Office party ideas

Most offices do one party a year and it's in December, which is the most expensive week to book anything and the hardest month to get everyone in a room. The good office parties happen the rest of the year.

Below: reasons to hold one, ideas by budget, and the decorations that make a meeting room look like an event in ten minutes.

If it's specifically the Christmas one you're planning, there's a full guide for that linked below.

Reasons to hold an office party that isn't Christmas

• A summer party in June or July, when venues are cheaper and gardens are usable.
• A leaving do for someone who's been there years.
• A work anniversary or long-service milestone.
• Finishing a big project, while people still remember it.
• A new office or a move - a proper housewarming.
• A birthday round-up: everyone born that quarter, one afternoon.
• A new starters' welcome once you've hired a few.
• An awards afternoon with silly categories and real prizes.

Low-budget office party ideas (£5-£15 a head)

• Friday afternoon tea in the biggest meeting room.
• Breakfast party at nine - pastries, coffee, done by ten.
• Bring-a-dish lunch with a signup sheet.
• Ice cream van outside in summer.
• Office bake-off with a topper on the winner's cake.
• Games hour with badges as prizes.
• A picnic in the nearest park with a bunting run between two trees.

Bigger office party ideas (£25-£70 a head)

• Function room above a pub with a buffet.
• Bowling, crazy golf or karting with food afterwards.
• Rooftop bar hire for a summer evening.
• BBQ catering in a hired garden space.
• Cocktail or cooking class, which mixes the room better than a table plan.
• Boat hire on a river or canal for two hours.
• Awards dinner with a set menu and short speeches.

Making a meeting room look like an event

• One banner behind the food table - the single most effective thing you can do.
• Table confetti down the centre of the boardroom table.
• Balloons in threes at different heights, not an arch.
• A cake with a topper instead of a supermarket sheet cake.
• Move the desks out, not just around - it changes the room completely.
• Fairy lights and lamps instead of the strip lighting.
• A card box or memory jar if it's a leaving do.

Timing and running order

• Start at 4pm on a Thursday for the best attendance.
• Serve food within the first hour - it paces everything after it.
• Speeches before food, two people, three minutes each.
• Group photo early, while everyone's still there.
• Put the finish time on the invite so people can plan.
• One person on clear-up duty, agreed before the day.

Shop party supplies

Banners, toppers and confetti for the office

Decorations that take ten minutes to put up and photograph well.

How to write it so it lands

• Ask about dietary needs on the invitation, not on the day.
• Budget for good soft drinks, not just wine.
• One banner, one cake, one playlist - that's a party.
• Book the room in the calendar before you tell anyone.

Where to shop next

• Work party ideas hub
• Work party invite wording
• Office party themes and decorations
• Leaving do ideas
• Office birthday ideas
• Team building ideas
• Work Christmas party ideas
• Work Christmas party planning guide
• Office Christmas party games
• Leaving card messages for a colleague
• Work colleague leaving gift ideas
• Office party ideas
• Work party games
• Christening party ideas
• Communion quiz questions
• Naming ceremony themes
• Religious milestones hub
• Congratulations messages
• Congratulations on your promotion
• Work anniversary messages
• Thank you messages for your boss
• New job card messages
• New job gift ideas
• New job cards
• Promotion cards
• Secret Santa gift ideas
• Secret Santa rules
• Buy party supplies
• Bunting & banners
• Table confetti
• Cake toppers
• Pin badges
• Retirement cards
• Christmas cards
• Celebration ideas
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas

Frequently asked questions

What are good office party ideas?

A Friday afternoon tea, a breakfast party, an office bake-off or a games hour for a small budget. For a bigger one: a pub function room, an activity like bowling or crazy golf, a rooftop bar in summer, or an awards dinner.

How do you make an office party fun?

Move the desks out, feed people within the first hour, keep speeches to three minutes, and run two short games with real prizes. Long unstructured standing about is what makes office parties dull.

What time should an office party start?

4pm on a Thursday gets the best attendance - people can go on afterwards or go home, and it doesn't eat a Friday night.