This post was last updated on December 28th, 2022
It’s that time of year again when dressing up, showing team spirit, and having fun is the name of the game!
If you’re looking for some new ideas to spice up your company’s Spirit Week, look no further.
From costume contests to group competitions, we’ve got 51 great ideas that are sure to get everyone in the groove. Read on to find out more!
Want to give your employees a spirit week they’ll never forget? Why not book a Woyago Virtual Team Building event in Paris? You know, without actually sending them there.
Introducing Spirit Week at Work
What is Spirit Week for work?
So what exactly is Spirit Week? Spirit week is a fun way to get employees to interact with each other and show their company pride. It is usually a weeklong celebration of all things company-related, leading up to a big game or event.
What is the purpose of Spirit Week?
It’s a great way to build team spirit, boost team morale, and show everyone that we’re proud to be a part of the company. So get out your company gear and get ready to have some fun!
What should I do for spirit week at work?
Usual activities you can do for spirit week at work are:
- Wearing the company swag,
- Decorating your desks with company paraphernalia,
- Guessing the most trivia questions about the company,
- Participating in fun competitions,
- Spending lunches bonding over our shared love of the business,
- And much more!
Why should companies organize a spirit week?
There are a number of reasons why companies might want to organize a spirit week.
Perhaps most importantly, spirit week can help to cultivate a sense of community and camaraderie among employees. Spirit week allows people to interact with their co-workers and make new friends by allowing them to showcase their distinct personalities and interests in the workplace.
Additionally, creating fun activities like costume contests or group challenges can help to keep employees energized and motivated throughout the workweek.
Not only that but organizing a spirit week can also be great for business. By bringing everyone together in celebration of company goals, spirit week encourages teamwork and collaboration, leading to better performance and greater success.
Overall, it is clear that there are many compelling reasons why companies should consider organizing a spirit week – so why not start planning one today?
To help you, here are 51 excellent spirit week ideas for work.
Our Top Pick for Spirit Week Event
Themed-Scavenger Hunts
Scavenger hunts are a fun way to get employees moving and interacting with each other.
Split the teams into groups and give them a list of things to look for in or outside the office that fit the spirit week theme. The first team to find all the items wins!
For boosting the company culture, link the quest to your company or business. Make sure to include some organizations’ emblems or products in the list of items.
Pro tip: First time organizing a scavenger hunt for adults? Follow our guide!
Costume Contests & Theme Day Ideas
One such idea is to host an office costume contest, where everyone dresses up as their favorite movie or TV character, superhero, or historical figure. This can be a lot of fun for players and spectators, with several possibilities for innovation on those theme days.
Costume Day
If you really want to get into the spirit, have employees come to work in costumes. This is a great way to get everyone into the Halloween spirit (or any other holiday).
Superhero Day
Encourage your team to dress up as their favorite superhero (or create their own!) to help boost morale and productivity.
Decade Day
Pick a decade and have employees dress in clothes from that era.
Meme Day
Pick a popular meme and have everyone dress up as their favorite character from it. Don’t forget to take plenty of photos!
Favorite Book Character Day
Let your literary side shine by coming to work dressed as your favorite book character.
Character Day
Come to work dressed as your favorite TV or movie character. Or, if you’re feeling daring, make up your own character!
Back to the Future Day
Break out the DeLorean and have a blast traveling back in time!
Disney Character Day
Who doesn’t love Disney? Come to work as your favorite character and make everyone’s day a little brighter!
Invite your team to take part in those dress-up days
Pick one of those dress-up days themes for your spirit week ideas
Crazy Hair Day
Let your employees let their hair down –Literally!– and have fun with hairstyles they would never usually try.
Pajama Day
We all love wearing comfy clothes to work, so why not make it an official day? Start the day with a relaxed vibe by allowing employees to wear their PJs to work.
Wacky Tacky Day
This is the perfect opportunity for employees to break out those eye-catching (and maybe even tacky) clothes they’ve been dying to wear to work.
Hat Day
A classic spirit week staple, Hat Day is always a fun way to mix things up at the office.
Crazy Socks Day
Get creative with this one – the brighter and crazier, the better!
Twins day
Employees can team up with a co-worker and dress alike for the day.
Sports Day
Encourage some friendly competition by having a sports day. Employees can wear their favorite team’s jerseys or gear and compete in office-wide games.
Tropical Day / Beach Day
Bring the beach to the office with Hawaiian shirts, grass skirts, and tropical drinks. Whether it’s snowing or sunny outside, bring the beach to work by donning some beachwear and accessories!
