St. Patrick’s day is the perfect opportunity to re-engage your employees after a long winter. The right St. Patrick’s Day office ideas can increase your team’s productivity and show how much they’re appreciated.
In this article, we’ll go over some of our favorite ideas on how to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at work.
Deck the Halls (with Forty Shades of Green)
There’s no faster way to add some festivity to a midweek holiday than by decorating the office with the appropriate garb.
For St. Patrick’s Day, you (naturally) can’t go wrong with just about anything green. But don’t forget rainbows, pots of gold, leprechauns, and four-leaf clovers, too.
Fortunately, this is one holiday where kitschy is more than welcome. Feel free to go over the top when it comes to decor, but even a few small decorative details will go a long way in sprucing up the office. It’s easy to decorate for St. Patrick’s Day at work!
Everyone’s Irish When They Wear Green
Another fun St. Patrick’s Day game for the office is a costume contest.
Feel free to get creative here: you can go traditional (think leprechauns and pots of gold) or unique (famous Irish authors, for example). You could also award points for most shades of green in an outfit, or best take on the rainbow.
Remember, St. Patrick’s Day is generally a holiday where people are willing to be a little bit playful; most employees will appreciate the opportunity to let their hair down with something like a costume contest. St. Patrick’s Day at work can be as silly and light-hearted as you make it!
No One’s Cleverer Than the Irish
It’s well-known that very few people can outsmart a leprechaun – why not test your team’s smarts with a round of St. Patrick’s Day trivia?
Book a trivia experience for a St. Patrick’s Day team-building activity that’s fun, engaging, and collaborative. The best part? This St. Patrick’s Day office activity works equally well for remote, on-site, and hybrid teams.
You can go the extra mile by providing (or sending to remote employees) a snack basket or drink mixers.
Bust Out the Bagpipes
Bagpipes are an unusual instrument, but there are a few rare occasions where their presence is not only welcome, but expected.
St. Patrick’s Day is one of those days.
If you’re looking for an idea for St. Patrick’s Day-themed employee appreciation, music is a great place to start. A team of pipes and drums can put on an outstanding performance for your employees for a relatively small budget, and most are happy to play for smaller groups before the “Big Show” on St. Patrick’s Day proper (it allows them to get some practice before the big day).
Of course, you don’t need to spring for a full band. Adding Irish music to your celebration can be as simple as adding some classic Irish music via Pandora or Spotify as part of an overall St. Patrick’s day Office party idea.
Get “Jig”gy with It
Speaking of music, its equally famous Irish counterpart is dance. And if you’re looking for an absolute riot of a time, you should consider putting on an Irish dance contest.
There are tons of easily-accessible YouTube videos that you can distribute to your team – with instructions to practice and prepare for the performance of a lifetime.
There are few things that will bring out the true spirit of St. Patrick’s Day like a proper Irish jig. If you’re looking for a St. Patrick’s Day activity for a workplace that’s active, adventurous, and free-spirited, a lively Irish dance contest could be just the thing.
Take Advantage of the Luck ‘O the Irish
For a high-energy St. Patrick’s Day work idea, book a music-themed Bingo bash.
Bingo is a great event because it requires no skill or background knowledge to play – just a willingness to have fun (and hope for a little luck of the Irish to be on your side!).
It’s also yet another great activity for virtual or hybrid workforces. Another bonus? It’s a great opportunity to give away SWAG as prizes.
Taste the Rainbow
For another great St. Patrick’s Day idea for work that can accommodate remote, on-site, and hybrid teams, try a cookie-decorating contest.
You can easily run this kind of contest based on visual decoration alone. But if you want to go a really long way in making this a super-high-engagement event, you might consider paying for participants to ship a sample of their cookies to remote team members. You could then judge the contest based on taste and appearance, which is a whole new level of competition!
The middle ground? Ship all of your participants a themed set of cookie cutters: a shamrock, a leprechaun, a rainbow, and a pot of gold. You’ll be surprised at the creativity that turns up!
Corned Beef and Cabbage, Anyone?
For some industries, March is an exceptionally busy time (looking at you, accountants!). A full-fledged St. Patrick’s Day work game may not be the most welcomed gesture if your team is under pressure to meet strict deadlines.
Still, there are ways to mark the holiday and celebrate your team without taking time away from their work. You can order them a hearty St. Patrick’s Day meal, for example, which is sure to go a long way in making them feel appreciated.
Definitely go for classic Corned beef and cabbage, but don’t forget other Irish classics like Shepherd’s Pie, Irish soda bread, and Irish stew.
There are a variety of catering options available to book on the Thriver marketplace for your St. Patrick’s Day office meal.
A Pint and Some Craíc
Depending on your office culture, a relaxed beer tasting experience could be just what the team needs to cure the never-ending-winter blues.
Book a virtual beer tasting for a St. Patrick’s Day idea for employees who get along well, like to let loose, and enjoy a casual atmosphere.
Oh, and for the record, beer won’t be the only thing on tap here – craíc is the Gaelic term for “great/lively conversation” and is widely used in Ireland to describe a good time (with or without a beer in hand).
Slaínte to the Strong Stuff
For the team who wants to really take bonding to the next level, a whiskey tasting is pretty much the be-all, end-all of fun St. Patrick’s Day activities for work.
This at-home whiskey tasting event on the Thriver marketplace is perfect for teams that are spread out, but still want to connect. You can impress your team members with your Gaelic by making a toast in their honor with the word slaínte (“cheers”).
For bonus engagement points, use Thriver’s polling feature to take a poll of participants’ favorite whiskeys from the tasting; then, ship each of them a few mini bottles on their next birthday or at Christmas.
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There are plenty of fun St. Patrick’s Day activities for work that can go a long way in making your employees feel engaged and appreciated.
Although the holiday usually falls on a regular workday, and isn’t a standard day off, there’s no reason you can’t add some festivity to the office routine.
