Ready to share the spirit of gratitude with your on-site and remote colleagues? Read to find out the best ways to celebrate this thanksgiving in your office.
Turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie are the key ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone knows it! But how to celebrate thanksgiving day at your office?
Whether you are working from a remote location or an onsite employee, this guide will help you with the best ways to celebrate a workplace thanksgiving day.
Get ready to bring the festive spirit, show appreciation and inspire thankfulness in your office with our unique (virtual-friendly) office celebration ideas.
It’s a joyous day and the perfect opportunity to showcase employee recognition and encourage your team members with a thankful heart.
1. Share Thank You Notes
Sending thank you notes is the simple yet effective way to wish a happy thanksgiving especially to colleagues working from remote locations. Make sure to send sincere, encouraging, and motivating thanksgiving messages. You can share them via email, Skype, or Whatsapp.
The other way around is to download the appreciation cards, take the printouts, and handover personally to your on-site coworkers. It’s the best opportunity to make an impact and let everyone feel your presence.
2. Give Employees a Few Days Off
Thanksgiving day is a holiday, your employees will love to spend time with their families and loved ones. If possible, give them a few days off. Getting extra vacations will be the best thankful gift for your employees. Moreover, it’ll benefit your organization only as they’ll come back feeling refreshed, and relaxed.
3. Thanksgiving Cooking Competition
Organizing a cooking event in the office is a fun way to socialize, and promote employee health. Also, it showcases the competitive spirit of your employees and you can reward them by choosing the best meal. Be it thanksgiving or other festive occasions, nowadays most companies make sure to use such opportunities to mingle with employees. So, they can feel proud and comfortable being a part of your company.
“According to Indeed, about 32% of IT companies offered refreshments in 2018 on such special days to maintain healthy relationships with their employees.”
4. To Draw the Best Hand Turkey:
To make Thanksgiving Day more happening, give your employees a chance to show their art & craft skills. It’s an interesting thanksgiving activity where you have to draw or write on each finger about what you are grateful for. Choose the best one with the funniest or most heart-touching experience.
5. DIY Thanksgiving Crafts Together:
Art & craft is not meant for kids only. Organize a thanksgiving themed craft activity for your employees to bring out their inner child. Arrange the required craft material and supplies, or give them a supply budget. It’s a great activity that even remote employees can join over Skype, zoom, or google Meet. For example, you can craft:
- Table centerpieces together.
- Autumn paper lanterns.
- Decorate Gratitude Jars
6. Ask for Charity:
Invite your employees to a charity event where they can give away things of their choice. Motivate them to have a thanksgiving spirit. Do not force them to donate money. It can be anything from goods, food items, toys, clothes, or household items.
7. Thanksgiving Family Photo Contest:
It’s another thanksgiving activity where your colleagues from remote areas can actively participate. Be the host of this family photo contest, appreciate your employees, and get to choose the funniest, cutest family pictures. You can also showcase these photos on your website at in-office events, and let them feel grateful for being part of your organization.
8. Watch Thanksgiving-themed Movies:
Still many traditional families watch movies together on thanksgiving day. Following this ritual, you can organize a movie date with your colleagues after lunch. Make sure to arrange popcorn and watch only thanksgiving-themed movies such as A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, The Oath, and many others. Enjoy your teleparty!
9. Arrange a Thanksgiving Lunch:
This day is perfect to promote employee well-being, especially in this modern lifestyle where health is taken for granted. Keep in mind to offer a healthy thanksgiving lunch. You can also invite a nutritionist to encourage them to adopt healthy eating habits. Do share some healthy recipes with your coworkers recommended by dieticians.
10. Play Gratitude Bingo
Celebrate thanksgiving day as well as get to know your employees by playing grateful bingo. Reward the winning team or employees with some funny & naughty gifts. As an act of gratitude, don’t forget to capture those funny, candid moments, and reactions. Ask all your folks to post candid pictures on a slack channel
11. Host a Silent Auction
The silent auction is completely online. All you need to do is to pair your google sheet with the whole company or with your team. People can make offers on your listed goodies for thanksgiving cause while relaxing on their couch at home. It’s a great way to socialize together.
12. Gift Cards for Home Office Upgrades
Isn’t it a great idea to give away a small budget to all your company employees to upgrade their home offices? The other way around is to send e-vouchers or gift cards from IKEA or other such office suppliers. It’s a thoughtful thanksgiving gift that shows your organization cares for the employees well being.
13. Acknowledge & Recognize your employees
Why not say thank you to your employees on thanksgiving day? There is no such hard & fast rule that employees should be acknowledged only on Employee Appreciation Day. So grab this opportunity and maintain a long-lasting relationship with your employees this Thanksgiving day. You can utilize the happy hour in zoom meetings before the weekend to show gratitude. Just make sure to be specific, inclusive, and timely to make them feel good about their performance, and potential.
Wrapping it up!
Now, you know the unique and innovative ideas to celebrate thanksgiving in your office. It reveals you value your employees and their well being, and happiness is important to you. Celebrating such days together with your employees improves the aura of your workplace community. So, don’t forget to appreciate and say thank you to your employees. We wish you a Happy thanksgiving!