Dress like a CEO Day
Challenge employees to dress their best for a day of power meetings and boardroom presentations.
Tie-Dye Day
This spirit week idea is sure to add some color to the office! Employees can break out their tie-dye shirts or make their own.
Spirit Day
This is the perfect opportunity for employees to show their pride in their favorite sports team, school colors, or just about anything else!
Celebrate the Company Culture with the office!
Wear the Company Swag
If you’re looking for spirit week ideas to help employees feel more connected to their company, stop here.
Encourage employees to wear the company swag that day. Sweatshirts, caps, T-shirts, flags… This is an excellent opportunity for employees to show off their company pride by wearing branded clothing and accessories.
Decorate Your Desk
Among the spirit week activities, you can do to enhance company culture, decorating desks is a fun and creative one!
Employees can decorate their workstations however they like by displaying their corporate memorabilia and collections of company-branded goods.
So… Who has the most?
Social Media Challenges
Get everyone in on the fun by challenging them to take and share photos or videos relating to the day’s theme. For example, on Crazy Hair Day, people could post pictures of their crazy hair creations, or on Throwback Thursday, they could share childhood photos.
Group photoshoot of the Team
Gather everyone together for some fun group photos. These photos can be used for the company website or social media; they’re a great way to capture memories of spirit week.
Get Ready for Office Olympics!
Get employees moving and competing against each other with an office-wide Olympics!
Split the office into teams and have them compete in a series of fun and silly games. Keep the spirit week theme in mind when coming up with the games, or let employees get creative and come up with their own.
The winners of each event earn points, and the team with the most points at the end of the week wins a prize.
Here are a few spirit week ideas to get you started:
Hula Hoop Relay
Divide the office into teams and have them race to see who can keep a hula hoop going the longest.
Cake Eating Contest
This one is sure to be a hit with the sweet tooths in the office! Divide the office into teams and see who can eat an entire sheet cake the fastest.
Paper airplane throwing contest
Divide the office into teams and see who can throw a paper airplane the furthest.
Friendly Sport Competition
Another great option is to have an action-packed sports day, where co-workers can challenge each other in friendly competitions like foosball, cornhole, or ping pong.
Host a Bake-off Spirit Week Style
It’s time to get creative in the kitchen! This spirit week, what about hosting a bake-off?
This is always a favorite. Every day, have a potluck-style bake-off where everyone brings their favorite dish and best homemade goodies to share with the office.
You can have a different category or theme each day, so there’s something for everyone. Monday is cookies, Tuesday is cakes, Wednesday is pies, Thursday is savory dishes, and Friday is for anything goes!
The rules are simple: each dish must be made from scratch. Then, have everyone vote on their favorite dishes. There will be prizes for the best overall dish each day, as well as a grand prize for the best overall baker at the end of the week.
So start thinking about your recipes, and we’ll see you in the kitchen!
Mind-stimulating Spirit Week Ideas for Work
Organize an educational or cultural outing
Whether you’re planning a group outing to an art museum or an offsite workshop on innovation, there are plenty of ways to get everyone fired up and ready to go.
Lip sync battle
This is a classic for a reason! Get everyone in the office involved in a lip sync battle. You can divide into teams or have everyone compete individually. The best part is that you can do this completely virtually if you need to.
Trivia contest
Host an office-wide trivia contest, offering prizes to the winning team. Put together some fun trivia about your company, industry, or general knowledge.
This is a great way to activate those brain cells and encourage interaction, teamwork, and creativity among your co-workers.
Pro tip: You can do this with in-person teams as well as remote teams.
Get too puzzling!
Host a puzzle competition where participants must use their brainpower to piece different colored shapes into an intricate pattern. The first team or individual to figure it out wins!
Live my Life
Next, up the ante with a playful “reversed roles” day, where everyone in the office has to switch roles. The boss becomes the intern, the receptionist becomes the CEO, and so on.
This is sure to create some laughs and help everyone see things from a different perspective in busy offices. Getting in your co-workers’ shoes will definitely promote team-building and enhance empathy in the office.
Holiday and Christmas Spirit Week Ideas
Stuck for ideas when it comes to your office’s upcoming Holiday or Christmas Spirit Week? Well, look no further than this list of exciting and fun activities to keep the holiday spirit burning bright!
