Halloween is just around the corner. Do you feel like it creeps up on you every year? Well, we’ve got you covered with several spooky ideas for virtual or in-office parties to get your employees in the Halloween spirit.

Virtual or In-Office Halloween Decorations

If you’re in the office even a few days a week, you can encourage employees to compete against one another within the same department or across your entire organization.

If employees work remotely, they can still join in on the fun. You can encourage them to decorate their home offices and select separate winners for a virtual competition. Themes always help get the creative juices flowing and prizes encourage participation.

Halloween is on a Monday this year so keep that in mind in your planning.

Here are some popular decorating themes to get you started:

• Seasonal themes: graveyard, haunted house, witches, Frankenstein’s lab, mummy’s tomb, spider’s web, skeletons, scarecrows, ghosts, zombies, and morgue/funeral home
• Other ideas: Where’s Waldo, circus, carnival, zoo, and disco

Costume Competitions: Halloween and costumes are synonymous but if you hold a contest, it’s a good idea to set and share rules for your competition. The idea is to be engaging and encourage creativity, without exceeding standards for good taste while at work.

You can have different competitions for individuals and groups, awarding prizes for most original/creative, scariest, worst, and best. You may be surprised by the results. Some of your employees who seem shy may be the ones to go all out.

Virtual or In-Office Costume Ideas

• TV shows: Brady Bunch, Gilligan’s Island, The Munsters, The Addams Family, Schitt’s Creek, Friends, The Office, Yellowstone, Game of Thrones,  Grey’s Anatomy, Modern Family, Seinfeld, Big Bang Theory/Young Sheldon, Ted Lasso, Friday Night Lights, Parks and Recreation, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Real Housewives of _______________, That 70s Show, Mad Men, Queer Eye, Sesame Street, The Muppets, Power Rangers, Gilmore Girls, Stranger Things, The Golden Girls, Saved by the Bell, Orange Is the New Black, Bridgerton, and countless others
• Movies: Willy Wonka, Beetlejuice, Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, 101 Dalmatians/Cruella, Harry Potter, Rocky Horror, The Addams Family (again), Snow White, any of several Disney characters (e.g., Princesses, Minions, toys from Toy Story), Grease, The Breakfast Club, Hocus Pocus, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, It, Ghostbusters, Queen’s Gambit, Dark Shadows, Scooby-Doo, The Matrix, Star Wars, Star Trek, or anything from Dr. Seuss
• Superheroes and Villains: Spiderman, The Flash, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Supergirl, Batgirl, Thunder, Robin, Green Lantern, Wasp, Hulk, Thorn, Iron Man, Deadpool, Poison Ivy, Black Panther, Wanda Maximoff (from WandaVision), Catwoman, SheHulk, Black Canary, Black Widow, Storm, Iron Lady, Starfire, Black Cat, Gamora or another from Guardians of the Galaxy, Joker, Penguin, Riddler, or others
• Random themes: Where’s Waldo, circus, carnival, zoo, and Hollywood stars
• Commercials: Jake from State Farm, Flo from Progressive, Bob’s Big Boy, Captain Crunch, Tony the Tiger from Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Toucan Sam from Froot Loops, Snap or Crackle or Pop from Rice Krispies, Colonel Sanders, Geek Squad member, Jack in the Box, Michelin Man, Mr. Peanut from Planter’s, Pringles Man, Poppin’ Fresh Doughboy from Pillsbury, Keebler Elf, Ronald McDonald, Wendy (from Wendy’s), Jolly Green Giant, Energizer Bunny, Kia Soul Hamsters, Mr. Clean, Mayhem man from Allstate, Lucky the Leprechaun (from Lucky Charms), and countless others

Virtual or In-Office Celebration Ideas

While it may be more fun to have an in-person competition, hosting one virtually also works.

Pumpkin Carving Contest: You can ask your employees to carve their pumpkins off-site and bring them to work ready for judging, or you can have employees compete on-site and raise the stakes by limiting the window in which they must do their carving.

If carving takes place at work, be sure you supply all the tools needed – along with a de-seeding station. If everyone guts their pumpkins in the same place before taking them to a “carving table,” you can limit the mess.

A table with paint, glitter, feathers, and related accoutrements will give all competitors an equal opportunity to win. You can avoid the mess entirely by limiting your pumpkin contest to jack o’ lanterns decorated with a Sharpie.

Start Planning Now

It’s not too early to begin planning. If you’re considering a costume or decorating contest, you want to be sure to give your team members time to prepare. Whatever you do, have fun and Happy Halloween!