Fourscore and some centuries ago, a group of pilgrims and Native Americans put aside their feud and shared a meal. Every year families and friends revive this spirit by sharing the bounty of a fruitful year. Savory delights like stuffed potatoes, corn, pumpkin pies, and roast turkey constitute thanksgiving meals.

This holiday is also an excellent time to bring coworkers together. Organizing an office thanksgiving party may seem like a logistical nightmare, but it doesn’t have to be. With a bit of creativity and planning, you can make this year a lot more engaging and fun than last year’s party.

If you are tired of impractical activities, tacky foods, and corny decorations? Here’s seven fresh and budget-friendly ideas to make this year’s Thanksgiving party one to remember.

1. Organize a Team Activity

As mentioned earlier, thanksgiving is about stowing squabble, sharing a meal, and having fun. Contests and team activities are a great way to bring some fun into the mix. Pumpkin bowling is an excellent example of such contests. This game isn’t just for kids, and even department heads will be bowling out in laughter from such a team activity.

The workday can be broken up with a scavenger hunt. You can even have a dance-off, play charades, truth or dare aim at the moon when coming up a list of games and activities. The list of events one can organize around the office are limitless. To make such team activities fun, consider upping the stakes by offering prizes and keeping score.

2. Turkey and Treats

Some companies organize thanksgiving luncheons or elaborate dinner soirees for their employees and clients. If there isn’t a budget for such parties, a potluck will suffice.  You can also test everyone’s cooking skills by organizing a potluck, killing two birds with one stone as you won’t have to get a caterer.

You may believe that Grandma’s roast turkey recipe is the best, but wait until you sample Dawn’s recipe. Please stick to traditional thanksgiving foods like pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, corn, and stuffed yams. An extra layer of fun can be added to such activity by making it into a contest.

3. Handwritten Notes of Thanks

In keeping to the theme of giving thanks, staff members can exchange notes of thanks. Your office can borrow from the secret Santa tradition and draw names from a hat. Employees can make cards, write a few appreciative statements, and exchange them.

Such an activity helps staff get into the spirit of the holiday. Aside from showing appreciation, such an event can bring people who don’t interact with each other together.

4. Give Back as a Group

Thanksgiving is not just about the pomp and feasting; it’s also an excellent time to remember the less fortunate. The entire office can collect old clothes and disused household items and drop them at the local goodwill or any other charitable organization. Soup kitchens are always willing to take on volunteers during this time, so you can go as a group to make the work lighter.

An office kitty can be organized, and the proceedings can go to various causes. Such causes include orphanages, nursing homes, and even the many neglected war veterans that roam the streets. Sharing the bounty of the harvest can be fun, and it is also an excellent way to earn some karma points.

5. Plan an Office Party

When people hear the word party, they get all smiley; the venue doesn’t matter. An office thanksgiving party is something every employee will get behind. Some offices have the size and facilities to set up such a party; others lack them, an alternate venue could come in handy.

Settling on a venue is the major hurdle, but once you all agree on the place, everything else becomes more manageable. The autumn breeze and oncoming winter chills make an outdoor venue a hard sell. An employee with a sizable home can volunteer it for the festivities, a community center or restaurant can also work.

However, if you opt for a restaurant, please ensure that reservations are made weeks in advance, as thanksgiving is a busy season.

6. Hold a Charity Competition

This festive season can be used to help various charitable organizations. Organizing a charity competition is one of the best ways to loosen tight-fisted hands into giving. Such events can also pit your company against other local businesses and even communities.

Mini touch football and softball games are favorite American pastimes that go with thanksgiving like gravy on turkey. However, depending on your region, incumbent weather may be a limiting factor. A nighttime event may also work better for some organizations.

You can break away from tradition with less tacky ideas. Karaoke, bowling nights, bingo, and casino nights are just a few events forward-thinking companies use to raise money for charity.  Making such activities fun is essential to ease the pain of giving money away.

7. Meet and Spend Time with Not so Fortunate People

As one famous man once said, “the poor will always be among us.” However, that doesn’t mean that we should forget about the less privileged. One of the best ways to mark thanksgiving is to meet the less fortunate and help them in any way you can. Aside from the aged, orphans, and army veterans, there are many other vulnerable groups of people out there.

Hospital wards, jails, and rehab centers are full of the forgotten. Visiting, sharing a meal, and having a conversation with such people does a world of good for them. They are as human as you are and in need of some compassion and joy in their lives.

Conclusion

Planning a successful office thanksgiving party doesn’t have to be a nightmarish endeavor. Incorporating other people’s ideas and encouraging their contributions is a way to make it fun for everyone involved. This holiday is all about coming together to give thanks for another good year.

Whatever activities are planned, please remember the less fortunate. The feasts and games should not upstage the spirit of giving back to the community.

It is hoped that these seven novel ideas will make your next office thanksgiving party one to remember. Cool decorations go a long way in pushing the holiday theme further and getting everyone in a festive mood, for your next soiree, let linen hero cater to all your supplies and decoration needs.