by Lee VanAmee

Created on: March 24, 2010

I think the number one complaint with office parties and that is that they are the same old thing every time the office gets together. Here are some tips on thinking outside of the box to come up with original ideas for each party you have. 

One of the best reasons to have an office party is to have coworkers get together in a non work environment and you can get to know some of your colleagues on a different level away from always relating to the company that you are all employed at. One of the problems with office parties is that because it is comprised of people who work together; it won't be long until everyone starts talking shop instead of having fun and enjoying the recreation time together. 

It is good to have some time for everyone to relax, so if you are going to feed everyone it would be good to have your food be the first item on the agenda and it will give everyone something to talk about besides work. Also, people tend to be in better spirits and are more prone to have fun after they have eaten a good meal, so having it brought out promptly and first is a good start to the event. 

Because it is in the realm of "office" event, any politically correct games or even some tried and true old favorites can be a cheap alternative to having live entertainment or lavish dinner that is expensive and over in a matter of an hour. Go online and search for any new ideas or just pull out the old card games, Monopoly, Clue, Operation, etc. even if it seems silly; grown ups are allowed to be silly at parties and sometimes, that is just what is called for. 

The best strategy is to have the party be very organized and the plans and games put together before anyone gets there, that way people are not sitting around going over what happened today at work while waiting for the fun to begin. Sometimes it may be more economical or efficient if you hire a service because they can be very unbiased and professional as they do these types of events for a living. 

Try to have a seating chart, so that the same old crowd do not automatically sit together and stir up the same old stories that are brought up at every party. It is good to have team spirit and camaraderie, but also good to get people mixed in together that would normally not ever have anything to do with each other at work; mixing departments and department heads, etc. is a great idea, because you form new impressions of people you work with once you see that a lamp shade really does fit on the CEO's head quite nicely. 

I have also been to office parties where you have to change tables after you are done with one game so that each game that is played is a different and new group. This really helps to have it directed because people always tend to stay with the familiar and it really helps moral to see a coworker that you don't really appreciate in a new light, maybe you find out some new information about someone you had an attitude about and you see them as a caring fun loving individual in this setting.

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