"As much as Thanksgiving is a nationwide celebration in the US - a red-letter day when Americans embark across the states to be with their families - it’s also a day that should be celebrated in the office. "
Embrace the Fall season with the best party ideas!
When is Thanksgiving?
Traditionally a celebration of Falls harvest on 24th November, the main event on many Thanksgiving tables will be a show-stopping turkey, but how to celebrate the magic of this holiday at work?
Why Celebrate Thanksgiving With Your Team?
You spend 5 days a week with your colleagues, in a way you’re a ‘work family’ and families celebrate together, but how to strike the right balance. Fear not, we’ve got you covered with our top 11 ideas for the office Thanksgiving party:
1. Virtual Thanksgiving trivia challenge
There’s nothing that brings teams together more than a team building activity - celebrate the holidays with a quick-fire, high-energy challenge that will encourage teams to have some fun, test their Thanksgiving knowledge and get creative.
2. Create a ‘Thanksgiving wall’
A great way to show employees appreciation and give them the opportunity to do the same is to create a ‘Thank You’ wall - encourage employees to craft gratuitous post-it notes with messages of admiration and thanks. A great idea to kickstart the appreciation is to encourage employees to write 3 reasons why they’re thankful for a certain colleague, for every employee recognized, you could donate $10 to your chosen charity.
3. Bring a pie to work day
Who doesn’t appreciate a sweet treat during the working day, get creative and put those baking skills to the test with a ‘bring a pie to work’ day. Add in some healthy competition with a panel of ‘baking judges’ and score the pies, with the winner getting to choose a charity to donate some pre-allocated prize money.
4. Appreciation messages
Show your sincere gratitude to those you work with by sending them an appreciation message. You’ll make someone’s day and feel great for sharing the love too. Not sure what to say? Or need a little inspiration to get you started? Check out this list of appreciation messages to get you started.
5. Facilitate volunteering
This Thanksgiving don’t just encourage your employees to give back - actually help them do it by giving them a day off to volunteer for a worthy cause! A ‘show and tell’ post volunteering will help spread the charitable cheer and hopefully motivate other employees to do the same.
6. Give back as a group
Help your local community and volunteer as a group! Not only is this helping the greater good, but is a great way to encourage team bonding. The possibilities are endless; volunteer at a local soup kitchen or help build a house for humanity.
7. Engage in some healthy competition with a contest
Another way to get in the Thanksgiving spirit is to host a small competition to facilitate some Thanksgiving fun. We suggest encouraging employees to get together in small teams and discuss some fun Thanksgiving topics such as:
- Which famous person would you invite to your Thanksgiving meal?
- What food would you eliminate from your Thanksgiving meal?
- What are your favorite Thanksgiving family traditions?
They’re great conversation starters and the best answers can be awarded some fun prizes, it will also help co-workers get to know each other a little bit better.
8. Share a skill
Encouraging cross-departmental skill sharing can be hugely beneficial for not only your employees but your business too. Creating a ‘skill share’ scheme doesn’t have to just be for Thanksgiving, but is something that can be maintained throughout the year.
9. Share recipes
Encourage employees to swap their favourite family recipes; sharing stories about how the recipes came to be and where they originated from. Take it a step further by asking teams to share photos of the recipes coming to life!
10. Offer a healthy Thanksgiving lunch
With rising healthcare costs always at the forefront of everyone’s minds, why not treat your employees to a healthy office lunch, you could even invite a nutritionist into the office to prepare a healthy, balanced offering.
11. Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to get your team together for a scavenger hunt! Race around the office or on a virtual hunt to locate items before time runs out. Feeling competitive? This activity is guaranteed to create the perfect office vibe during a Thanksgiving office party or celebration. Check out our Thanksgiving scavenger hunt.
Need more ideas? Check out our full list of Thanksgiving team building activities. We have something for everyone! Be sure to lift your team's spirits this Fall. Thanksgiving can be a lonely for time for some.
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