Ugly Sweater Day
Organize an ugly sweater day, where everyone dresses up in their most festive and tacky knitwear. Host an ugly sweater contest at the end of the day – with why not a runway – and award prizes to the most festive entrants.
Karaoke Competition
Get everyone in the office singing their favorite holiday tunes with a karaoke competition! You can do this virtually or in person, and it’s sure to get everyone into the holiday spirit.
Holiday Decorating Contest
Deck the halls with boughs of holly… and some friendly competition! Encourage everyone in the office to get into the spirit of decorating by holding a holiday decorating contest. The most festive office wins a prize!
Christmas Movie Marathon
Host a Christmas movie marathon, where everyone in the office votes on their favorite holiday films.
Invite your teammates to bring in their favorite holiday movie and watch them together as a group. You can have different themed days, like Christmas classics or modern favorites, and popcorn is mandatory, of course.
Festive Food Swaps
Get everyone in the office cooking and baking up a storm with some festive food swaps!
Each person brings in their favorite holiday dish, which is then swapped with someone else’s. This is a great way to try out new recipes and get everyone in the spirit of giving.
Secret Santa Gift Swaps
You can also organize a Secret Santa exchange, where participants draw names and buy gifts for one another. This helps promote team bonding and kindness around the office.
Red and Green Cozy Dress-up Day
Wearing cozy red and green outfits each day or hosting an ugly Christmas sweater contest.
Holiday Treats on the House
Set up a mulled cider or hot chocolate bar, where employees can help themselves to a warm drink any time throughout the week.
Christmas Tree Decorating
Other fun ideas include decorating a Christmas tree together. Don’t forget to tune in Christmas songs while you decorate to get everyone in the mood!
Holiday Card Making
Get everyone in the spirit of giving by having them make holiday cards for each other. This is a great way to spread some holiday cheer and show your appreciation for your co-workers.
End of Year Office Party
And, of course, no spirit week would be complete without an epic end-of-year office party! This is the perfect way to let loose, celebrate your team’s achievements, and ring in the new year.
For remote teams, think about hosting a virtual holiday party!
Caroling Contest
Split your workforce into different groups and challenge them to go caroling around the office. The group that can sing the best Christmas carols wins!
Have a Gingerbread House Competition
This is a fun activity that the whole office can get involved in. Split everyone into teams and give them a set amount of time to build the best gingerbread house. The winning team gets a prize!
Do some Volunteer work together
Give back to those less fortunate this holiday season by organizing a day of volunteering. This is a great way to get everyone in the spirit of giving and helping others.
Christmas Jumper Day
Last but not least, don’t forget the ever-popular Christmas jumper day! This is a fun and festive way to get everyone in the office into the spirit of the season.
Host a Virtual Spirit Week Ideas for Work
With many of us still working from home, it can be easy to feel disconnected from our colleagues. One way to combat this feeling is to host a virtual spirit week, which is as easy as sending a video meeting link!
Theme days of the week
Here are some of the easiest spirit week ideas to get you started:
- Monday: Crazy Hair Day – Encourage your colleagues to let their hair down (literally!) and show off their wildest styles.
- Tuesday: Twin Day – Ask everyone to dress like a colleague or family member. Bonus points if you can find a matching outfit!
- Wednesday: Wacky T-Shirt Day – Pull out those old concert tees and eye-catching graphic shirts for a fun-filled day.
- Thursday: Throwback Day – Go back in time with an outfit from your favorite decade.
- Friday: Root for Your Favorite Team Day – Show your team spirit by wearing gear from your favorite sports team.
You can also add in some fun online office games and activities like:
Online Trivia
You can also have some fun with a themed remote trivia game. This is a great way to get everyone engaged and learning something new. You can base the trivia around the company history, general culture, or your colleagues’ characteristics.
Virtual Scavenger Hunt
Another fun way to engage your team is with a themed virtual scavenger hunt around the company, industry, or remote work life. This is a great way to get everyone active, collaborating, and working together.
Virtual Olympics
Get your team moving with a virtual Olympics! This is a great way to get everyone active and competing while at home. You can have different events each day, such as a typing speed test. This is the perfect event to challenge remote teams with!
Virtual Spirit Week Party
Whether you want to gather your whole remote team for the big finale or you are hosting a virtual holiday party, it’s always a good idea to end virtual spirit weeks with convivial online parties!
Pro tip: Check out our related blog post for more ideas on Virtual Spirit Week.
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No matter what theme, team-building activity, or dress-up day you choose, spirit week is sure to be a hit with your employees!
