The office happy hour party is a time-honored tradition in the corporate world. It’s a chance for coworkers to get together outside work and bond over drinks, food, and friendly competition. A well-planned and organized event can help foster relationships between employees while boosting morale within the office.
Here are some tips on organizing an effective happy hour event.
Choosing a Venue
Parties are back, and according to the 2022 Holiday Party Survey Report, around 57% of companies reported having holiday parties in 2022, a significant jump over 26.2% in 2021. Since most of your employees will be attending a party after a long time, it would be fair to pick a fantastic venue, preferably your workplace, where they are comfortable.
When choosing a venue for your office happy hour, you want to ensure it’s quiet and affordable. You also want the venue to be close to your office. A crowded venue will make people uncomfortable and not have fun. The last thing you want is for everyone to leave early because they need more space.
It would help if you also considered how much money will be spent on food and drinks. It can vary based on how many people attend and what kind of food they like eating most often.
Décor, Food, and Drinks
The first thing you need to do is choose a venue for your office party. Your employees will be looking forward to having fun together, so the venue should be suitable for them, and the event should not just be about eating or drinking.
Next comes decoration. The decor should reflect whatever theme has been chosen but remember that it doesn’t cost anything at all if they are simple enough. You can have an ’80s-themed summer getaway where you can play old arcade games all night long while wearing costumes based on your favorite pop culture icon.
Last but not least, you must have suitable food and drink options for your employees. The game’s name is to have bar snacks, finger food, and not-so-boozy drinks. The best option is to hire a happy hour catering service with years of experience hosting such events and curating a perfect menu for you.
Pick a Theme for the Office Party
One of the first steps to planning the best office party is to choose a theme that works for your workplace and colleagues. For example, consider a New York City-themed event like Central Park or Times Square if you are located in New York City. If you have an office full of people from different countries, perhaps an international theme suits your group.
If there are many young professionals at your company, consider choosing a fun millennial-themed party like Instagram or Snapchat filters. You can also look at what’s trending on social media or even pick out some cool trivia facts about your city.
When choosing a theme for an office happy hour, the second most important thing to consider is whether it will be fun for everyone involved. A close third would be budgeting constraints. To ensure everyone feels included during the event, try picking something relatable without being too cliche, such as sports teams or pets. Since both groups do well together, why not make this happen?
Plan Interesting Activities for Your Coworkers
The best way to ensure that your office happy hour party is successful is by planning interesting activities for your coworkers. You should hold various activities and ensure they are fun and have a purpose. For example, if you’re planning an outdoor activity like a hike or bike ride, it could be used as a team-building exercise where everyone can get to know each other better.
Also, plan indoor games such as trivia night or charades where the teams compete against each other for prizes. Or, if you want to make things competitive among your coworkers, why not organize an office Olympics? The options are endless when planning entertaining activities for your office happy hour party.
Team Building Exercises
According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report, only 21% of employees feel engaged at work, and 33% are thriving in their overall well-being.
Team building exercises are a fun and engaging way to get to know your coworkers.
Some examples of team-building activities include trust falls, tug-of-war competitions, and even musical chairs. Everyone must be involved in these events, so no one feels left out or uncomfortable.
If you want to be sure that everyone is included in these events, consider having two teams competing against each other at once. And then, when it comes time for dinner break or after-work drinks, have them all sit together as one big group of friends.
Create a Playlist of Songs that you can All Enjoy
According to Hppy, 90% of employees perform better when listening to music. Regarding playlists, you want your guests to enjoy the music as much as they enjoy themselves. The music should be upbeat and fun but not too loud or quiet. Old enough that everyone will know the words and hum along, but new enough that it’s fresh in their minds.
The best way to ensure a great playlist is by creating one yourself. If you need more time for this, ask someone on your team who has similar tastes in music and make sure they’re on board with what they’ll be hearing all evening long.
Conclusion
To host the best happy hour party, you must plan and organize everything carefully. It means you must choose a venue, create an agenda for the night, decide on a theme and find activities that will be fun for everyone.
You can also play music during the drinks hour so that everyone will have something in common with one another. Finally, ensure there are no last-minute surprises by ensuring everything is ready beforehand.
