Turkey, stuffing, and pie, oh my! Celebrating Thanksgiving is a wonderful way to express our gratitude for all of the things that we have, and to gobble deliciousness until the inevitable food coma strikes. We often celebrate this glorious day with our closest friends and families, but let’s not forget about the other people that we spend so much of our time with during the week: our coworkers. Bringing Thanksgiving into the office boosts morale, encourages camaraderie, and gives everyone at work an extra day to celebrate, and who wouldn’t love that?
Here are some easy ways to celebrate Thanksgiving in the office:
Organize a Potluck
No Thanksgiving celebration is complete without an abundance of delicious things to eat. Take votes and suggestions, create a list of dishes, and send out an e-mail alerting everyone to where the list is and when they have to sign up. To make it more fun, ask contributors to bring in their recipe cards to share with everyone who wants them.
Make it More Casual
Business attire isn’t always the most comfortable, especially when you’re moving on to your third plate of food. Letting everyone wear more casual clothes or their favorite football jersey can help make it feel more like a celebration than another workday, and it’ll prevent buttons from popping halfway through the day.
Have a Dessert Contest
Dessert is one of the best parts of any Thanksgiving celebration, and you can never have too many of them. Consider leaving desserts off of the food list and ask everyone who wants to participate in bringing in a home-made dessert to compete. Have everyone vote once the desserts are out and tasted, and give the winner a fun prize like the option to leave an hour early another day or a festive paper crown declaring them the Dessert King or Queen. Of course, you’ll want to have some delicious office coffee from CCS brewed and available to accompany the dessert tasting.
Create a Wall of Gratitude
Once everyone is sufficiently stuffed, and a contest winner has been announced, this is a great time to get everyone to share what they’re grateful for. Pass out colorful and festive notecards, and have each employee write down what they’re thankful for to pin to the designated wall for everyone to see, reflect, and share stories on.
Collect Items to Donate
Whether it’s a food drive or a clothing collection, organizing a drive for everyone to participate in can get the whole office in the giving spirit, and bring them all together for a good cause. Leaving the collection box next to or under the wall of gratitude is a great way to spark conversation and remind us all of just how lucky we are.