Office parties get a bad rap, and honestly, I get why. The same icebreakers. The same small talk. The same catered trays of food nobody’s excited about. If your team dreads the annual office party, it’s probably not the food’s fault.
Here are a few tips and office party ideas I’ve picked up that can turn “another mandatory event” into something people actually look forward to.
1. Get Together More Often, Not Just at the Big Event
Here’s something I’ve noticed: the more coworkers actually know each other, the more they want to be around each other. (Surprising, right?) A lot of dreaded office parties come down to one thing, coworkers don’t really know each other, which is exactly what leads to stiff small talk and zero fun.
Regular, low-key get-togethers fix this before the big event even happens. Try a casual monthly meetup where coworkers can hang out without an agenda. Give it a fun name like “Monthly Happy Hour” so it feels like something people choose to attend, not another meeting on the calendar.
2. Let Different Team Members Plan Each Activity
Once you’ve got regular get-togethers on the calendar, don’t put the planning on one person’s shoulders every single time. Assign a different team member to plan each date. This spreads out the workload, and you’ll naturally get more variety since everyone brings their own ideas of what’s fun.
3. Mix In-Person and Virtual Activities
Whether your team is fully in-person, fully remote, or somewhere in between, mixing in-person and virtual office activities keeps things inclusive and adds variety. A few ideas:
- In-person: grab a table at a local restaurant, volunteer together for a few hours, or bring in something interactive like a photo booth so people have a reason to gather and something to remember it by
- Virtual: play a round of GeoGuessr as a team, or have everyone share a clip of their favorite show
4. Give the Party a Centerpiece People Remember
The events people actually talk about later usually have one thing in common: a moment, not just a meal. A photo booth is one of the easiest ways to build that in. I bring a restored 1968 camper trailer set up as a vintage photo booth to corporate events around Salt Lake, Davis, and Utah County, and it tends to become the spot where the actual mingling happens. Team members walk away with a printed photo instead of just a memory of the buffet line.
Have you been to an office party that actually surprised you? I’d love to hear about it, send me a message and tell me what made it work.
Looking to add a photo booth to your next company event? Contact us to check availability.