7 Easy Ideas for In-Office Events

In a slight break from the Thailand theme, other floors hosted activities such as a disco-themed shuffleboard tournament, which employed a sand-covered conference table, lights, and an Afro-wearing announcer. "Apart from the lobby, the main hub of the event was on the 21st floor," Mahoney said. There, employees collected $74 in cash, as part of a Leo Burnett anniversary-party tradition that annually gives employees $1 for each year that it's been in business.

Los Angeles PR firm BWR hosted an event in March to preview its clients' spring and summer offerings for media guests. Appropriately, the event in the firm's offices included a dessert bar decked out in shades of pink and green. There was also a make-your-own fragrance bar, nail art, treats from Georgetown Cupcake, and juices from Pressed Juicery.

To make online sharing easier for the influential media crowd in attendance, BWR printed out a social media map that clearly laid out the locations of each of its clients’ setups around the office space, plus the appropriate handles and hashtags for Instagram and Twitter.

With the thinking that a design-conscious crowd should have a design-conscious party, Raw Design celebrated its new office in Toronto with a raw-themed event. Kim Graham & Associates worked with the architectural firm's founders, Roland Rom Colthoff and Richard Witt, to transform the office into a minimalist, party-ready space. The food at the event carried the raw theme, with Barone and Tong providing a sashimi station, an oyster bar, and hors d'oeuvres like organic beef tenderloin tartare and tandoori wild salmon with coriander yogurt served on platters like granite slabs and light boxes. A long table showcased greens in planters, which catering staff turned into salads. Guests received raw maple on a stick as they exited the party.

Try serving the crowd-pleasing dessert du jour in a creative way: For a Boston event, the Catered Affair set up a doughnut-on-a-stick bar, where folks could top their own treats with colored sugar, candy, and more.

To celebrate a milestone anniversary, Leo Burnett hosted a celebration in each of its worldwide offices, and in Chicago approximately 1,000 employees began the day with a Hearty Boys-catered spread of Thai custard buns, sesame balls with bean paste, and coconut-sprinkled pumpkin pastries. "Our U.K. office took the lead on developing a theme, and they came up with 'Try Something New,'" said Michelle Mahoney, director of work life for the company's U.S. operation. After brainstorming ways to play out the theme, which left "endless possibilities," Mahoney said, she and her team came up with the idea of "swapping offices for the day with the Leo Burnett Thailand headquarters."

For no-fuss catering, try arranging the food through Seamless, which links companies and employees to hundreds of local restaurants and caterers, offers fast online ordering, and sends a single, simple invoice for all orders placed. The service is currently offered in more than 40 cities including New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington, Houston, and San Francisco.