Office PartiesNo. 8451 · The 2026 edition
Halloween Horror Show
Transform your workplace into a spooky haven without the usual office party pitfalls! Discover how to plan a Halloween celebration that's both thrilling and appropriate for every team member.
Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at slate.com.
This guide explores the unique challenges of hosting Halloween events in professional settings, drawing from real-world examples of both triumphs and mishaps. It offers practical strategies to ensure your office gathering is festive, inclusive, and memorable for all employees.
About this
A Slate essay by Alison Green (Ask a Manager) about how Halloween celebrations in the workplace can go wrong, built from reader accounts of grisly decorations, over-the-top props, and risqué or impractical costumes. It contrasts those horror stories with a positive model of an office that gets Halloween right. The page is commentary rather than a how-to guide, but it yields a clear set of do's and don'ts for an office Halloween party.
The plan
- Keep costumes totally optional, with no pressure to participate.
- Make sure nothing about the celebration is offensive to colleagues.
- Limit the celebration to a short window (the good example used half an hour).
- Set decoration limits in advance (the cautionary example's only rule was no trip hazards in the aisle).
- Agree on costume guidance so what people wear still suits their actual job duties that day.
- Consider client visits and C-suite interactions when deciding what is acceptable.
- Provide a chance to mill around, take pictures, and eat baked sweets.
- Include a group costume contest.
- Include a spooky baking contest.
- Include an annual chili cookoff.
- Save négligées and decapitated heads for after work.
Decoration ideas
- Black and orange garland
- Plastic pumpkin
- Bloody-looking ghoulish figures hanging from the ceiling above desks
- Skeletons with teeth
- Cobwebs strewn about
- Lifelike bloody head cut off at the neck with facial wounds and hair matted with blood
- Plaque with a satanic-looking symbol
- Plug-in black cauldron that emits smoke, gurgles, and has neon lighting
- Witch prop (over-the-top; caused jump scares and was destroyed)
Food & drink
- "tricky-treat" chocolate/caramel cookies
- "witch fingers"
- Rice Krispie pumpkins
- "poppable pimple" cupcakes
- Sweets baked by coworkers for a spooky baking contest
- Midwestern potlucks
- Annual chili cookoff
Activities
- Group costume contest with team themes
- Individual costumes (e.g., Princess Leia, a ghillie suit, a horse, a witch)
- Milling around taking pictures
- Spooky baking contest
- Halloween week with daily themes (e.g., pajama day)
- Annual chili cookoff