Looking for Thanksgiving office ideas? The holiday season is almost here, and that means we all have the same thing on our minds: delicious food! Turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie are all iconic parts of the festive season. But there is more to Thanksgiving than just the amazing feasts.
Thanksgiving is really all about gratitude. Giving thanks not just to the ones you love, and the universe for the wonders it brings, but to the people you interact with every day. That includes your colleagues, and your employees. A Thanksgiving party is a great way to encourage team building -and can also be planned as a virtual Thanksgiving gathering.
Coming up with creative Thanksgiving office ideas isn’t just a good way to have fun at work during the holidays. It’s a fantastic opportunity to bring your team members together, help form stronger bonds between staff, and improve morale.
Experts even say regular celebrations can make employees more productive.
So, what exactly can you do to celebrate Thanksgiving in style? Here are some of our best Thanksgiving office ideas to inspire you.
Office Catering for a Thanksgiving Party
There might be more to Thanksgiving than the food, but it’s fair to say it’s what most people look forward to each year. Unfortunately, crafting a full Thanksgiving feast yourself, in the office, probably isn’t an option for most companies. That’s where Thanksgiving catering services come in.
Companies like Marbled LA offer full Thanksgiving packages, complete with all the trimmings—and your staff’s favorite foods—so you can deliver a delicious experience. With Marbled LA, companies can quickly and easily place large-volume food orders, without spending a fortune.
Plus, the menus available are packed full of high-quality ingredients, sure to leave a smile on anyone’s face. Thanks to the convenient drop-off catering packages, there’s less work for you. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the food while Marbled LA does the rest. You can reach out to the team today to get a personalized quote for your catering service.
A Gratitude Wall
Sharing what you’re thankful for on Thanksgiving day is more than just a tradition. It’s an excellent opportunity for us all to take stock of the wonderful things in our lives. However, not everyone feels comfortable sitting in a circle and sharing their thoughts.
A gratitude wall can be an excellent alternative. All you need to do is give your staff members a piece of paper where they can write down what they’re grateful for. You can ask them to share things they’re thankful for in the business or just cover life in general.
This gratitude wall can stay displayed in your business for as long as you like, reminding your employees of all the positive things that make life great, even on bleary Monday mornings.
Office Potluck
A Thanksgiving potluck is a fantastic way to bring teams together, now or at any time of the year. After all, nothing gets people talking like sharing their favorite food and recipes.
Although coworkers are encouraged to bring in dishes, it is important to lean on a professional catering service for the main Thanksgiving staples such as the turkey, mashed potatoes, etc. This way, you’ll be sure to have enough food for everyone – and it is guaranteed to be delicious. (No offense to your office mates!)
Let everyone know when the event is happening in advance, so they have plenty of time to prepare and plan to avoid having too many versions of the same food. A good way to really break the ice is to ask people to bring dishes that reflect their culture and background.
Thanksgiving Decor Competition
Halloween and Christmas aren’t the only times you should consider decorating your office.
Thanksgiving decorations can be an excellent way to brighten up the landscape and infuse your team members with holiday spirit. Rather than just rolling out decorations yourself one evening, why not get everyone involved?
Share your Thanksgiving office ideas with your coworkers, explaining the kind of theme and colors you want to use, and divide everyone into teams. Then, ask each team to decorate a different part of the office. You can even have a prize for the “best-decorated space”.
Recipe Exchange
Another great option for food lovers, a Thanksgiving recipe exchange delivers most of the benefits of a potluck, without asking your employees to cook for hours on end. It’s one of the easiest ways to get people excited about the Thanksgiving holiday and collaborate with each other.
Plus, a recipe exchange is a great way to inspire members of your team to try new meals and foods from different cultures. To level up your recipe swap, you could even host a competition asking people to cook the recipes shared by their colleagues. Or you could put people in pairs and ask them to teach each other, step-by-step, how to produce their favorite Thanksgiving meals.
Volunteer as a Team
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to consider how we can give something back to those with a lot less. Giving back to the community is an excellent way to bring your team together around a shared cause.
Not only does it give your employees a chance to work together in a different setting and build some new collaborative skills, but it also reflects well on your company. Studies show that most consumers think more favorably of businesses that support charities and good causes.
