.
Make it fun and have fun prizes for first, second, and third winners. Choose prizes that your coworkers will love! This will get them in the party spirit come Halloween.
Halloween Party Treats & Drinks
What are some fun food ideas for a Halloween party? The fun thing about holiday parties are the themed treats and drinks. Once you know what theme your party will be it is even more fun to decorate food to go along with it.
Choose from desserts, treats, finger foods, and candy:
Finger food ideas would be:
- Spiders on a log instead of ants on a log
- Halloween cheese board or charcuterie board
- Ham & Cheese Sliders
- Orange Deviled Eggs
- Pretzel-wrapped hot dogs (like a mummy)
- Spider web taco dip
Desserts and Small Treats for Halloween Parties:
- Spider Cupcakes
- Candy Board
- Halloween Chocolate pretzels
- Caramel apple dipping station
- Candy Corn Jello Cup
Be sure to check out other spooky favorites from our list of creative and easy Halloween treats!
Costume Themes & Contests
Halloween is all about the costumes right? Yes, the candy is our main focus, but the costumes are what make this holiday so great. You can’t have a Halloween office party without a Halloween costume contest. Who will have the best costume this year?
Depending on your party theme, make sure your co-workers know what direction the costume needs to go. For example, if it was a Zombie party, their costumes would need to be zombie-themed. If you are having a murder mystery party, have them dress up like the 1920s.
Create three different prizes. One large prize, one average prize, and one small prize. Have everyone in the office vote for their first, second, and third choice. Choose at the end of the night and give the winners their prizes.
Halloween Party Games at Work
Halloween Party games are key for any great Spooky Office party. Have a few games prepared for you and your co-workers to enjoy while at the party.
The Pumpkin Toss: This game is super fun and can be played with two to four players.
Take mini cauldrons (from dollar tree or craft store) or take mini decorative cups and place 6 on each side forming a triangle. Buy pumpkin candies and start with giving one person 3 candies.
The goal is to aim each pumpkin into a cauldron and the team with the highest points wins.
Chase the Donut: This game is lots of fun and delicious! Get two to four donuts and tie them onto a string on one end.
On the other end find a place to hang each donut up individually. This can be from the ceiling, or anything you can find that will allow the donut to hang down. You will want to space them out pretty well so that each player doesn’t run into each other.
Have the players hold their hands behind their backs and try to eat the donut using only their mouths.
The first person to eat the entire donut wins.
Pumpkin Golf: Practice your golf skills against your boss and see who wins! Get a large plastic pumpkin or real pumpkin and cut a large hole in the bottom of the pumpkin.
You can choose to cut a face out as well but be sure the mouth is cut from the bottom and all the way to the middle section of the pumpkin. Make sure it is hollow and empty inside.
Grab some mini golf clubs, golf balls and create teams. Hit the ball into the pumpkin’s mouth and try to get more points than your opponent.
Tips for having a great Murder Mystery Party at work
This themed idea sets itself apart from the rest of the Halloween themes. A murder mystery party requires different foods, games, costumes, and plans.
Theme: This party usually uses the setting of the 1920s. You capture this by the clothing, food, and decorations. It’s unique from other themes because it is more interactive and engaging. You don’t simply dress up as a ghost or a vampire. You dress up as they did in the 1920s and solve a mystery. This themed night keeps you on your toes as you go through a thrilling night of murder. Who is the killer?
Food: You can’t solve a murder without food in your stomach!
Research what kinds of food fit your themed era or style. You don’t want to break character in the game so be sure to keep your food in theme as well.
How to arrange a Murder Mystery for the Party
The game itself is based on a story of a murder and those involved are the very people you work with. The Spruce has different Murder Mystery categories to choose from with all sorts of background stories and strategies to solve the murder.
The party is based on each individual character and script. Each person in the office is assigned a character with a script to reach throughout the entirety of the storyline.
One person is the killer and no one knows it except them. As the story plays out you try to solve who the killer is. There will be hints all around for you to find.
Will you solve it before the story is up? Or will the killer stay a secret?
Costumes for a Mystery Party: While most murder mystery parties are set in the 1920s, your costumes don’t have to be. When you choose the story setting, this can correlate to who you all dress up as. Make it something everyone can enjoy!
There are many different themes and categories to choose from for a murder mystery night. You can choose themes such as Harry Potter, Scooby, and the gang, detectives, or Pink Panther.
Always remember when attending a murder mystery party, to stay in character and follow the script given. Breaking characters can throw the game off.
To get others to stay in character, have a ‘punishment’ ready for them. Tell them that if they break character they will have to get a cupcake to the face or wear silly sunglasses for the rest of the time.
Enjoy Halloween at Work
Remember to have fun! Ask the people you work with what they would like to see at the office Halloween party and go from there.
Try planning the party to start before the end of the day. This allows your co-workers to get off a bit early and enjoy the party. Instead of 5 o’clock, end the day at 3 o’clock to start the party.
Keep the party engaging and fun rather than just food and drinks. Have games set out, prizes waiting to be claimed, and Halloween music.
At the end of the party hand out some fun, party favors for everyone with delicious candy and treats inside. Treat this as a fun time for colleagues to relax at work, and just let loose!
Be sure to also check out our huge list of Christmas Party Themes for Work or Home to keep the party going all year long, or ways your office can give back during other holidays with these Earth Day ideas for work as well.
