8 Fa-boo-lous Halloween Themes for a Work Party

Halloween isn’t just for kids! It’s a great excuse to bring some fun into the office, enhance your culture, and build team spirit. In addition to creating camaraderie, celebrating Halloween at work reduces stress, lightens the mood, and gives everyone a chance to show their personality and playful side. 

Below you’ll find oodles of ideas and Halloween themes for work, including types of parties and activities, work-appropriate Halloween costumes, decor tips, invitation wording inspiration, and more to get your scary good Halloween party underway. 

What Are Good Halloween Themes for the Office? 

Whether you’re planning a splashy affair or a chill gathering, we’ve got the perfect list of Halloween themes for work that are creative and easy to pull off. While adaptations to nearly all of these ideas are possible, some noted below are geared more toward in-person events while others are perfect for remote get-togethers to ensure no one feels left out.

1. Murder Mystery 

Design: Jen Montgomery | Murder Mystery Invitation

Create an interactive experience with a murder mystery theme. You can DIY the event with the murder mystery game kit or book a murder mystery company to run a virtual or in-person team-building party.

This theme has entertainment built right in. It goes beyond just dressing up for a costume contest and gives participants a character to play. For added fun, award prizes to the sleuth(s) on your team who solve the mystery.

2. Halloween-Themed Escape Room

Design: Becky Nimoy Stationary | Mystery Escape Room Invitation

Escape rooms offer an exceptional off-site team bonding experience as you race against a clock to figure out enough clues to escape. Considering many escape rooms are considered frightful, it shouldn’t be hard to find a bloody good escape room that captures the essence of Halloween during this time of year.

For a remote team, you can book a virtual escape room that takes place over Zoom. 

3. Fall Fun Outing

Design: Shari Margolin Design | Candy Corn Web Invitation

Pair your Halloween celebration with local fall fun. Take the team to a corn maze to see who can make it through the fastest, and follow it up by having everyone pick out a pumpkin to take home and carve. Or, if you have more time to commit to the festivities, take them back to the office to carve as a team. 

4. Halloween Happy Hour 

Design: TM Stationary | Brewing Cauldron Invitation

If you can’t carve out much of the day for a gathering, host a Halloween Happy Hour or “Boos and Brews.” This could mean getting the team together to delight in special “potion concoctions” in the office, taking a trip to a festive bar near the workplace, or bringing the team together virtually to indulge in some beverages and conversation.

Halloween-related trivia like scary movie quizzes or even pop culture trivia can be a nice addition to keep the conversation flowing.

5. Haunted House Tour  

Design: Signature Greenvelope | Spooky House Invitation

If there is a street or city nearby known for their spooktacular Halloween decorations or a local haunted house, go for a field trip to check it out. If you’re unable to take your team members off-site, screen a Haunted Halloween movie, and set up a popcorn and candy bar for everyone to snack on during the flick. 

6. Fortune Teller

Design: Make and Tell | Crystal Ball Invitation

Get in the true spirit of Halloween and connect with the spirit world by bringing in a fortune teller to give psychic readings or conduct tarot card sessions. This is one of the most creative Halloween themes for work and is a great choice for teams that need to continue working but can stop in to get their fortune read at their own pace. 

Add to the excitement by having the team dress as witches and warlocks, incorporate some crystal balls and tarot cards as decor, and consider serving cocktails with dry ice for a smoky libation.

7. Trick-or-Treat

Design: Lori Danelle | Trick Or Treat? Invitation

Let’s face it, kids aren’t the only ones who enjoy a sugar rush. Ask the team to contribute to a potluck style trick-or-treat in the office, where each coworker has a bowl of candy or treats they brought in at their own desk and colleagues trick-or-treat at their own pace. Pro tip: Be sure to grab some allergy-friendly treats to support those with food sensitivities.

Enhance the vibe by putting spider webs across doorways and pumpkins on desks and counters, hanging orange and black streamers and ghosts from the ceilings in common areas, and maybe even adding a skeleton or two. Or incorporate another activity by having teams compete to see who can decorate their office door or area the best.

8. Virtual Pumpkin Carving Party

Design: Kate Ahn Design | Mod Halloween Invitation

We’ve already mentioned a few other virtual Halloween party ideas, but here’s another virtual Halloween theme for work: A pumpkin carving contest — or even a pumpkin painting or decorating contest. 

Give each team member enough notice so they can have a pumpkin purchased before the gathering. Set a time limit for the carving, and see who can be the most creative before the time runs out. This will make for entertaining conversations and fun reveals remotely. 

To amp up the party vibes, ask everyone to wear a costume, and add special Halloween-themed backgrounds to your Zoom or Teams meeting.

Halloween Costume Themes for Work

Instead of a free-for-all costume party, you can set a theme to guarantee work-appropriate Halloween costumes that align with the workplace dress code. This gives everyone a baseline and avoids overly scary or controversial costumes in the workplace. Ensure teams know that they don’t need to go over the top (unless they want to). Simple DIY costumes will still fit the bill. 

You can also make it a choice for team members to dress up solo, in pairs, or in groups. For instance, a team member could dress up as Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz” or be a part of a bigger group Halloween costume featuring Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Lion, and the Wizard.

Use these themes for your best costume party yet:

• Disney and cartoon characters: There are so many to choose from, but consider Toy Story, Peter Pan, Elsa, Cinderella, and Grumpy just to get your juices flowing.
• TV show or movie characters: If you’re looking to go the animated route, think of iconic cartoon characters like Minions or Scooby-Doo. Friends cast members, The Office characters, and Ghostbusters are popular characters to contemplate for non-animated characters.
• Superheroes: Dress up as Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain Marvel, or Wonder Woman.
• Pop culture: There are so many directions to take this one, with costumes like  Barbie and Taylor Swift topping the lists.
• Decades/retro: Take the team back in time with a retro or decade theme, like the ‘80s, ‘90s, or Y2K.
• Bewitching: Witches, wizards ,and warlocks, oh my! Keep it traditional, or go the extra mile and be your favorite Harry Potter character.

Halloween Party Invitation Wording

Design: Loree Mayer Design | Boos & Brews Invitation

Set the tone for the bash with email invitations that give all of the details about the upcoming Halloween party. Start planning early, communicate clearly about expectations, and most importantly, have fun creating a memorable experience for your entire team!

Here are some Halloween invitation wording thought-starters:

• Think you have the best halloween costume ideas? Prove it at our costume contest! Prizes await for best dressed and most resourceful. 
• We’re putting our team to the test with a Murder Mystery. Help solve whodunit while enjoying treats and beverages. 
• Ready for a wicked good time? Join our annual Halloween party, and come dressed as witches and wizards. We promise it will be a magical gathering.
• Join us for Boos and Brews at our upcoming Halloween Happy Hour. It’s going to be faBOOlous!
• Carve out some time on [date] for our Halloween party, featuring a costume contest and pumpkin carving contest. Pumpkins will be supplied. 
• Costumes & cocktails — Prepare to indulge in a group costume contest and wickedly tasty libations at our annual Halloween party. 
• Clear your [work] calendars and get your spook on with a festive Halloween outing to [location].
• Tricks, treats, & spooky sweets will be awaiting you in the office on [date]. Join in the fun by wearing a themed costume. 

Plan a Spooktacular Office Party

With these Halloween themes for work, costume suggestions, and invitation wording ideas, you’re ready to host an unforgettable celebration. Don’t forget to take some team pictures! 

For more Halloween party ideas, invitation wording, and more, visit our Stationers blog. Happy Halloween planning!