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If your coworkers like a good Halloween party, we have some suggestions for planning the food and drinks. And if you’re having a Halloween party at work, it would be fun to put some goodie bags together for your coworkers. Adults like candy just as much as kids do, but you could also add other things that would be fun treats for grownups.
Whether you want to make your own treat bags, or put a little gift box together, these are some ideas that you could add to your list of Halloween trick or treating supplies for the office party.
Feeding a Halloween crowd at work.
When you’re planning the party, you need to decide whether you want to cater it or bring the food in yourself. You might want to cut costs and have everyone bring a potluck dish, depending on how willing people are to contribute!
If you end up deciding to bring the food in yourself, you’ll want to have some kind of signup for different types of food that people can bring in to make sure you end up with the right amount of main dishes, drinks, etc. If you put a Halloween spin on the decor by adding some spooky touches, the food can go on a long table and you won’t have to worry too much about what the food is. (Click here for a list of 80 easy potluck ideas to make or buy.)
Decorations for specific holiday events like this are the key to making it feel “Halloween-y.” You can find Halloween-themed decorations and supplies at most craft stores, or buy specialty items online. These are some things that you could decorate with to create a Halloween vibe:
- Halloween-themed signup sheets to put out ahead of time to keep track of what food is being brought in.
- Orange and black tablecloths.
- Large trick or treat buckets to use as ice buckets for drinks.
- Packaged spiderweb decorations to drape on tables and other furniture, or to hang from windows to create shadows.
- Small pumpkins and other fall greenery and leaves to decorate the tables.
- Black and orange candles, decor skulls, and other table decor in Halloween themes to place in arrangements around the room and to use as centerpieces.
- Large stand-up Halloween figures to put in the room as decor (Ask coworkers if they have any inflatables they could contribute for the party.)
- Make sure to have enough table or counter space for the platters of food that people will be bringing in.
- Orange or black serving utensils for each dish that’s brought in.
- Orange and black Halloween napkins, plates, paper cups, and plastic disposable utensils.
- Enough garbage cans for people to throw away the plates, etc., when they’re done eating.
- Tables for sitting to eat. Using a conference room for a large event like this is a good idea so that people have room to sit.
- Mood lighting like colored light bulbs or string lights with colored bulbs.
Candy ideas for goodie bags.
You’ll definitely want to include some candy in these treat bags, since that’s what Halloween is for! Don’t limit it to only that, though, and you might want to avoid candy that has nuts in it in case you have coworkers who have food allergies, but yes, include some sweet treats.
Individually packaged candy is your best bet when you’re buying it for a crowd. If everything is wrapped by itself people can avoid things they don’t want to eat and there won’t be any concern about food allergies.
You can get snack-sized candy at any grocery store, and if it’s Halloween, you can be sure that there will be trick-or-treat-sized packages available to buy in bulk to save a little money.
Another option would be to set up a candy buffet and let people fill their own treat bags. You can read more about how to set up a candy bar and how much candy to buy for one in this article: How Much Candy For A Candy Bar?
You don’t want to just put candy in the goodie bags, though, because there are a lot of non-candy options that adults will like. Here are some ideas for additional things to include for your office.
Non-candy treat ideas for goodie bags.
Not every party favor has to be candy, so here are some ideas for non-candy items that you can include for your Halloween office party.
Halloween-themed stickers: You can get inexpensive Halloween stickers at craft stores, or find some that have a spooky theme on sites like Etsy or Amazon. This cute bats sticker is from Robert Phelps art.
Mini candles (pumpkin spice or fall scents): Candles in fall scents and shapes like little pumpkins are readily available in the fall, and make a cute gift to add to a goodie box.
Halloween socks or themed ankle socks: Novelty socks are a fun gift and you can get them in more places than you’d think. I’ve seen them in local drugstores, and you can also order them online.
Temporary tattoos with spooky designs: These are good for adults and kids alike.
Mini notepads or pens with Halloween patterns: This is a treat that’s also useful. Get small-sized sets that people can fit in their bags to take notes when they’re out of the office.
Small bottles of hand sanitizer (especially with fun, Halloween designs): People will appreciate hand sanitizer during cold and flu season…If you can find packages of individual tissues in fall themes to go with them that’s even better!
Keychains (ghosts, pumpkins, bats, etc.): A cute Halloween-themed keychain is a good small-scale addition to a treat bag.
Spider rings or mini plastic skeletons: You might think these are a silly idea for grownups, but I would be willing to bet that if you give people spider rings they’ll be wearing them within about 2 minutes of finding them in their treat bags.
Halloween erasers or pencil toppers: These are easy to find around Halloween in any store that sells stationery, or you can buy them online.
Mini bath bombs (fall scents like cinnamon or vanilla): These would be a little luxury item and probably a nice surprise for people who wouldn’t expect them to be included in a Halloween goodie bag. The orange-scented bath bomb in the photo is from The Sudsy Goat Soapery on Etsy.
Small packets of drink mix (seasonal flavors like pumpkin spice or salted caramel): Get supplies like Halloween mugs and packets of seasonal drink mixes like cocoa or tea to make decorative mug gifts. You can find cute and inexpensive mugs at local dollar stores, or skip the mug and put kits to make the seasonal drinks together in a cute goodie bag.
Halloween cookie cutters: You can find sets of cookie cutters in Halloween shapes at craft stores. Put a cookie cutter in each person’s goodie bag so that they can make their own treats later.
With a little planning, you can pull off a fun Halloween office party for all of your coworkers, and they can all contribute to make it easy!