How To Decorate A Colleague's Desk For Their Retirement

A decorated desk is the cheapest send-off going and the one people photograph. It also has to come down by five, so everything you use needs to be temporary.

The whole job takes about twenty minutes if someone has bought the bits the day before.

Honest note: we make cards, pin badges, prints and party decorations. Pre-strung glitter banners are a recommendation from elsewhere.

What to put up

• One pre-strung banner above the monitor - already threaded, so it goes up in a minute rather than fifteen.
• A small cluster of balloons weighted on the desk, not helium ones tied to a chair that block the walkway.
• Printed photos from their years there, taped in a row along the edge of the partition.
• A joke countdown sign - "days left: 0" - propped against the keyboard.
• A card everyone has signed, stood up where they'll see it first.

Not damaging office walls or furniture

• Low-tack washi tape or removable adhesive hooks on painted walls; masking tape lifts emulsion.
• Fabric desk partitions take drawing pins happily - that's the easiest fixing in most offices.
• String a banner between two monitor stands rather than wall to wall.
• Never use blu-tack on painted plasterboard - it leaves an oil mark within hours.
• No confetti on carpet unless you're the one hoovering it.

Timing the surprise

• Find out their actual arrival time from whoever sits nearest.
• Get two people in 30 minutes early; one decorates, one watches the door.
• Clear it with facilities or the office manager first if there's a clear-desk policy.
• If they work from home on the last day, post a desk kit to them instead - banner, card, badge.
• Take the photo before anyone sits down, because it's the only tidy version you'll get.

What to put on the desk itself

• A card signed by the whole team, which matters more than any decoration.
• A pin badge for the jacket - small, keepable, no packing needed.
• Their usual coffee order waiting when they sit down.
• A folder of printed messages from people who've left the company but remember them.
• Card wording - Read the guide

Shop party decorations

How to write it so it lands

• Pre-strung banner, already threaded.
• Washi tape and pins, never blu-tack.
• The signed card does most of the work.

Where to shop next

• Retirement cards
• Leaving cards
• Party supplies
• Bunting and banners
• Funny pin badges
• Retirement afternoon tea ideas
• Pub retirement party guide
• Funny retirement party ideas
• Village hall party decorations
• Leaving do ideas
• Retirement card messages
• Leaving card message for a colleague
• Retirement speech ideas
• Leaving do and retirement party games
• Retirement quotes
• Work colleague leaving gift
• Retirement party decorations
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

How do you decorate a desk for a retirement?

One banner above the monitor, a weighted balloon cluster, printed photos along the partition and a signed card standing on the desk. Twenty minutes before they arrive is plenty.

How do you hang decorations in an office without damaging walls?

Washi tape or removable adhesive hooks on paint, drawing pins in fabric partitions, and string banners between monitor stands. Avoid blu-tack and masking tape on emulsion.

What should you put on a retiring colleague's desk?

A card everyone has signed, a small keepsake like a pin badge, printed photos from their years there and their usual coffee. The card is the bit they keep.

How early should you decorate the desk?

Thirty minutes before they arrive. Check with the office manager the day before if there's a clear-desk or security policy.

What if they work from home on their last day?

Post them a small kit - banner, card, badge - to open on a video call, and do the desk display in the office for the team photo.

Do you sell retirement banners?

We make greetings cards, enamel pin badges, prints and party decorations in the UK. We don't make the pre-strung glitter banners mentioned here - those are recommendations from elsewhere. The only things linked to our own shop are ours.