5 Tips for a Fun, Productive Valentine’s Day Office Party

Maybe you like a relaxed atmosphere in your office. Perhaps you’ve noticed that smiling and laughter is contagious when your office holds a potluck. Don’t confine the office party to the end-of-the-year holidays. Celebrate Valentine’s Day at the office this year and build on important employee skills like leadership, teamwork and productivity. There are plenty of fun ways to celebrate the holiday without heavily emphasizing the romance of the day; you can encourage employees to enjoy being together as colleagues and friends.

Book an Entertainer

The focus of your Valentine’s Day party should be the fun, and there’s nothing says real enjoyment like a professional entertainer. You might ask any of the following to join you:

• Musicians
• Comedians
• Celebrity impressionists
• Dancers
• Acrobats
• Motivational Speakers

Let the entertainer you book know the theme of the day is a Valentine’s party and ask them to tweak their usual set to fit the day. Whether you give them room to perform in an auditorium, meeting room or break room or ask them to spread the laughter throughout the day by performing up and down the office aisles, they’re sure to help create a memorable event.

Ask Everyone to Dress Up and Bring Food

Parties are always more pleasant when everyone participates. Ask everyone to get into the festivities by showing up for work in red, white or pink the day of the party. The effect of looking across the office and seeing everyone in the same color brings a sense of camaraderie to the office. It might also be fun to ask everyone tobring in a dish instead of catering so you have a chance to sample each other’s cooking and favorite treats. Put someone in charge of organization so you don’t have too many of the same types of dishes.

Provide Sweets

There’s no such thing as a successful Valentine’s party without sweets. Provide chocolates, heart-shaped cupcakes, tarts, cookies and other candies at a buffet-style table for the duration of the day. If you have enough people participating in the potluck, assign desserts to a few of the employees with a sweet tooth. If you want to be truly inclusive, it might be nice to provide healthier desserts for those on diets, like fresh fruit slices, yogurt and granola. Put them out on a Valentine-themed serving tray, and they’ll fit right in.

Plan a Scavenger Hunt

Bolster teamwork and make the day more fun with a game like a Valentine’s Day–themed scavenger hunt for small groups around the office. Before the party, set up clues around the office, including areas like the conference rooms, break rooms and utility closets. Write the clues in riddles and make them Valentine-themed, like a pasticheof the classic “Roses are red, violets are blue” poem. Make the final prize something Valentine-themed as well, like roses, chocolate or even gift certificates toward restaurants around town.

Designate a Crafts Table

Bring out the kid in everyone with a craft table in the corner of the break room during the party. Stack it with:

• Red, white and pink construction paper
• Glue sticks
• Glitter
• Colored pencils or markers
• Stencils of hearts, cupids and arrows

Encourage employees to take a few minutes to make Valentines for loved ones, just like they might have in grade school. If they have kids, grandkids, nephews or nieces, they might get an extra kick out of making handcrafted Valentine’s for them instead of vice versa. It may seem like a silly activity, but it’s sure to bring a smile to everyone’s face and can be an entirely optional part of the day.

Chron suggests that holding a Valentine’s Day party at the office can boost morale and encourage teamwork — if you plan it right. When employees work too many hours and juggle too many projects, they get burned out, and they don’t produce their best work. Put a little festivity into their February with a Valentine’s Day party that stresses unity, teamwork and fun.

About the Author:

Mari Miesner is a human resources worker at a small business. She recommends that businesses book entertainment with Leading Authorities like her business has for many gatherings and events.