45 spirit week ideas for work, plus a free 5-day planner

Free 5-day spirit week planner

Pick a vibe and shuffle until the week feels right. Copy it into Slack or print it for the break room.

15 dress-up days for work

Each one works in the office and on camera, and almost all of them use clothes people already own.

1. Pajama Day: Comfy sleepwear that still passes a video call.
2. Twin Day: Pair up and match outfits without telling anyone who your twin is.
3. Decades Day: Pick a decade and dress the part, from '60s mod to '90s grunge.
4. Jersey Day: Your team's jersey or your old school colors, plus some friendly trash talk.
5. Hat Day: Any hat counts: beanies, sun hats, the hard hat from the garage.
6. Team Colors Day: Each department gets a color and dresses in it head to toe.
7. Mismatch Day: Clash on purpose: stripes with plaid, two different shoes.
8. Throwback Day: Dress like your yearbook photo or your very first job.
9. Dream Job Day: Come as what you wanted to be at age eight: astronaut, vet, rock star.
10. Tropical Day: Hawaiian shirts, sunglasses and a vacation playlist in the background.
11. Character Day: Dress as a character from a book, film or cartoon and let people guess.
12. Red Carpet Day: Overdress for a normal workday: suits, gowns, bow ties, a sash.
13. Band Tee Day: Wear a concert shirt and share the best show you've ever seen.
14. Western Day: Boots, bandanas, denim, and a line dance if the team is brave.
15. Crazy Sock Day: The easiest one to join: loud socks, shown on camera or under the desk.

10 spirit day ideas that aren't about clothes

Not everyone wants to dress up. Mix one or two of these into the week so every person has a way to join in.

16. Pet Photo Day: Everyone posts a pet photo; office pets visit only if the building allows it.
17. Favorite Mug Day: Bring your best mug and the story of where it came from.
18. Baby Photo Day: Collect baby photos ahead, post them unnamed, and guess who's who.
19. Hometown Potluck Day: Everyone brings a dish from where they grew up, with a name card.
20. Desk Makeover Day: Theme your desk for one day, then take a five-minute walk to vote.
21. Show and Tell Day: Two minutes each on a hobby, a souvenir or something you made.
22. Snack Swap Day: Bring a snack nobody else in the office has tried and trade.
23. Team Playlist Day: Everyone adds one song to a shared playlist that plays all day.
24. Thank-You Note Day: Everyone writes three short thank-you notes to colleagues, signed.
25. Superlatives Day: Reveal light-hearted team awards voted on earlier in the week. 80 kind office superlatives.

8 spirit week ideas for remote and hybrid teams

Built for video calls and team chat, so the people at home are not just watching the office have fun.

26. Virtual Background Day: One theme for every background: dream trip, hometown, a film set.
27. Desk Tour Day: Sixty-second tours of everyone's workspace at the top of a call.
28. Pet Cameo Day: Pets join the standup. Bonus points for a costume.
29. Home Office Bingo: Bingo cards of home office sights; first full row on camera wins.
30. Emoji-Only Morning: The first hour of team chat is emoji only. Decoding is half the fun.
31. Window View Day: Post the view from your desk and let the team guess the city.
32. Hidden Talent Day: Share a 30-second clip of a skill nobody at work knows about.
33. Lunch on Camera Day: Eat together on an open call with one fun question to answer.

12 Christmas spirit week ideas

For the week before the holiday party. Keep at least one day open to every winter tradition, not only Christmas.

34. Ugly Sweater Day: The louder the better. Vote for the most festive on Friday.
35. Holiday Pajama Day: Festive PJs and slippers, coffee in a holiday mug.
36. Festive Hat Day: Santa hats, reindeer antlers, elf ears, a snowflake headband.
37. Red and Green Day: Wear the colors. It takes zero effort and looks great in a group photo.
38. Winter Wonderland Day: White, silver and icy blue, for teams that celebrate different holidays.
39. Cozy Flannel Day: Plaid, thick socks and hot cocoa at your desk.
40. Holiday Movie Character Day: Come as someone from a holiday film and see who guesses first.
41. Cookie Swap Day: Everyone bakes or buys one batch and leaves with a mixed box.
42. Hot Cocoa Bar Day: Set up cocoa, marshmallows and toppings in the kitchen at 3 pm.
43. Holiday Traditions Day: Each person shares one tradition from their family or culture.
44. Desk Decorating Day: Decorate your desk or door and judge it with categories, not one winner. Decorating contest rules and themes.
45. Gift Exchange Day: A white elephant or dice game at lunch with a clear price limit. 18 gift exchange games.

A ready-made Christmas spirit week: Ugly Sweater Monday, Cookie Swap Tuesday, Festive Hat Wednesday, Holiday Traditions Thursday, and a hosted holiday game on Friday before the party. Planning the party too? See 45 office holiday party ideas.

How to run spirit week at work

1. 1Pick a week with no deadlines. Avoid quarter end and launch weeks. The week before a holiday party is the classic slot.
2. 2Announce it 10 days ahead. Post the five days in one message so people have time to find a hat or a jersey.
3. 3Give each day an owner. One volunteer per day posts a reminder that morning and collects the photos.
4. 4Keep it opt-in. Joining is never required, and a theme day never replaces dress code rules for client meetings.
5. 5Make one shared photo channel. Office and remote photos go in the same place, so nobody's effort gets lost.
6. 6Score it lightly. One point per day joined, a small prize for the top department, a trophy that travels.

End on Friday with a hosted game

Want someone to run the finale for your team? A live host runs a game show or trivia for about 60 minutes, on Zoom for remote teams or at your office in 17 US cities, so the organizer gets to play too. Book about 2 weeks ahead.

Planning a bigger week? Hand out office superlatives on Friday, add a decorating contest in December, or get a free quote with your date and headcount.