There are tons of ways to get involved with your community around the holidays. You could clean trash from sidewalks, deliver blankets to shelters, or help at a local soup kitchen. You could even box meals and goods as part of an effort to help those suffering from financial insecurity.
Festive Attire Day
Although you probably can’t encourage your team members to dress up as turkeys and pumpkins every day of the year, Thanksgiving is an excellent opportunity to ditch the dress code. Like many of the best Thanksgiving office ideas, this event doesn’t have to cost your business anything.
Simply pick a day in the week when employees will be able to attend the office in any outfit they choose. You can opt for a fancy dress option, or you could just encourage people to wear festive outfits in colors of orange, red, or brown.
You might even take inspiration from Christmas, and have an ugly sweater day, where employees can wear the worst festive sweaters they’ve ever found for the holiday season.
The Ultimate Gravy Showdown
There are so many iconic parts to an incredible Thanksgiving dinner, from the turkey to the cranberry sauce. But few things get more attention than gravy. A gravy showdown is an excellent way to get everyone competing in a fun and friendly way.
You can encourage everyone to bring their own recipes into the office, and share samples of their gravy with their colleagues. Call in your favorite catering company for some turkey and mashed potatoes for the ultimate testing experience.
Not only is a gravy showdown a lot of fun, but it’s also pretty easy for everyone to get involved, as there’s very little time, preparation, or investment needed from your team members.
Thanksgiving Trivia Extravaganza
Everyone loves a little trivia! A Thanksgiving-themed trivia game is a wonderful way to get everyone in your office laughing, smiling, and competing for their chance to be crowned the Thanksgiving champion. Trivia is great for mental stimulation and keeping your team members motivated.
Plus, you can always consider separating your employees into teams and asking them to complete trivia tests together if you want to encourage a little extra bonding.
To make the most out of the trivia experience, try to keep questions relatively simple for the most part, but throw a few challenging ones in there, too. This will make it easier to announce a winner at the end of the day.
Outdoor Gratitude Circle
Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the best. A gratitude circle is a fantastic way to encourage everyone to share their thoughts and feelings in a mutual space. While you can always host a gratitude circle indoors, asking everyone in your team to share what they’re thankful for one by one, taking the experience outside has a lot of benefits.
First, it’s a great way to give your team a break from the monotony of the same four walls. Secondly, it ensures you can get plenty of people involved without having to worry about running out of space. Plus, it’s a chance to reconnect with nature and unwind in a relaxing setting.
You could choose a local park, an attractive garden, or another location you know your team members are going to enjoy.
Pie Baking Championship
Alongside the gravy and the turkey, the pie is probably one of the most loved components of a Thanksgiving meal. Whether it’s a pumpkin pie, a pecan pie, or something more savory, everyone has their own favorite baked treat to look forward to each year.
Encourage employees to share their creativity and love of food by baking their own pies and bringing them into the office for everyone to share. Alternatively, you can ask each team member to bake a specific pie for another member of staff.
A pie-baking championship is a fun and delicious Thanksgiving team-building activity. Plus, it comes with a healthy dose of competition, which is great for keeping staff motivated.
Thanksgiving Awards
As mentioned above, the Thanksgiving holiday is a wonderful time for employers to show their staff just how much they appreciate their efforts. While you can always do this by paying for a delicious meal to be delivered by your local catering company, it’s worth actively expressing your gratitude, too.
Encourage managers and supervisors to sit down together and create a list of awards for members of their team. You might have an award for the “most dedicated worker” or the “person who makes everyone smile”. Don’t just focus on rewarding people who made the most money that quarter.
These awards should come with actual bonuses your employees can enjoy, such as a gift card or a thank you note directly written by the manager.
Have Fun in the Office This Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving celebrations can take place anywhere, not just at home. Hosting your own Thanksgiving get-together at work with these creative ideas can be a great way to bring your teams closer together, boost their creativity, and increase morale.
Eager to get started? Reach out to Marbled LA for help making your Thanksgiving celebration as simple as possible. With delicious food delivered straight to your door, you can spend less time worrying about meals and more time just enjoying the season. We hope you enjoyed these Thanksgiving office ideas for your next event.
