Halloween Office Party Ideas

Halloween Boo Game

While this game is traditionally played by neighbors, bringing the Halloween Boo Game into the office is a no-brainer for turning up the Halloween spirit. Here’s how it works: One person starts the game by secretly delivering Halloween treats or gifts to two lucky recipients, along with a sign that says “I’ve been Boo’d!” alongside a message explaining that they’ve been “Boo’d” and it is now their turn to secretly deliver gifts to the next two recipients. They should hang the sign on their desk or door so that others know they’ve already been Boo’d, and the game continues until everyone in the office has received a gift.

Toilet Paper Mummy Game

This is a great quick game for offices of all sizes. Split up into teams of 3-6 people and allow one person to volunteer as the “mummy.” Set a timer for a few minutes (no more than 5) and give each team a few rolls of toilet paper. When the game starts, each team quickly wraps their mummy in toilet paper – as elaborately as they want. When time’s up, the best mummy wins!

Pumpkin Carving or Decorating Contest

If you’re willing to get a little messy and a lot creative, cover the tables with protective plastic covering and provide knives and spoons for carving. Or, if you’d rather go the decorating route, set out plenty of paint, brushes, glue, glitter, googly eyes, and other craft items. Let employees who want to participate go to town, then invite everyone else vote on their favorites.

Guessing Games

When it comes to tame, crowd-pleasing Halloween office party games, these old school options are oldies but goodies. To play “Guess How Many,” fill a jar with loose Halloween candy such as candy corn, sugar pumpkins, or even wrapped eyeball chocolates. Invite staff to give their guess of how many are inside. The closest without going over wins the jar of candy (or whichever prize you want to give out)!

“Guess the Pumpkin’s Weight” works the same way, but this time you’ll need to buy the biggest pumpkin you can find for staff to guess how much it weighs. In this case, you can decide whether the first or last place winner gets saddled with the giant pumpkin.

Halloween Mystery Box

If your team is a little more adventurous and up for something gross, try playing the Halloween Mystery Box Game. Cut holes in the top of assorted boxes big enough for a hand to reach inside, then fill them with assorted mystery items such as peeled grapes (eyeballs), peeled tomatoes (guts), and cooked spaghetti (worms). Staff can stick their hands inside each box to feel around and guess what the mystery items are.

Murder Mystery Game

If you’ve got plenty of time and organized group play seems like it would be up your team’s alley, check out this list of free murder mystery games over at The Spruce for up to about 30 people. For groups of up to 60, check out the downloadable kits for purchase at Mysteries on the Net. From simple to elaborate, murder mysteries can be great team building Halloween office games for groups small and large.

Door or Cubicle Decorating Contest

Holding a Halloween-themed door or cubicle decorating contest is a great way to create a festive and spooky atmosphere while encouraging some healthy competition amongst coworkers. Invite willing participants to decorate their doors for Halloween during the week leading up to the holiday, then have the entire staff vote for their favorites and award a special prize to the winner(s). Spice things up by setting a theme each year, such as Frightening Flicks, Creepy Carnival, or Dia de los Muertos.

Costume Contest

Invite staff to wear their costumes to work and/or participate in a parade or costume show. Depending on the size of your office, encourage group costumes as well as individuals, or assign themes by department. Award winners in categories from Overall Winner to Funniest, Scariest, Best Handmade, Most Creative, and more. But whatever you do, make sure you remind everyone to keep the costumes appropriate for the workplace – no sexy or offensive getups. If you have to ask yourself, “Is it ok if I wear this to the office?” then the answer is probably a resounding “no.”

Baking Contest or Cook-off

Everyone knows that the best part of any forced fun is the food. Let the treats take center stage by turning your Halloween party into an epic chili cook-off, seasonal sweets competition, or pizza-palooza. Whatever your theme, free grub is everyone’s favorite – and encouraging participants to show up with their best means everyone eats like kings. Don’t forget to award prizes to the winners in assorted categories!

Michael Scott: Pair a classic dark suit and tie with your World’s Best Boss mug and you’re all set. If you want to take a step further, add a purple bandana and a scowl and voila, you’re Prison Mike. If you’re feeling extra ambitious, craft a paper mache head to sit on your shoulder, like season 2 Michael Scott.

Pam Beesly: Pulling together some classic office staples makes dressing like Pam a snap. Pam is known for wearing traditional office-friendly button-down blouses with cardigans, knee-length fitted skirts, and of course, a pair of sensible white sneakers. Pull your hair back into a meek half-up style and give it a slight curl to complete the ensemble.

Jim Halpert: Jim is probably the easiest costume of all to pull off, probably due to his own lack of effort and originality for the annual Halloween office celebration. Day-to-day, Jim can be seen in a pair of black slacks and a light blue button-down dress shirt with his sleeves rolled up, plus a plain black tie. Add a “Hello, my name is” sticker that says “DAVE” to dress like Jim in Season 5, or switch the shirt to white and add 3 large black dots down the front right of your shirt. Boom, you’re Jim from season 2’s Halloween episode.

Dwight Shrute: Dwight’s costume may require a trip to the thrift store, where you’ll definitely find the requisite short-sleeved yellow button-down shirt and a coordinating ugly tie. Tuck that top into a belted pair of khaki brown pants, part your hair down the center, and add a pair of thin-rimmed glasses to complete the look. If you can find it, a matching brown blazer will make the perfect finishing touch. Ready, go: Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

Angela Martin: Basically, just dress prim and proper, slick back your hair, and act like you’re better than everyone else. There: you’ve got this costume in the bag. Angela is a petite thing who wears exclusively fitted, conservative office clothing. A pencil skirt and a traditional top such as a turtleneck and cardigan combo, plus a straight, demure hairstyle such as a French braid or a simple black headband, is all you need. Now stand up straight, cross those arms and remember your line: that Pam is a hussy, and everybody knows it.