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2. Order some spooky deliveries
Surprise your employees by ordering some spooky deliveries. These could be tasty treats, gift vouchers or any other parcel that will get them in the holiday spirit! To bring back fond childhood memories, you could even have a cauldron full of sweets!
3. Arrange a murder mystery game
Have you always wanted to host a murder mystery party? Well, now is your chance!
You can split your employees into different groups and make them compete against each other. And if you’re working from a remote setting, don’t fret! There are plenty of online murder mystery games that you can participate in virtually.
4. Make a spooky breakfast
Themed breakfasts are always exciting — whether you’re getting catering or making a team effort to create delicious treats, this can be an excellent way for your office to spend their morning.
Each team member can be tasked with making one Halloween-themed recipe, and you can vote on the most creative breakfast item!
5. Hold a pumpkin-carving contest
Pumpkin carving can be fun for creative and crafty people; however, some colleagues will be more of a hazard when it comes to a carving contest!
A good idea would be to split the office into teams and have them pick a pumpkin design they need to do out of a hat. Have your employees work together to make the best version in 30 minutes and offer the winning team a prize.
6. Award the best costume
Kudos to the workers who get on public transport dressed in bizarre outfits, all for their love of Halloween. To encourage employees to wear their costumes to work for the day, host a costume parade and offer prizes for the following categories: best costume, funniest costume, most sophisticated costume, a costume that took the most work to make, scariest costume, and most creative costume.
Advertise the awards in advance to entice your coworkers. Prizes could include a Starbucks gift card, paid lunch or an afternoon off.
7. Host a horror movie marathon
What’s a better a treat than taking a few hours away from your desk to watch a movie?
This doesn’t have to be compulsory, but you can set up a movie screen on a projector, decorate that area with pumpkins and spooky décor, and put on a Halloween classic like Hocus Pocus or The Addams Family.
Don’t forget the popcorn, sweets and chocolate to go around!
8. Have a potluck lunch
To get everyone into the Halloween spirit, host a potluck lunch and ask all employees to partake. If making your own dish doesn’t go down well, you can opt for pizza and finger food and encourage employees to socialize for an extra-long lunch break.
9. Make festive cocktails
While you’re in the festive spirit, why not have a cocktail-making session? You can give everyone a list of ingredients and see who makes the most creative and festive cocktail. The winning team can win a prize of your choice.
10. Arrange themed games
Bobbing for apples is a tradition many of your employees would rather skip, but offer an appealing prize for those who decide to partake. It’s also heaps of fun for those who are just watching. Other games include candy counting (trying to guess how many sweets are in a jar).
11. Trick or treat
Who said that trick or treating is just for children? You can make this exciting in the office.
Instead of allowing employees to think of their own tricks, give everyone a list of “tame” tricks they’re allowed to dish out. Everyone must have a surprise treat station on their desk, too. It will get colleagues walking around and mingling throughout the day.
12. Arrange philanthropic activities
The importance of a holiday is about giving to someone that needs your help. You can arrange to go to a children’s hospital dressed in costumes offering treats, face-painting and other fun activities.
You can also have employees volunteer to work by visiting an animal shelter or a soup kitchen for the day. To get inspired, here are the most philanthropic companies in the world.
13. Host a bake sale
In every office, there’s bound to be someone who bakes just as well as Mary Berry. Host a bake sale, and give all the donations to chosen charities. A little does go a long way!
14. Play themed music
You can bend the rules a little for the spooktacular holiday and have an hour or two where someone’s Halloween playlist can be played. This can be during the party hours where you host the adventurous games listed above.
15. Hold a pie-baking contest
Pumpkin pies are traditional to the Halloween season, but can your coworkers get more creative than that? Host a pie-baking contest for people that are interested, and, again, offer a desirable prize!
16. Rent a photo booth
A good photo booth will surely be a treat. If you don’t have the budget to splurge on a professional one for the day, you can opt for a make-shift photo booth.
Ensure you have lots of props (including masks, wigs and face paint) and a designated photographer. Encourage your employees to post on social media with your company hashtag!
17. Hire an ice cream truck
Although it’s October, it’s never too cold for ice cream. Have an ice cream truck turn up at your workplace, and let employees choose a dessert of their choice.
18. Give team members the rest of the day off
It’s safe to say that all employees would be happy to leave the office early for the day. Whether they have children who want to go trick or treating, or they want to go and get ready for their own Halloween party, it will be appreciated.
So, if everyone’s workload allows it, get them to shut down a few hours early. You’ll be surprised at how productive they will be in the morning!
19. Listen to true crime podcasts
With so many working in a remote setting, connecting and celebrating Halloween with our colleagues can be hard.
And, if you’re strapped for time, then options can be fairly limited. This is where true crime podcasts come in — forget made-up ghost stories! True crime podcasts usually analyze the thrilling events of real-life horrors.
You can have a streaming session or simply recommend your favorite podcasts to your team and discuss it on a group call. Better yet, you could have your team deliver their own true-crime podcast based on a spooky story or event that they find fascinating.
20. Play Halloween trivia
Hosting themed events can be difficult for remote teams, but not impossible! A good idea for virtual teams is to test each other’s Halloween-related knowledge with a game of trivia.
All you need to do is split everyone into teams and write up some trivia questions. Have everyone join a call, and designate someone to be the host who will be asking the questions.
Whichever team gets the most correct answers at the end wins! You could even offer a prize for the winning team to encourage them to play.
21. Hold a ghost storytelling contest
Another fun way to celebrate Halloween at work is to hold a spooky ghost storytelling contest, where your team members share their creepiest tales — whether personal experiences or imaginative fiction.
At the end of, get everyone to vote for the “Master Storyteller”, and offer prizes to the
22. Decorate a Halloween mask
This idea will be well-received by the artistically inclined in your office!
The good news is that all you need is a few supplies (Halloween masks, paint, glitter and fabric), which can all be acquired without breaking the department’s budget.
As with many of the other ideas on this list, hold a vote for the best-decorated mask, and award prizes for the most artistic or spookiest designs.
23. Offer a haunted office tour
You’ve heard of haunted houses. And now it’s time for haunted offices!
Space and time allowing, turn part of the office into a spooky tour, with eerie decorations and haunted characters. (You can ask employees to volunteer as ghosts, ghouls and monsters, or if you have the budget, hire some actors from your local amateur theater.)
24. Create a mystery box challenge
Is it spaghetti or brains? Grapes or eyeballs? Wet sponges or guts? Who knows?
That’s the point of this little game, and it’s bound to fill the office with a lot of laughter, as your team members take turns feeling inside the mystery boxes and guessing what’s in them.
Make sure to take photos of everyone’s reactions!
25. Host a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt
Who said scavenger hunts are for kids only? Not us!
Procure some Halloween-themed items, like a witch’s hat or a toy bat, and hide them around the office, along with clues. Then, create a list of the hidden items, and divide your team into groups to search for them.
It’s a great way to encourage teamwork and friendly competition.
Final thoughts
Halloween celebrations at work are a popular way to mark the occasion and will encourage employee morale and motivation, regardless if it’s an in-office activity or online. Taking the time to bond with your coworkers is a great way to build trust and stronger relationships, which, in turn, will create a healthier and more enjoyable workplace.
Have you celebrated Halloween in the office before? If so, what did the festivities involve? Let us know in the comments section below to share your ideas and experiences!
This article is a partial update of an earlier version originally published in 2017.