Fun Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Work
Posted January 24, 2020, by Jenny
Many of us will spend February 14th gazing into our beloved’s eyes, whispering sweet nothings and exchanging adorable plush toys. But what about celebrating the day of love with those we spend the most time with …. our colleagues! Celebrate workplace friendships and the strong bonds between those we work closely with every day.
See our fun (and totally HR friendly) Valentine’s Day activities for the office and make sure everyone feels the love – because no one likes to be singled out, especially on Valentine’s Day.
Idea’s to Celebrate Valentine’s Day in the Office
Send Appreciation Notes
Show your colleague just how much you L.O.V.E them (in a non-creepy way of course) by writing a note of appreciation. Whether it’s a “thanks for covering for me on kitchen duty last week” or an “I really appreciate you as a manager and mentor and all the effort you’ve put into training me on project X”. A few words of affirmation and a sign of appreciation never goes astray.
Create a sweet card on Canva and email it to your colleague/s, or set up a notepad and box where people can pop in their appreciation notes and you can all gather that afternoon to hand them out, or go all out with an appreciation wall where colleagues can write kind notes to each other and leave them hanging for the whole office to see.
Bake Off
When you think Valentine’s Day you think flowers and sweets…. All the sweets. To honour the day of love, host a morning tea and ask bakers to whip up a V-day themed dessert they heart the most (did someone say Persian Love Cake?!).
He or she voted best baker could even take home a bunch of roses for their tasty efforts.
Lady (or Gentleman) in Red
Red: The colour of passion, desire and love. One Valentine’s Day work idea is to ask the team to sport their favourite item of red clothing. A subtle but still fun nod to V-day.
Host a Red Party
Don’t just stop at the attire… Throw a whole party dedicated to all things red. We’re talking red streamers, red balloons, red heart everything!
Here’s where you can really get creative. Try a best-dressed award for the lady/gentleman in red; fill up a jar of all red lollies and have a guessing game; get the polaroid camera out and set up a photo station with fun props; put together a raffle draw with prizes including a bottle of champagne and movie tickets; play a round of trivia with all Valentine’s Day themed questions … the list goes on.
Why not raise money for a good cause while you’re at it. Ask attendees to pay $5 to enter and donate the funds to The Heart Foundation.
Play Love Ballads
A few days before, ask around for everyone’s favourite love songs and put together a playlist to play through the office speaker on Valentine’s Day, because who doesn’t love a bit of Barry White.
Perhaps you and your work wife have a song you love to jam to on a Friday afternoon … add it to the list and be sure to give her a special shout out when it plays.
In-Office Massages
You don’t need to twist my arm for a bit RnR! Bring in a masseuse and treat your team to an in-office massage.
Depending on how large or small your office is, each person can be treated to around 10 minutes of downtime. Clear out a meeting room and set up a massage chair or ask the masseuse to walk around and offer massages at the desk. Either way, it’s a sure-fire way to ensure your colleagues feel the love and get a little spoilt.
Cookie or Cupcake Decorating
Get some plain cookies or red velvet cupcakes (or both) and set up a decorating station for your workmates to gather and pipe and sprinkle ‘til their heart’s content.
Spread the Love in Your Community
As you’ve probably guessed already, we like to share the love on Valentine’s Day. Get involved with a local charity and spread the love to those in need.
Try heading to a local soup kitchen, putting together food hampers for those less fortunate, building bikes for kids, planting trees in the local park, donating blood, volunteering at an animal shelter…. The list goes on, plus these activities also double as great teambuilding exercises – bonus!
Celebrating Friendship in the Workplace
These fun ways to honour Valentine’s Day at work are a great way to create a workplace culture of friendship, respect and togetherness.
“People in organizations need to work together. So, managers and employees need to foster collaboration, trust, personal relationships, fun, and support. In an increasingly global and virtual environment, challenges for employees and managers will be to cultivate these personal relationships. Fostering friendships takes proactive effort.” – Harvard Business Review
Put people first! Showing love in the workplace and celebrating Valentine’s Day in the office is a great way to show your employee your appreciation and not just why they should love their workplace, but how their workplace loves them back.
